“And it came to pass after we had all gone down into the ship, and had taken with us our provisions and things which had been commanded us, we did put forth into the sea and were driven forth before the wind towards the promised land.” 1 Nephi 18:8

The artist statement for this group of work is as follows:

"The Lord showed unto me great things." This is my second series of Book of Mormon paintings, each painted while looking through a stone--meditating on and coming to terms with Joseph Smith's revelatory process. Painting through a stone forced upon these compositions an abstraction, removing the text from most geographic or cultural specifics. I chose 1 Nephi 17-18 for this series because it has been the most formative Book of Mormon passage in my own development. In these verses, Nephi returns to the mount oft in search of divine instruction. I have similarly turned to God in an effort to craft my own curious workmanship. And I have wrestled with the implications of attaining a promised land.

Copyright retained by J. Kirk Richards. Contact the artist to license this image for publication.