This is the Testimony Which We Give of Him

As part of the celebration of the bicentennial of the First Vision in 2020, President Nelson announced a new symbol for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in general conference. He introduced it with these words, “To help us remember Him and to identify The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the Lord’s Church, we are pleased to introduce a symbol that will signify the central place of Jesus Christ in His Church. This symbol includes the name of the Church contained within a cornerstone. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.  At the center of the symbol is a representation of Thorvaldsen’s marble statue the Christus. It portrays the resurrected, living Lord reaching out to embrace all who will come unto Him. Symbolically, Jesus Christ is standing under an arch. The arch reminds us of the resurrected Savior emerging from the tomb on the third day following His Crucifixion.” Since that time over four years ago the symbol has become a natural part of documents and webpages for the Church, and it seeks to help others understand our faith in Jesus Christ and His central place in all that we do.

The statue itself was created by Bertel Thorvaldsen and was commissioned by The Church of Our Lady (a Lutheran Church in Denmark). What I found particularly interesting as I read a little about his work was the timing: he was “commissioned in 1819 to sculpt statues of Jesus” and a plaster cast of the Christus statue was completed and delivered for the 1829 dedication of the cathedral. The Carrara marble finished product was completed in 1833 and installed in the church in that year. So, when the young Joseph Smith was starting to ask his questions about what church to join, Thorvaldsen was given the task of creating a statue of the living Christ. The Savior visited the young boy a year later to commence the work of restoring His Church. As Joseph was being prepared to lead it over the next decade, Thorvaldsen was bringing this statue to life. When the mold was completed in 1829, Joseph Smith was finishing up his work of translating the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. And by the time the statue of the living Christ was finally completed and put into place in the church in 1833, the Church of Jesus Christ had been officially organized and the Prophet Joseph, along with Sidney Rigdon, had had a vision of the Savior of whom they declared, “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:22)

As part of the project, Thorvaldsen made not only the Christus but also individual statues of each of the 12 apostles (replacing Judas with Paul). Those came over the decade following the completion of the Christus, and so when the Lord officially called His 12 apostles again in this dispensation in 1835, the statues were coming to life across the ocean in Rome where some of the original apostles had walked. Thorvaldsen completed them in Rome, and so it is fitting that when the Rome, Italy Temple was completed, a replica of the 13 statues was placed in the visitors center there. These stand as a reminder not only of the incredible work that the original apostles did in spreading Christianity to the world, but also of the call of new apostles in our day to continue the Savior’s charge: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20).   

A copy of the Thorvaldsen statue first came to Temple Square in the 1950s, and the reason for bringing it was similar to what led to making it a part of our symbol recently. According to one article, “Richard L. Evans, then President of the Temple Square Presidency and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, commented, ‘You know, the world thinks we're not Christians because they see no evidence of Christ on this square. They hear the words, but see no evidence.’ As the group discussed possible images that would meet their criteria of having a representation of Christ that would ‘make an impact upon the world—one that would be world-known and be received without creating controversy,’ Marion D. Hanks suggested using a marble copy of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus.” We hope that not only the statue but our symbol will help inform others and remind us that at the center of all we do is the resurrected Christ, whose arms and hands are outstretched and who says to each of us, “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:36-37).