From Deseret News archives:
Thousands mark Smith milestone
Thousands mark Smith milestone
So he got on his knees.
The subject of his portrait was LDS Church founder Joseph Smith, born 200 years ago this December.
"I knelt down and asked for guidance that my contribution would be pleasing to both my Heavenly Father and to the Prophet Joseph," wrote Cyler Sanderson, an 18-year-old champion wrestler for Wasatch High School.
As he began drawing the prophet's head, Sanderson focused on the eyes. "Those eyes have seen Heavenly Father and his Son," he recalled. "I need to somehow capture that experience in his eyes that expresses all that they have seen."
Sanderson is one of thousands of youths contributing large-scale dance, visual arts, musical and video presentations for statewide celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the prophet's birth. Organizers expect more than 125,000 youths to participate in large-scale stadium events across Utah this summer.
Sanderson's finished work, titled "The Eyes that Saw the Lord," has "strengthened my own personal testimony of Joseph Smith in a way I never thought possible," he said. LDS leaders who have seen the drawing are impressed with its depth.
The growth in individual "testimony of Joseph Smith" and the belief that God and Jesus Christ personally appeared in 1820 to the 14-year-old New York farm boy is at the heart of the projects, said Elder Merrill J. Bateman, a member of the Presidency of the Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The result has been "really great in terms of spiritual experiences for those who are participating," he said. "They're increasing their understanding of the Prophet Joseph Smith and what he did. He has become a real person to thousands of our youth."
The programs, and others events associated with them, are designed to provide a spiritual experience the young people will never forget, and many of the activities have already made their mark, according to Elder Bateman.
"We hope to build a sense of unity and opportunities to develop friendships" outside traditional LDS ward and stake boundaries, he said, recalling his own participation as a youth in a churchwide dance festival in Salt Lake City.
Comments
- Today on TV 12:49 a.m.
- Wanted: Bank robber with bad breath 12:40 a.m.
- Philippine police clash with clan 12:28 a.m.
- Officer responding to call killed 12:28 a.m.
- Editorial: Fine-tune state workweek 12:18 a.m.
- Let's keep energy money in the U.S. 12:18 a.m.
- How to pay for the war 12:17 a.m.
- Feast of Guadalupe nourishes soul 12:17 a.m.
- Obama's strategy is a road map 12:17 a.m.
- Letters: 'Political priestcraft' 12:17 a.m.
- BYU and Utah's bowl games
- BYU professor remembered
- Y., U. to learn bowl destinations
- The forgotten ship: USS Utah
- Cougars going back to Vegas
- Branch president without a congregation
- TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
- Utahns want health care reform bills
- Kurt Bestor: Joy for the world
- Urn of baby rests with sailors
- Letters: Liberal because LDS
257 - Y. profs: Beck not all-knowing
215 - Hate not limited to 1 in-state rivalry
189 - Aggies shoot past Cougars
179 - N.Y. Senate rejects gay marriage
130 - TCU to play Boise in Fiesta Bowl
113 - George lost in rivalry hatefest
113 - Ed Smart 'appalled' at testimony
97 - Harpring's NBA career is over
95 - Sloan gets 1-year extension
80
That does it — I'm having an affair! Thanks to Tiger Woods, David...
Personally I don't believe in God, but respect those who do. I believe that...
Want to rad what is happening today, just go back and read Helaman and the...
To me the Book of Mormon is a dull, derivative tale, as Mark Twain and others...
His road maps have proven to have twists and turns that no one could drive on...
A little pricey, but good. I took my wife there for our 40th Anniversary....
Before you complain about tranist riders having subsidized fares, lets start...
Loren, it looks like you're taking bits and pieces of information and making...
Didn't Jesus observe the Jewish holidays? He would have been making...
Did you know that TRAX carries 40% of UTA's riders... and does so with only...
Thank you for a great article. I'm a BYU grad and U faculty member, and this...




You can be the first to comment on this story.