Designer adds dimension to photograph of Mormon leader Oliver Cowdery

Thereafter, he had to determine the colors to apply to the photograph. For this, he turned to Corbett, who had done the oil painting based on the photograph.

"Corbett's color choices were certainly far better than anything I could muster," he wrote in his article. "I contacted Corbett, and he kindly gave me permission to use his painting as a color foundation or base for the daguerreotype, utilizing the color values only to colorize most of the image. This method worked very well."

Through his work, Haymond revealed details not easily seen on the original: a checkered pattern on the bow tie; apparent black-velvet material on the collar; and blood vessels, bones and thumbnails on the hands.

"Being able to see the hands that transcribed the Book of Mormon as the Prophet Joseph Smith dictated the translation makes this book of scripture that much more real," Haymond told the Church News. "Oliver Cowdery comes to life as a real person and individual when you can see what he really looks like."

Haymond is considering other photos from Church History to which he might give similar treatment, particularly of David Whitmer and Martin Harris, who, with Oliver Cowdery, comprised the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon.