Behind the pulpit in the Bountiful Tabernacle is now organ pipes. However, prior to its 1970s renovation, there was a large piece of artwork, commissioned by Brigham Young and completed by Dan Weggeland, depicting the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Brigham Young told Dan that the Prophet Joseph Smith was never able to see Zion (the Intermountain West, where the Church was able to be established and grow). In the painting, the Prophet, in a form of a bust, is gazing out on the Promised Land.
The painting is done in shades of gray to create the illusion of a three-dimensional sculpture. The bust of Joseph Smith is underneath a trailing scroll with the words "Holiness to the Lord," held up by two cherubs on the corners. Underneath the bust on the column are several symbols. On the sides are suns, moons, and scrolls; in the center is the all-seeing eye, the Urim and Thummim, the sword of Laban, and the Book of Mormon.
The art was removed in the 1970s renovation and is now in the Church History Museum. A small copy of the art hangs in the Tabernacle lobby.
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