Waiting But a Little Longer

Artist Statement:

This is my piece hanging in the Church History Museum.

In 2018, President Nelson announced that there would be a temple built in an undisclosed city in Russia.

This stood in high contrast to the hope lost among the saints who, while I was on my mission there, learned that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a stringent anti-terrorism law that severely limited outreach by any religions, save for the Russian Orthodox Church

No longer could they share or talk about their religion to anyone outside of the church.

I painted this as a tribute to those Saints who are ready and worthy for their temple, but are simply waiting on a miracle from the Lord.

Symbolism break down ⬇️

-waiting at the bus stop: waiting on the Lord. She’s in the right place at the right time. Her waiting on the Lord has nothing to do with her worthiness and everything to do with the Lord’s timing.

-bag: temple bag symbolizing her readiness to make covenants

-her traditional Russian scarf: representing her protecting her self from the cold wind of religious oppression in her country

-The words on the sign translate to “bus stop” symbolizing that her next stop is the temple

-color shift: from orange to pink symbolizes the new day soon to come of having the privilege of having a temple in her home country.

Note: this painting was painted a year before the war broke out. It was accepted into the Church’s art show a few months before the war.