February 17–23 D&C 12-13, JSH 1:66–75
"Upon You My Fellow Servants”
Axel Call and Jeff Call (Americans, born 2012 and 1983)
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery Getting the Aaronic Priesthood (2021)
Marker and digital, 11 x 8.5 inches
Collection of the artists
Used with permission of the artists
The drawing by father and son above is based on the Doctrine and Covenants account of the Aaronic priesthood being conferred. Jeff Call writes, “It was nice to spend some time with Section 13 because Axel just got baptized on January 2nd. I think it’s important to imagine those words spoken aloud (in English?) and audible to you if you were standing amongst the trees or near the river. Additionally it’s interesting to see my son draw right now. His simple concern is for the people and actions in an event. Everything else melts away into blank page. I compulsively requested a river and drew the foliage. Do we adults foolishly require set dressing for the these events to feel more real?” The trees are decorated with the words of the prayer, “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah…” (Section 13).
Discussion Questions
The Lord speaks of “a great and marvelous work [that] is about to come forth among the children of men” (D&C 12:1). How have you found the gospel to be "great and marvelous" in your life?
The Lord explains that to assist in “this work” we need to be “humble, and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care” (D&C 12:7). How have you found any of these characteristics to be helpful to you in your Church service?
In conferring the Aaronic Priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, John the Baptist speaks of “the ministering of angels” (D&C 13:1). Who have been ministering angels in your life and how have they ministered to you? How can this experience help coach you in your ministering to others? (See: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Ministry of Angels," October 2008 General Conference.)
For Children & Youth
Hi. We are so happy with the responses we’ve received from readers who are sending pictures of things they’ve made, like Axel and Jeff’s drawing, above. They’re awesome. And we love sharing them with others.
Let’s look ahead. Would you like to make a drawing or another kind of art work that we might next month? The topics of the March lessons of Come, Follow Me include: Joseph Smith, Emma Smith and their family; why it’s important to have a living prophet; strengthening the Church; the armor of God; teaching Native Americans; the Plan of Salvation; and ways to get ready for Easter.
What will you make? Send your images to Veronica@centerforlatterdaysaintarts.org
Discussion Questions
After Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were baptized, they received the Holy Ghost (JS History 1:73). Joseph describes, "Our minds being now enlightened, we began to have the scriptures laid open to our understandings, and the true meaning and intention of their more mysterious passages revealed unto us in a manner which we never could attain previously, nor ever before had thought of" (JS History 1:74). How can you experience the enlightenment of the Holy Ghost in your study of the scriptures?
How has the Aaronic priesthood blessed your life, either through the use of its power by someone else, or as a holder of the Aaronic priesthood yourself?
Jesus tells Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris that His "grace is sufficient for you, and you shall be lifted up at the last day" (D&C 17:8). What makes Jesus' grace amazing? (See: John Newton, "Amazing Grace," Hymn no. 1010; you may want to learn and sing this song with your family).
🖍️ Our History: Color On!
The stories from the Restoration are filled with colorful individuals committed to building the kingdom of God and a community of faith.
Our History: Color On!, a four-part series of coloring pages by Melissa Snyder Wood. Developed for you and your families, we hope you discover opportunities for discussions and ideas as you color people and places from the early Church, starting with Palmyra. Each quarter, two pages will be released and are designed to sit side-by-side with the following quarter’s pages intended to sit beneath. Regardless of whether you choose to place the pages like a map (perhaps on a doorway or a pin board) or color them as individual pages, we hope you will take the journey with us, finding inspiration from the joys, failures, friendships and journeys of the early Saints. Welcome to Our History: Color On!
Melissa writes, “When I first began the project of illustrating the beginnings of the LDS church, I admit, I wasn’t prepared for the emotional toll it would take on me. As an empathetic person, stories have always been very important to me. Because of this, I spent hours and hours researching, trying to find important buildings that became sacred because of the events that unfolded there, I wanted to illustrate all the many people who became key in bringing this church to fruition, and then the massive task of editing it down to make it manageable for both children and adults to color---it was exhausting. I wanted to highlight all the interesting women and men that I discovered, but alas, there’s only so much space on these papers. Please understand, this is not a comprehensive history. I encourage you to dig in and read more about these specific people and places on these pages. I made sure to include their names because each name (and many, many more) helped create the beautiful, the tragic, and the fascinating history of our Mormon story.”
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