Forget Me Not, O Lord

"As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.

Years later I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now—I was never forgotten.

And I know something else: as an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart—neither are you!

You are not forgotten."

~President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 2011 General Relief Society Meeting.

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For several years now, I've fantasized about turning a concept into a painting. I got my chance this semester when the Orem Institute of Religion sponsored an art competition centered around the October General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Participants were to select a "one-liner" from any session of conference and compose a work of art depicting that line.

At the suggestion of my cousin, I selected President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society Session of Conference. The symbolism in that talk is so marvelously tied to his remarks that I knew all I had to do was depict the garden scene he described, and I could communicate a great depth of meaning that I might not even fully comprehend.

With quite a lot of help from my very talented older sister, I turned my vision into a reality. Using a penciled grid and a 24'x18' canvas board, I applied her lovely collection of oil paints and this was the result.

For further information on this piece, I highly recommend reading or listening to President Uchtdorf's talk here [link]