Fall 2017

Brigham Young University
College of Humanities
4002 JFSB
Provo, Utah 84602
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PROVO, UT
PERMIT NO. 49
MARCH 20, 1839, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith,
Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin, and Alexander McRae
were imprisoned at Liberty Jail, where McRae acted
as scribe for the prophet. His handwriting of “all
these things shall give thee experience and shall
be for thy good,” included in the front cover, was
originally written in a letter to the Church and
Edward Partridge. Later, this clause was included
in D&C 122:7 and, most recently, the handwriting
can be seen in the sixth volume of the Joseph
Smith papers.
Because the handwriting could not be obtained in
a high resolution format, to be included in our collage,
art director Jesse Petersen says it required “tracing
each letter, mark, scribble, and scrawl.”
In her words, “The experience of slowing down to
trace this, imagining the circumstances the prophet
underwent, was special in itself. What followed was a
greater understanding with—in Frank Christianson's
words from page 6—‘deliberate reflection’ and a
deeper connection to the theme of this issue.”
Petersen adds, "As I oversaw the artwork, beginning
with tracing the handwriting, I had a heightened
awareness of the ultimate learning experience mortality
lends us and gratitude for the blessings in my life.”