New Site Banner

Yes, friends, it's once again time for a revision to the Study and Faith site banner. Where once we had this:

Now we have this:


A brief explanation, in the style of the previous update: To the far left along the top, we have an illustration of Joseph Smith retrieving the golden plates from the Hill Cumorah under the watchful eyes of the Angel Moroni; the illustration comes from Pomeroy Tucker's 1867 The Origin, Rise, and Progress of Mormonism. Next to that is a Renaissance-period painting of the Trinity - with Father and Son seated on the clouds, using the earth as a footstool, and the Holy Spirit as a dove between them - flanked by a multitude of angels. This particular work is "The Holy Trinity" (1620), by the Flemish Baroque artist Hendrick van Balen. Third in sequence is a section of Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino's famed fresco "The School of Athens" (c. 1510), featuring a wide array of ancient philosophers. Fourth in sequence is an illustration, taken from George Reynolds' 1888 The Story of the Book of Mormon, of Moroni raising the 'Title of Liberty' (Alma 46:36).

At the center of the upper row of images, the background is a scene from a famed LDS painting of Jesus preaching to the Nephites, portrayed in a Mesoamerican setting. The foreground, like in the previous banner, is the manuscript of what is now D&C 88:118-120, from which this blog derives its name. Immediately to the right of this is an illustration of the old Nauvoo Temple, taken from Thomas Gregg's 1890 The Prophet of Palmyra. Next in sequence is, of course, a picture of the Jesus statue from the visitors' center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT. To the right of that yet is an icon featuring the participants at the First Council of Nicaea (325), holding up the first half of the text of the Nicene Creed, written in Greek. Finally, at the far right of the top row is situated an image of the Angel Moroni blowing his trumpet - a familiar LDS iconic scene - and standing atop a globe; this illustration is taken from the title page of Brigham Henry Roberts' 1903 Mormonism: Its Origins and History. Beneath this top row is, as with the old banner, a galactic scene intended to cohere well with the background of the blog. In front of it, in vivid lettering, is the blog title; beneath that are a series of gold 'reformed Egyptian' characters as found on a very early LDS broadside, The Stick of Joseph, Taken from the Hand of Ephraim: A Correct Copy of the Characters Taken from the Plates the Book of Mormon!! Was Translated From.