Torleif was baptized at the age of 21 in a river that was frozen and had to be cut with a saw. His love of the gospel and strong testimony caused him to turn down an art scholarship to Rome in order to immigrate to Utah in 1905. That was the beginning of Torleif’s lifelong association with church art projects. He worked on many, many temples and was even called to serve a mission in Paris just to study art. This time was a wonderful boon to him, especially since he had given up the chance to study in Rome.

Upon returning home, Torleif continued his work on temples and in the 1920s completed the original Handcart Pioneers statue. In 1947, he completed the larger replica of the same statue that is now displayed on Temple Square.

Torleif’s artistic works for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are found in many places around the United States. Perhaps none are so large and recognizable, however, as his monument of the angel Moroni which stands on the Hill Cumorah.

The Church acquired the land for the Hill Cumorah in 1928, and immediately Torleif recommended to the Brethren [church leaders] that a monument should stand there commemorating the important event of Moroni visiting Joseph Smith and giving him the brass plates.

While the Brethren had not commissioned Torleif to create this monument, Torleif felt so strongly about it that he created seven sketches on his own and went to the Lord in prayer for guidance about which sketch was the most accurate and if he should formally present his plan to the Brethren. One night in 1929 he climbed Ensign Peak in Salt Lake City and knelt in prayer, with his sketches spread out on the ground. In answer to his plea, an angel appeared to him and pointed to one of the sketches saying, “This is the one.” The angel also told Torleif to visit the Brethren in the church offices the next morning and that they would be waiting for him.

The next day, Torleif did as he had been instructed. The Brethren welcomed him and unanimously chose the picture the angel had singled out. Official permission to begin the project soon followed. Torleif was understandably very private about his encounter with the angel. He only shared his experience a couple of times, and when a friend asked him if the angel had been Moroni, Torleif said, “That’s my secret.” His second wife, Rebecca, though, said Torleif had told her it had been the angel Moroni.

The final statue of Moroni stands 9 feet tall and is gold plated. It rests on a granite pillar, which Torleif also created. He spent five years on the design and creation of the monument, which was more than double the time he spent on any other single work of art in his life.

Immediately after Torleif had been granted permission to work on the project, he looked for a model. He found the physique he wanted in Elwin Clark, a bricklayer, but he felt Elwin’s face was too young to accurately represent the mature Moroni. He fasted and prayed for a suitable model for the face. One day an older gentleman caught his eye in the city. After following him for some time, Torleif approached the man and asked if he would consider being a model for him. He persuaded the man, who had just moved to Utah from Wyoming, to come with him to his studio right then.

Elwin was already at the studio waiting for Torleif. To everyone’s surprise, Elwin recognized the older man as his father, Hyrum Don Carlos Clark. This “coincidence” confirmed to Torleif that these men were the appropriate models for him to use.

The monument was placed on the Hill Cumorah in 1935, which had been replenished during the previous year with 10,000 trees on its barren landscape. Each of the four sides of the base has a bronze plaque depicting a significant event which took place in the area: the west side shows Moroni delivering the plates to Joseph Smith; the south side shows Moroni revealing the plates to the three witnesses; the east side depicts Joseph Smith showing the plates to the eight witnesses; and on the north side is the text from Moroni 10:4–5, which reads, “And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”

The statue of Moroni shows him holding the plates in his left arm while raising his right arm to call attention to the gospel message. Other religious symbols are explained to visitors on nearby plaques.

As for Torleif’s personal life, he married Emilia “Millie” Helena Christensen in 1909 in the Salt Lake Temple. However, she passed away in 1931, leaving six children, the youngest just 15 months old. He refused to split up the family, despite offers from friends to adopt the younger children, and did his best to be both father and mother to his children until he remarried eight years later, a woman named Rebecca Marie Knaphus.

A reporter asked Torleif in the late years of his life what he considered his greatest work. He said, gesturing to some family photos and a pedigree chart on his wall, “My family and this genealogical research have been my greatest work in life.” Historians have estimated that Torleif personally submitted 10,000 of his Norwegian ancestors’ names for temple work. Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said he knew of no other person who had done more genealogy work than Torleif. Torleif passed away June 14, 1965, at the age of 83.

It is easy to look back on Torleif’s life and see many turning points which led him to the gospel, but which could have gone another way. For example, what if his roommate had not invited him to attend that concert in the first place? God’s hand is truly guiding each of our lives. If we let Him, He will use us for His purposes and will make a masterpiece out of us. Torleif had such an impact for good in the lives of those around Him because He turned His life to God.

This article was written by Doris White, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

dwhite

Doris White is a native of Oregon and graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in English and a minor in Editing. She loves to talk with others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christensen joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (still frequently misnamed the Mormon Church) on September 26, 1850. He served missions in Denmark and in Norway for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Norway, Christensen baptized a man by the name of Danquart Anthon Weggeland, who was also an artist. The two later collaborated on several religious artistic works in Utah.

Upon joining the “Mormon Church,” C.C.A. Christensen became a Mormon artist, though not full time. He took his training of capturing Danish life and applied it to capturing Mormon life and history. After completing his mission in Norway in 1857, Christensen set sail for Utah by way of England, to first marry Elsie Scheel Haarby. They sailed together to New York, took a train to Iowa City, and travelled the rest of the way (about 1,300 miles) to central Utah’s Sanpete Valley by handcart with the Christian Christensen handcart company.

While Christensen completed many religious works of art as a Mormon artist, including a series from the Bible and Book of Mormon and murals in two Mormon temples (Manti and St. George), he is best known for his Mormon Panorama series. The Mormon Panorama consisted of a 175-foot canvas scroll of 23 paintings depicting LDS Church history. Christensen began touring with the Panorama in 1878 across Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, giving historical presentations as each picture was shown in succession. He would travel with the paintings during the winter, when he was not working on his farm. This scroll of paintings was stored for decades until “rediscovered.” The paintings were cut apart to more easily display them separately. Unfortunately, this resulted in the loss of the painting of the First Vision, but all other paintings from the scroll survive.

Christensen served a second mission from 1865–1868 and while serving a third mission in Denmark from 1887–1889 as the editor of the Scandinaviens Stjerne, Christensen sketched a depiction of John the Baptist appearing to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. He hired an engraver in Copenhagen to make several small prints of the work. He sent these home to his family in Utah to sell, hoping this small income would help support them while he was away.

This painting became the center of some controversy in July 2012, when Bloomberg Businessweek published an unsavory article about Mormon Church finances. Christensen’s piece of John the Baptist became the cover illustration for the story, which Businessweek artists made into an offensive cartoon.

After receiving a great deal of criticism for both the irreverent mockery of Christensen’s art as well as the one-sided view of the article, Businessweek changed their online cover image to a slightly less offensive one. Richard Oman, former curator of the LDS Church History Museum, said of Christensen’s goal, “The work he did was to remind the saints of the spiritual roots that called the church into being, to remind the people of the sacrifices of their ancestors and to inspire future generations to be courageous people and to be people of strength and fortitude.”

During his time in Utah, Christensen first worked at odd jobs: laying brick, burning charcoal, farming, etc. He wrote many LDS hymns in Danish. Later, he worked as an instructor in drawing and Danish at the Sanpete Stake Academy (now Snow College).

Christensen was the Sanpete Stake Patriarch from 1901 until his death and also worked for a time in the Church Historian’s Office of the LDS Church compiling materials which recorded the history of the Church in Scandinavia. He passed away on July 3, 1912.

Article By Doris

Keith L. Brown

Keith L. Brown is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having been born and raised Baptist. He was studying to be a Baptist minister at the time of his conversion to the LDS faith. He was baptized on 10 March 1998 in Reykjavik, Iceland while serving on active duty in the United States Navy in Keflavic, Iceland. He currently serves as the First Assistant to the High Priest Group for the Annapolis, Maryland Ward. He is a 30-year honorably retired United States Navy Veteran.

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