The Building of the Temple

Nephi's people prospered, and Nephi constructed a temple "after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things" (2 Nephi 5:16).

When Christensen first came to the Salt Lake Valley, he worked in building construction as a hod carrier, mixing and carrying mortar for masonry construction. That experience is captured in this painting. A man to the right is mixing mortar under a canopy so the mortar will not dry too rapidly. Another man is shown climbing a ladder with a basket of mortar on his head. Nephi, dressed in blue, is measuring the stone in the left foreground with the architect's tools. The soft mountainous background is one of Christensen's best landscapes.