Most of the painting is great. The subject matter is fine, and the scenery is beautiful. There's just one thing that I don't like about this painting, one thing that stands out to me far more than I want it to. I'm referring to the young woman on the left. That young woman, though beautifully painted, is my least favorite part of this painting. In fact, it's partly because she's so beautiful that I wish she wasn't in the image at all. Because she, a pretty, young woman in attire that, while wet, doesn't quite meet our standards of modesty, is in the image, I wonder whether it's appropriate to have it hanging on the wall in our church. I don't think we should be displaying images like that, and we certainly shouldn't spend too much time looking at them.
Yet, in my mind, this painting has one redeeming quality, and it's not the mountains in the background, though those are really nice. Look at the guy holding the spear. Look at where he's looking. Or rather, notice where he's not looking. That guy is one of my heroes, not just because he's doing his duty by keeping an eye out for the wicked king's guards, but also because he's resisting temptation by keeping his eyes off of the attractive young woman. That man is trying to keep his heart and mind pure, and that's an important example for us to learn from.
We can't expect the world to live up to our standards of modesty. There are going to be people who choose to wear revealing attire, and we can't always avoid coming into contact with them. When that happens, we can follow the spear guy's example by not looking. And if we can't help looking at them, such as when we're having a conversation with them, we can try to focus on something else. Look at their eyes. Concentrate on what they're saying rather than what they're wearing. Don't let your eyes or mind wander. The spear guy is clearly making a concentrated effort on taking his job as a lookout as seriously as possible. Contrast that against his buddy with the bow and arrows. Sure, he might just be watching Alma baptizing people, but from the angle of his vision, he could hardly help noticing a few other things out of the corner of his eye. Don't be that guy. When temptation reveals itself, in whatever form it takes, don't let it into your mind. Don't look at it. Don't think about it. Be the guy with the spear.
2 comments:
I don't know if my heart is pure, my eyes are blind, or if it's because I am female, but I don't really see the problem. I understand there is one because it has presented a problem to a righteous young man, but I still don't really see it myself. Another lesson for us, that sometimes we may not realize when we are making things harder for someone else. And that sometimes when someone is making something hard for us, it may be entirely unintentional and innocent on their part. We must be ever vigilant to guard against temptation and to be non-judgmental of others.
I'm pretty sure that my husband would agree with you. I have mixed feelings. I agree that the young lady doesn't fully represent modesty for our standards today, but I think it's important to remember ( remember that I'm a Humanities major talking here) that the artist is trying his best to accurately represent a time in history that we know they wouldn't have the same clothing traditions as we do. The people of that time would not necessarily have even had the ability to weave white fabric as closely knit as we can, thus the transparency of the robes and her (I feel) implied hurry to the shore.
It's also important to me that the man with her is tenderly trying to cover her modesty. That's always been one of my favorite parts of the painting's stories.
Anyhow, I just thought I'd throw in my jumbled two cents. I hope it made a bit of sense.
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