"Stand Ye in Holy Places"

Maddison Colvin (American, born 1990)
Virtual Temple Garden (2017)
Unity video game, custom controller
Courtesy of the artist
Artist’s website

The prophet Joseph received a revelation on Christmas Day, 1832 that included a prophesy about the Civil War. The section ends with this admonition: ”Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen” (D&C 87:8).

Artists have interpreted holy places in many different ways. Contemporary artist Maddison Colvin created a video game based on Joseph Smith’s design of an idealized holy city. She says, ”I started reading a lot about Joseph Smith’s Plat of Zion, which was his speculative idea for building cities and communities that would function in a utopian way. A lot of that is reflected in the current-day architecture of specifically Salt Lake City but a lot of Utah and other places of the West that were settled by LDS pioneers. I wanted to do something that was a little bit less concrete and rooted in history and a little bit more rooted in this kind of like dreamland or speculation. So what I did was I designed—first by drawing, then by modeling in Google SketchUp, which is a free program—these temples, basically, and thinking about what the specific purposes or meanings of the temples that Joseph Smith drew in his Plat of Zion, what they were supposed to be for. What would a utopian version of that building look like?

“[…In the game], you can’t go inside these buildings, but you can at least walk around, and kind of wonder what they are for, and feel the emptiness or the loneliness of this kind of dreampark.”

Gospel Questions

1. Jesus describes one who is "clothed with light for a covering" who will be sent to put in order things in this newly organized church (D&C 85:7). How can light be a covering?

2. In the foretelling of the Civil War in D&C 87, how does Jesus describe the consequences of communal mistreatment of others?

3. How does Jesus' instruction to "stand and don't move" impact your choice of the holy places where you want to be (D&C 87:8)?

For Children & Youth

Hi. The exhibition, Great Awakening: Vision and Synthesis in Latter-day Saint Contemporary Art, included an artwork by Maddison Colvin that was a favorite of many children who visit. It’s a video game. There’s a joystick and buttons to move the player through an invented landscape that resembles a temple ground compound. Maybe you’re somebody who likes to play video games, too. Have you ever imagined a game that has a connection to what you believe? Maybe someday you will design it and share it with others, just as Maddison has done.

Gospel Questions

1. Joseph Smith describes the Holy Ghost, "the still small voice," as one that whispers, but "pierceth all things, and often times it maketh my bones to quake while it maketh manifest" (D&C 85:6). When have you felt a prompting from the Holy Ghost? How would you describe its voice and the way it makes you feel?

2. Jesus gives a blessing to those who try to be good: "blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles" (D&C 86:11). What can you do to share Jesus' goodness and light to those who are not members of our Church?

3. Jesus described a time of war and trouble that sounds a lot like our world today: "with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also..." (D&C 87:6). Jesus says that in response, we should "stand ye in holy places, and be not moved" (D&C 87:8). How do you think standing still in a holy place can protect your heart from sadness and trouble around you?

Art Project

In D&C 85, the Lord directed the clerk to "keep a history" including "their manner of life, their faith, and works" (D&C 85;1-2). What is something enriching that you have done this summer? Make an artistic representation using any medium (poetry, song, sculpture, collage, bullet journaling, etc.) that will "keep a history" of this experience. What can you include in this representation that will trigger the feelings that made this experience enriching for you?