Episode 142: A Visual Witness of the Savior's Final Hours (John Hilton III)
Y Religion
BYU Religious Education
4.9 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 March 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
How can sacred art help us feel closer to the Savior and more fully understand his Atonement? In this episode, professor of ancient scripture John Hilton III discusses his new book Behold the Lamb: A Visual Witness of the Savior's Final Hours, created with Anthony Sweat and J. Kirk Richards. The book gathers contemporary Latter-day Saint artwork depicting the final twelve hours of Christ's mortal life and invites deeper reflection on each piece through artist insights, artistic commentary, and cultural context.
Professor Hilton explores why Latter-day Saints often favor images of Gethsemane and the Resurrection over those of the Crucifixion, how scripture emphasizes Christ's death as central to His Atonement, and how sacred art can help us "behold the Lamb of God…[who] was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world" (1 Nephi 11: 32–33) with greater devotion. This episode offers a meaningful way to enrich your Easter season and deepen your discipleship.
Publications:
- Behold the Lamb: A Visual Witness of the Savior's Final Hours, co-authored with Anthony Sweat and J. Kirk Richards, Religious Studies Center (2026)
- Considering the Cross: How Calvary Connects Us with Christ, Deseret Books (2021)
- "The Loving Christ," in The Power of Christ's Deliverence, Religious Studies Center (2022)
- Highlighted artwork:
- A Place Called Gethsemane, Anthony Sweat
- Arms of Mercy, Anthony Sweat
- Judged of the World, Emilie Buck Lewis
- King of the Jews, Tyler Swain
- Advocate, Chad Winks
- Christ's Cross, Joseph Chu
- And Israel's Daughters Wept Around, Rose Datoc Dall
- Finisher of Our Faith, Eva Koleva Timothy
- How Beautiful upon the Mountain…, Maureen Merrell
- View His Death, Anthony Sweat
- Spear in His Side, J. Kirk Richards
- Descent From The Cross, Brian Kershisnik
- Held, Kristin Alley Carver
- At Birth and Death, Esther Candari
- Nicodemus in the Tomb, Lester Yocum
Click here to learn more about John Hilton III, here to learn more about Anthony Sweat, and here to learn more about J. Kirk Richards
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, white religion friends. John Hilton here. |
| 0:03.0 | Have you ever had an experience when you were looking at a piece of artwork and deeply felt God's power? |
| 0:11.0 | Elder Edward Dubay of the presidency of the 70 had one such experience. |
| 0:15.0 | He called it one of the defining moments of his life. |
| 0:20.0 | At the age of 10 years old, he visited a Catholic church in his native country of Zimbabwe. |
| 0:26.2 | Elder Dubay said, |
| 0:27.2 | I saw paintings with scenes from the Savior's life pasted on the wall. |
| 0:32.3 | Scenes of Jesus Christ's birth, teaching in the temple, praying in the Garden of Gassimony, |
| 0:38.6 | carrying the cross to Calvary, being crucified at Golgotha and his resurrection. |
| 0:44.2 | It really made me feel sad to see those nails and thorns. |
| 0:48.7 | By the time I got to the painting of the crucifixion, my eyes were filled with tears, and each time I would cry and say, |
| 0:57.2 | hey, he really went through a lot just for me. For Elder DuBay, viewing the image of Christ |
| 1:05.3 | on the cross was a moving spiritual experience. I love it when the artist will talk about what they felt as they painted. |
| 1:13.6 | Here she says, as I painted this image, it felt as though I got to spend hours at Christ's feet. |
| 1:20.6 | During this time I was struggling with some overwhelming personal challenges. |
| 1:25.6 | It was a sweet experience to bring those troubles to Christ's |
| 1:28.7 | feet and seek his help through the prayer of painting. I'm grateful for the peace I felt as I |
| 1:35.6 | contemplated Christ's time on the cross and a sacrifice for me. In this episode of Why |
| 1:40.5 | Religion, we will see how artwork depicting the final hours of Christ's life can draw us closer to him. |
| 1:47.0 | I'm your host, Professor John Hilton, and this is Why Religion. |
| 1:52.0 | Each year, religion professors at Brigham Young University produce hundreds of publications on subjects related to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. |
| 2:04.5 | This podcast brings this research into one place to enlighten the everyday seeker of truth. |
... |
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