Jesus In Latter-day Saint Temples - Sculptures

My wife was looking at Light The World posts and saw that someone was using that hash tag to claim that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints aren't christian because our temples don't have pictures of Jesus in them. The post was of course ridiculous (we have pictures of Jesus hanging everywhere in temples) and I think it is an internet troll trying to take the good that came from Light The World and twist it into evil. The claim was ridiculous as the temple ceremonies feature Jesus Christ and his teachings. As a response, I would like to highlight some art in temples that depicts Jesus Christ. I'll start with this post which shows Jesus in sculpture. Of course copies of The Christus, a statue of Jesus Christ are found in temple visitors centers and on the grounds of temples, but I'm going to highlight sculptures that are a part of the temples. 

Laie Hawaii Temple

The Laie Hawaii Temple has relief sculptures on the 4 sides of the temple and smaller reproductions of these sculptures in the waiting area so patrons can have time to study and ponder the sculptures. These depict the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants / church history. I'm not sure if Jesus is shown in the Old Testament sculpture, but he is in the other 3. In the New Testament panel he is shown teaching and healing. Jesus is shown appearing to the Nephites after his resurrection in the Book of Mormon panel. Finally, in the Doctrine and Covenants panel, Jesus is shown next to God the Father in the First Vision. In each case Jesus Christ is shown in the center of the panel as the focus.

Cardston Alberta Temple

The Cardston Alberta Temple in Canada has a low relief sculpture of Jesus talking with the woman at the well. Originally this was at the temple entry, just outside the temple, but with additions it is now inside the temple.

Oakland California Temple

The Oakland California Temple has 2 large granite sculptures on the north (main entry) and south sides of the temple. The sculpture on the north depicts Jesus teaching in the Holy Land. He is teaching a group of men, women, and children. The sculpture on the south shows the resurrected Jesus Christ appearing to the Nephites in the Americas.

Sao Paulo Brazil Temple

The next sculpture looks like a painting, but I classified it as a sculpture because it is a mosaic, and I already have plenty of paintings to write about. The Sao Paulo Brazil Temple baptistry has a mosaic sculpture of the baptism of Jesus Christ on the wall.

Newport Beach California Temple

 Newer temples have included sculptures of Jesus as well. The Newport Beach California Temple has a bronze relief sculpture above the doors. This sculpture shows Jesus appearing to the apostles after his resurrection.

Indianapolis Indiana Temple

The Indianapolis Indiana Temple has a relief sculpture of the baptism of Jesus Christ in the baptistry.

Each of these sculptures adds to the focus on Jesus Christ which is so evident in latter-day saint temples. Sculptures as a part of temples, while still used, appear to be less common today than a hundred years ago. I suspect this is mainly because of the growing popularity of stained glass in temples. I do hope that we will continue seeing sculptures in temples, particularly sculptures of our Lord Jesus Christ.