For tour director Adam Fagg, the fact that many people on his tour reacted differently to the Come Unto Me stories of Christ, his ministry and his miracles is evidence of the importance of the masterwork.
Tour director Adam Fagg told his bus of travelers to expect something special when they saw a 20’x7’ stained and painted glass window that depicts Christ, His parables, His ministry, and His miracles in the Visitors’ Center near the new Rome. Italy Temple.
“I had read about the ‘Come Unto Me’ glass work from the web site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the intensity of the colors took me by surprise,” says the English scholar who works at the University of Kent and whose doctoral research includes early Roman Christianity and politics. “The colors permeated the space and, unlike most stained glass, you could view the panels up close. The meticulous detail and the arrangement of the parables are right before you, and the color draws you in.”
For Fagg, however, it was the grayed images of The Last Supper depicted as a relief carving at the top of a Roman building that especially appealed to him.
“When you put this into context, and you realize the importance of frescos and the stories they tell of early Christianity, you can see that The Last Supper is a really clever depiction of classical style.”
Fagg also indicated that the glass meant different things to different members of his tour, which he believes is a strength of the work. “We all get what we need from the stained and painted glass.”
And above all, stained glass symbolically reflects the light of God, which illuminates an obscure world and brings light to dark and lost souls.
This and other visitor stories are part part of a series covering the Come Unto Me exhibit created through The Roots of Humanity Foundation with help from Tom Holdman and several colleagues at Holdman Studios.
To learn more about this breathtaking exhibit, order your copy of the Come Unto Me Book (below) or the limited edition to see beautiful pictures of close-up details and learn about the stories that inspired the art.