A Note on "Day of the Lamanite"

I painted this painting because of my extreme interest in the Indian Placement Program of the Church. The boy on the left, the one kneeling, is my foster son, Jerry Plummer, a Navajo from Gallup, New Mexico. He has been part of our family for four years, during which time we have been amazed at the progress he has made as a priesthood holder in the Church and a potential leader of his people. The boy in the middle, Verdi Stone, from Arizona, was chosen for the painting because of his classic features and his fine spiritual attitude. The boy on the right, David Bona, is a friend of mine from my ward.

I have a love and respect for the Indian people, having been raised in eastern Utah near the Ute reservation and having spent the summer of 1964 living with and working with the youth in a recreation camp for the Ute tribe.

One of my most enjoyable duties was to load some of these young people into a bus and drive them to MIA on Tuesday evenings. It was most inspiring to watch them stand and recite the MIA theme that year which was the promise given to the Lamanites by Moroni in the Book of Mormon:

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true: and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

The Indian people in general have a simple spiritual outlook on life and seem to be very teachable and humble. I think it is obvious that they are starting to realize the great promises which the Lord has given them. This is the reason I chose the title of my painting to be “Day of the Lamanite.”