LDS NEWS: Jon McNaughton and “One Nation” Under Attack
by Dallan Wright
I work for an artist who’s taking some heat at the moment. Jon McNaughton (LDS), is an artist best known for his landscapes, and as of late his religious paintings of the savior. You may have seen his work within the LDS Ensign magazine or other western art publications.
Recently Jon has created a piece depicting Christ holding up the constitution with the founding fathers and others surrounding him. Yesterday the Huffington Post and Mother Jones chose his image to mock and ridicule. The commentors on these articals have been particularly harsh in their attacks.
If you like to stand up for decency in the world I would encourage this little corner of the web to visit these articles and add their own comments. It’s tough to see a friend attacked for an art piece created out of love and passion.
——Update——-
Jon McNaughton should be featured on channel 2 news in Utah tonight.
Wow. I guess civility and tolerance is not american either.
Not to be too concerned with any comments from HuffPo or M Jones. They are two of the most flagrantly despicable on the web. They each revel in spewing garbage. As far as decency is concerned, they have not ever considered that attribute.
I urge all admirers of Mr. McNaughton’s work to not so much as give them a thought. Just deposit them in your delete box or trash can.
Where, in all of the trashing of this artist, can one find any expression of that which is good and noble? Admittedly, there have been dark moments in our past history but let’s work together to correct these errors. I’ll take what the artest was trying to express by this painting over what we have in our nation today.
The so-called “Silent Majority” has been understanding, inclusive, politically correct, for far too long. Left of center loud mouths have shouted conservatives down for decades. Enough!! Our country has spun out of control left over the years regarding Supreme Court opintions, law makers, news reporting (opining), education, and more. McNaughton’s histrocially correct and morally relavent.
Update: After all the negativity (some people have gone so far as to call the artist on the phone and berate him) there is much good coming of it. Each time I’ve visited Jon in his store there seems to be a discussion going on between Jon and his customers about the constitution. I think the good is now pushing out the bad.
I wonder where Jon would place the likes of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity who use faith for political purposes.
They do great harm to our soul and country as they attack all those with whom they do not share “Exactly” the same beliefs. “Better a Millstone”.
Can you tell me where we can get this picture”One Nation Under Attack” and the price of it. Thanks
You can order it from http://www.mcnaughtonart.com or very reasonable prices. There’s traditional prints as well as canvas available.
I am a convert of 14 years (over 50). My husband has not converted, but he is Christian principled and patriotic (veteran). He sent me the video of Brother McNaughton’s painting, and the Spirit instantly told me it was painted by an LDS artist. The depiction of Jesus Christ was the “give away”. Only a “Latter-day Saint”…The painting was inspired by the Spirit, just as I was inspired by the Spirit that the artist was LDS. Naysayers of this painting are inspired by another source…
WOW !!!!!!!! Fantastic !!!! How and where can we purchase copies?
This painting annoys me as an LDS liberal. It is unfortunate that your employer has chosen to mix his right-wing politics with images of the Savior, and to portray liberals as (more or less) enemies of God instead of someone with which he has a political disagreement. I also think it’s unfortunate that LDS culture seems to be moving so far in the direction of conservatism as to be virtually indistinguishable from right-wing evangelical culture, and art like this doesn’t help.
So, I don’t know if your employer is playing innocent like you seem to be, but he very well should have known that he would be criticized for this painting. You can’t strike a blow for reactionary conservatism using God as your bludgeon and expect people not to criticize you.
Very well put Jeremy. I entirely agree. I just saw this painting at a mall today and I didn’t feel the spirit at all… actually seeing it made me sad. Though the talent of the artist is impressive.
Lol, religious people make me laugh… Jesus is GOD and Atheists and Scientists are the devil.. What an IGNORANCE..
The painter has it all wrong.. ZEUS is our GOD not Jesus…
I just received an email with this painting, put to music, with the caption Tea Party.
For starters, Thomas Jefferson was a doubter, not a Christian, even Lincoln did not belong to a church, Betsy Ross, heaven forbid, eloped with a man of another religion against the wishes of her parents. James Madison? He stated: “Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded project.” He then fought for religious liberty for all, believer and disbeliever, which was no easy task-then or now.
Our constitution was founded with religious FREEDOM as its wording goes. These men left countries where state-sponsored religion dictated your life.
To take the western image of Jesus and to use him that way is a sacrilege. This is nothing more than REVISIONIST history. Seeing enough of this makes people believe that a group of Christians came to this country and wrote the constitution. Not true. Some were, some weren’t, one was possibly an atheist.