Blessed Is She That Believed

by Elspeth Young

Blessed Is She That Believed
Original Oil Painting

Blessed Is She That Believed
11 x 17

Blessed Is She That Believed
8 x 10

Blessed Is She That Believed
5 x 7

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

“And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode Peter, and James, and John… These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the Mother of Jesus…”

Acts 1:13-14

THE STORY IN THE PAINTING

Mary is worshipping in the upper room with the twelve apostles and other faithful disciples of the Savior after their return to Jerusalem (see Acts 1). The light which shines on the figure represents the gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed on the Day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:1-4) as well as the light of her testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ. The name of the painting is taken from Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary as recorded in Luke 1:41-45. This depiction of Mary after the Savior’s Resurrection represents her continued faith in enduring to the end.

SYMBOLISM IN THE PAINTING

Mary’s head wrap is white, symbolic of her purity and integrity and that she is “highly favored” and “blessed…among women” (Luke 1:28, 42). The jewelry she wears is also a reminder that she is favored of the Lord, symbolic of the Lord’s promise found in 2 Nephi 24:16-17 (see also Malachi 3:16-17). It states: “Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another…And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels…”

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WOMAN’S SOCIETY/CULTURE

This stone-walled “upper room” in which we see Mary depicted, was a chamber formed from the terrace of an Israelite dwelling. Sometimes surrounded by a balustrade, sometimes roofed in, this room was used for teaching and for the comfort and convenience of house guests.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Stapfer, Edmond D. D. Palestine in the Time of Christ. Translated by Annie Harwood Holmden. New York: A. C. Armstrong & Son, 1885.