Biblical artists who tried to recreate Moses and the ten commandments faced many challenges. Nowhere in the scriptures is there an indication of the size of the tablets, their weight, their thickness, or any other physical details.

Arnold Friberg faced a similar challenge when he sought to depict the Liahona. All the artist had to work with was this  scripture from the Book of Mormon: “It was a round ball of curious workmanship; and it was fine brass. And within the ball were two spindles; and the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness.”

There is a lack of artistic descriptive words. Nowhere is there a description of its appearance or its size in any greater detail for Friberg to use.

In the end Friberg decision was to make the Liahona an object that could be easily transported. The artist decided that it would be approximately five inches in diameter so that it could fit comfortably in a man’s hand. Friberg also felt that since it was round, the Liahona would probably have some sort of stand to hold it while not in use. So a round stand with three legs were created into which the Liahona would rest.

Arnold Friberg was working as a freelance artist in Chicago when he met Hedve. She grew up in the small town of American Fork, Utah and was not used to the cosmopolitan life that Friberg new well. She took in a room at the Friberg’s home, but it was at church that the two got to know each other well.

Hedve shared with Friberg the Mormon faith and as luck would have it she was assigned to same committee as the famous artist, the decoration committee. The two would help prepare the cultural hall for dances and other various LDS church sponsored activities. Friberg was excited that Hedve was on the same committee. He always felt that the only way to know someone was by working with them.

The two became close friends by the time Friberg was drafted as a result of World War II. The friendship led to marriage.

When the LDS artist Gary Kapp was 13 years old he would spend hours and hours looking at Arnold Friberg’s pictures from the Book of Mormon. Kapp credits Friberg for providing the inspiration to become an artist.

Kapp graduated from LDS owned BYU and studied one summer under another famous Mormon artist, Kenneth Riley. Like Friberg, Kapp went to work for Hollywood, spending nearly ten years creating artwork for various films. After a success commercial art career, Kapp went to painting full time. Also like Friberg, Kapp painted numerous western scenes.

The LDS artist attributes much of his success to his own Mormon pioneer heritage. The artists work hangs in galleries in Texas, Arizona, Wyoming and in major collections throughout the United States.

Although he has not achieved the massive success of Friberg, Kapp plays an important role in the modern LDS art world.

Arnold Friberg turned to Church leaders for historical and doctrinal suggestions before he started painting the scenes from the Book of Mormon. The artist had questions about antiquity and archeological findings as well as about hair length and clothing but was surprised to find that opinions varied from LDS leader to LDS leader. And with that variation grew a personal frustration in attempting to paint another’s artistic interpretation of scripture when Friberg had thoughts of his own.

Friberg wanted to paint heroes that appeared legendary in stature. The artist thought the idea that mankind is wretched and little is wrong. Friberg has said that the muscularity in my paintings is only an expression of the spirit within. When the artist painted Nephi, he painted the interior, the greatness, the largeness of spirit. This artistic philosophy too often left him feeling ostracized.

After Arnold Friberg’s first wife’s death in 1986 a darkness came into his pictures. But happier times were around the corner.

Friberg spent several weeks working at Buckingham Palace and at Windsor Castle on the royal equestrian portrait.

Harry Anderson painting, The Second Coming, will likely be recognized by LDS church members. It is much like Arnold Friberg’s famous paintings of the Book of Mormon. But LDS church members may not be familiar with the artists who created them.

Like Friberg, Harry Anderson was born in Chicago and attended a University in the state of Illinois. He didn’t grow up Mormon and never became a member. In his sophomore year in college the then undiscovered artist enrolled in a still-life painting class to fill an elective. It’s then that he discovered his hidden artistic talent.

Struggling as an artist during the great depression luck found his way and he slowly started receiving commissions from National magazines. So like Arnold Friberg he worked as a commercial artist in his younger years.

After joining the Seventh Day Adventist church, Anderson started painting pictures of Jesus Christ. The artist would switch between commercials artwork and painting pictures of Christ. The Mormon Church commissioned Anderson for a painting for the 1964 world’s fair. He would do a lot of artwork for the Mormon church, but never became a member. He refused to do any paintings about the Book of Mormon or the restoration.

Arnold Friberg went through years of rigorous training as a freelance artist and as an art student in Chicago. But in spite of all the art training Friberg’s big break did not come until 1937 when the Northwest Paper Company, a manufacturer of fine printing paper, commissioned the artist to create a pictorial symbol for the Northwest Mounted Police department.

From Arnold Friberg’s first illustration of the “Mounties,” to his last, the famous artists depictions of athletic uniformed men became the collector’s items and helped make Friberg the only American invited to be honorary member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. His series of three hundred paintings over a thirty-eight-year commission is recognized as the longest running series of illustrations in advertising history.

By age thirteen, Arnold Friberg turned pro and was working for a sign painter. At fourteen, the young artist enrolled in the Federal Schools of Minneapolis, a correspondence school for commercial artists. Before the year ended, Friberg was self-employed, painting signs and displays for theaters, real-estate entrepreneurs, and the manager of the local wrestling arena. By age fifteen, the young artist had been hired by Safeway grocery store to paint signs, and a local vaudeville production had employed him to do “chalk talk” acts on stage. Friberg liked “chalk talk.” On stage he drew legendary characters to the delight of cheering crowds.

Last week, Arnold Friberg auctioned off his painting The Light of Christ. Although the final bid amount has not been released yet it was estimated the art would sell for an amount between $700,000 and $1,000,000.

Friberg wants to auction off his most famous painting from his art collection, The Prayer At Valley Forge, which is predicted to sell for in the millions.

After high school graduation, Arnold Friberg received unusual advice from his LDS bishop, who generally counseled young men to serve missions: Forego the mission. The Mormon bishop told Friberg to “Go to art school instead, for you will do more good through developing your talent than you could do in two years of door-to-door tracting.” Following that advice “with alacrity,” Friberg entered the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts.

In high school, crowds cheered Arnold Friberg’s athletic performance on the football field and in the boxing arena, but in greatest success came in the field of art. He did not like to paint things from his own life but rather paint things of great antiquity. In recognition of his talent, Friberg received three national art awards before high school graduation.