Latter-day Saint artist Michael Malm was working on a painting of Jesus Christ when he was struck by the thought, “What if none of this is true?”
He’d been going through a dark time, struggling with his faith and with various ideas about the Book of Mormon. And that day, as he stood on a ladder painting the Savior’s face, he questioned if anything he believed was real.
He struggled with that darkness and heaviness for several days, Malm said. But after being prayerful about his fears and doubts, he realized two things: He knew the Book of Mormon was true, and he knew the Savior was real.
“It was such a contrast to that darkness. ... I just felt that joy that [Jesus Christ] is real,” he said.
Malm told the story during an Evening at the Museum forum hosted by the Church History Museum on Thursday, March 28. During the event, he shared his artistic journey, including how painting the Savior for a variety of projects has strengthened his testimony over the years.
If Latter-day Saints don’t know Malm’s name, they almost certainly know his paintings — he’s the artist behind the mural “Come Unto Jesus,” which spans a second-floor wall of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, LDS Living reported. A smaller version of this mural hangs in the Orem Utah Temple. He also contributed to paintings at the Sacred Grove Welcome Center.
“To me, it’s not about how [Jesus] looks physically [in my paintings], but how He feels. Does He feel right?” Malm said. Experiences like the one he shared about questioning his faith while painting “have really strengthened my testimony.”
‘You’re on the right track’
Malm studied art under Del Parson at what was then Dixie College, now Utah Tech University, and under Perry Steward at Southern Utah University before he earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Utah State University.
Along the way, he met and married his wife, Juanita, and they raised four children while he carved out a living as an artist.
It wasn’t easy, especially at first — Malm said there were times that he and Juanita didn’t know how they would make ends meet, and he questioned if he was on the right path.
But the Lord always came through for their family, Malm said. Once, a newspaper wrote about a gallery his work was in and prominently featured photos of his paintings. “I felt the message from the Lord: ‘Mike, you’re on the right track. You’re going down the [path] that I want you to go.’”
Other times, the blessings were more unexpected but no less valued — like when a truck carrying some of Malm’s unsold work caught fire, and the gallery that had been returning the paintings to Malm compensated him through its insurance policy.
“Let me tell you, we needed [that],” Malm said.
These days, Malm and his family live in Cache Valley, Utah. Malm joked that his family members are “easy targets” for models, which is why they’re so often featured in his work.
Though he has plenty to be proud of, “the best thing that I’ve done in my life is to convince this beautiful woman sitting up here, my wife, Juanita, to marry me and to join me in this journey through life. ... I’m so grateful for her.”
Inspired by religious art
Among the event’s audience members were Elder Hugo E. Martinez, a General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Nuria Alvarez de Martinez.
Elder Martinez said he and Sister Martinez admire Malm’s “Come Unto Jesus” mural in the Conference Center and have spent “quite some time” looking at it.
Elder Martinez noted the mural shows a variety of people who collectively represent humanity, but it also emphasizes how individual each person’s relationship with the Savior is.
“Each [person] is walking directly toward Him and gathering with Him at the center,” Elder Martinez said.
While artists’ approaches to religious subjects vary widely, the beauty of spiritual art is its capacity to inspire the viewer, he added.
“It makes us think of ... [the] commitment that we have to really approach the Savior,” Elder Martinez said. “That’s what I’m finding out here.”