Portrait of Joseph Smith Unveiled at Morehouse College

A portrait of the Prophet Joseph Smith was added to the International Hall of Honor in Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, February 1, 2026.

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The hall includes more than 300 oil portraits of global leaders of the international civil and human rights movement. A portrait of the late President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was added to the historically Black college’s hall in 2023. Joseph’s portrait will go between President Nelson and Abraham Lincoln.

One significant way Joseph Smith advocated for basic rights for all came during his presidential run of 1844. While weaving in excerpts from the Book of Mormon and the text of the Prophet’s presidential platform, the Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr., dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, called Smith’s plan to abolish slavery “among the most morally ambitious proposals of the antebellum era.”

The Rev. Dr. Carter praised the Prophet’s “moral courage” in the pursuit of the presidency, noting that what he did was essentially a “death warrant.”

“He knew what he was doing. It didn’t stop him,” the Rev. Dr. Carter said. “Think of the implications. If he had won, look at all of the lives that would have been saved that were lost in the Civil War.”

In his campaign pamphlet, the Prophet said that when people “petitioned to abolish slavery in the slave states, I would use all honorable means to have their prayers granted and give liberty to the captive.”

“We were not ready, as Lincoln said, to be guided by our better angels, to do what Christ said we should do,” the Rev. Dr. Carter said. “Joseph Smith Jr. was Lincoln before Lincoln.”

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In an interview a few days prior to Sunday’s portrait unveiling, Church Historian Spencer McBride explained that although the Prophet’s campaign for the nation’s highest office was a longshot, his presidential platform was a “wonderful exposition” of how to fix the problems of the time.

The Rev. Dr. Carter said on Sunday that although the Prophet’s plan was never realized, “it endures as a prophetic witness to what America might have been — a testament to the belief that freedom is not merely a political achievement, but a sacred obligation, owed to every human being fashioned in the image of God.”

Noting the Book of Mormon teaching that God invites “all to come unto him — black and white, bond and free,” the Rev. Dr. Carter said “Smith’s revelations affirmed a gospel preached without racial distinction.”

The Rev. Dr. Carter also quoted the Prophet’s call to “break off the shackles from the poor black man and hire him to labor like other human beings.”

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“[Joseph Smith’s] opposition to slavery was rooted not merely in humanitarian sentiment, but in a theological certainty: the equality of human souls before God,” he said.

The portrait, titled “Sunset on Nauvoo,” itself reflects Joseph Smith’s legacy. Connie Lynn Reilly, the artist, painted a standing Joseph Smith holding a copy of the Book of Mormon with the Nauvoo Temple in the background and Jacob’s Ladder (a flower in Illinois) in the foreground to the Prophet’s right.

Speaking of worship in the temple, Reilly stated, “The sacred flowers are symbolic of our progression and going rung by rung to the very top as we go through and make sacred covenants.”

Craig Ballard, a third great-grandnephew of the Prophet and chairman of the Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Foundation and Association, said his ancestors would be proud of this moment.

“The fact that Morehouse College wanted to and was excited about having a portrait of the Prophet is really meaningful to us,” Ballard said. “I think on the other side of the veil there are a lot of smiles tonight. The painting was beautiful.”

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The portrait coming to Morehouse resonated deeply with Black Latter-day Saints who witnessed the unveiling.

The Genesis Group’s William Kennedy was one of them. The Genesis Group is a multi-stake activities group in the Church’s Utah Area. Established nearly 55 years ago, it helps Black Latter-day Saints and their families, friends and others build faith in Jesus Christ, foster unity and strengthen their membership in the Church.

Kennedy said the addition of a painting of Joseph Smith at Morehouse College is appropriate because of the Prophet’s expansive and inclusive teachings.

“Joseph Smith talks about every kindred, tongue and people to be taught the gospel,” Kennedy said. “Unfortunately, it took a little bit longer than expected, but I think it’s still something that we should celebrate as Black Latter-day Saints — that we’re pressing forward. That’s what matters.”

The placement of portraits of the Prophet Joseph Smith and President Nelson at Morehouse College is an exciting and educational development for local Black Latter-day Saints.

For Cassie VanDyke of Atlanta, the portraits will help her teenage son feel more comfortable in the faith as he grows older. Cassie said she can see how difficult it is for him to reconcile his identity as both a Black man and a Latter-day Saint.

“There is a bit of a chasm there,” Cassie explained.

Recently, when the family attended a concert at Morehouse — their son’s first time at the school — “he was so thrilled” at seeing President Nelson’s portrait, Cassie said.

“For him to have that opportunity here to see someone that represents who he is, to see he can be a college student at Morehouse and an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — that is everything. I’m excited for him. I’m also, as a mother, extremely grateful.”

The Rev. Dr. Carter said he has felt urged to lift Joseph Smith from the shadows.

“I think he deserves to be lifted up, and I feel him calling me to lift the veil,” the Rev. Dr. Carter said. “And that’s what I intend to do.”

Kennedy said Sunday’s event is about more than what Joseph Smith did in the past. It is also about the future.

“What we can do as members of the Church is seek after those that don’t look like us, that don’t share the same faith, and seek after those that we can find common ground and become true peacemakers,” he said.

The Rev. Dr. Carter echoed that idea.

“We have got to think about everybody’s humanity, irrespective of our nationality, our race, ethnicity, culture, economics — all the things that labels we use to divide ourselves,” he said. “We have got to think holistically, comprehensively, inclusively.”