The Nike of Samothrace statue (Winged Victory of Samothrace) is my personal favorite work of art in the Louvre. I keep a small replica of it on my desk at home to remind me of this story from President Packer:
Winged Victory of Samothrace - An Experience Related by Elder Boyd K. Packer
The Winged Victory of Samothrace, or the Nike of Samothrace,[2] is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beginning of the 2nd century BCE.
It is composed of a statue representing the goddess Niké (Victory), whose head and arms are missing, and its base in the shape of a ship's bow.
The total height of the monument is 5.57 meters including the socle; the statue alone measures 2.75 meters.
The sculpture is one of a small number of major Hellenistic statues surviving in the original, rather than Roman copies.
Winged Victory has been exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris, at the top of the main staircase, since 1884. At one time it was considered to be the most valuable piece of art in the world.
President Packer recalled one experience in a training meeting when an older teacher delivered a presentation critical of Church history and impugning the integrity of several past and present Church leaders.
The teacher ended his presentation with a call for his peers to “wake up and be more critical and selective.” Asked to comment, Brother Packer arose and felt inspired to speak about the famous Greek sculpture the Winged Victory.
He pointed out that over the years, the statue had suffered many cracks and scrapes and even lost its head and arms, but it was still regarded as immensely valuable.
He explained:
Regarding the Church, I suppose if we look we can find flaws and abrasions and a chip missing here and there. I suppose we can see an aberration or an imperfection in a leader of the past or perhaps the present. Nonetheless, there is still absolute, hard-rock, undeniable, irrefutable proof, because the Church is what it is and because that someone, sometime, with supreme inspired spiritual genius set to work obediently under inspiration and organized it, and so it came into being. It is best that we should enlarge ourselves to appreciate the beauty and genius of it, rather than debunk and look for the flaws.
Brother Packer then cautioned, “My fellow teachers, it isn’t the Church or the gospel that is on trial. We are.”
President Packer kept a small replica of the statue "Winged Victory" in his office.
"He liked this work of art because even though it is less than perfect in appearance, it is still a masterpiece," "President Packer could overlook faults and human frailties and could see the divine in the people and in this great church."
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/by-study-and-also-by-faith/chapter-three-follow-the-brethren-1953-1969?lang=eng
No comments:
Post a Comment