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History and Religion
Can we know what he looked like?

Can we know what he looked like?

Last updated on: June 16, 2025 at 2:25 pm by Dan Peterson

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Can we know what he looked like? 2025-06-16T14:25:51-06:00 Dan Peterson

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Joseph Smith (portrayed by Paul Wuthrich) working in his garden
(Still photo from the set of ‘Witnesses” by James Jordan)

The authors of the Bible, even across the centuries of its composition and the very different languages in which it was written, share a large number of distinctive traits. Among those, curiously, is a striking lack of interest in describing the principal figures in its narratives.

Can you deduce from the New Testament gospels what Jesus looked like? Do Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us whether he was short or tall? Do they even tell us whether or not he wore a beard? What did Moses look like? We have essentially no idea. And, it scarcely needs to be said, there are no verbal portraits of Abraham or Isaiah or Miriam or Jeremiah or Ezekiel or Mary.

This is not necessarily a general characteristic of ancient literature. We have pretty strong descriptions of Socrates, for example: He is said to have been rather unattractive, to have had a snub nose and protruding eyes, even to have appeared satyr-like.

In this respect, certainly, we moderns tend to be more like the classical Greeks than we are like the biblical authors. We want to know how historical people looked. For the past several generations, of course, we’ve been aided in desire that by photography. We have no need to speculate about the appearance of Abraham Lincoln or Eleanor Roosevelt or Mark Twain or Lorenzo Snow; we have good and reliable images of them.

But such images were possible only after a certain point in the nineteenth century. For instance, since Jane Austen died in 1817 at the age of forty-one, we’re forced to rely largely upon her sister Cassandra’s ability as a water-sketch portraitist for our notion of what Jane looked like. And, although images of Brigham Young abound, we have had no settled certainty as to the appearance of his predecessor, Joseph Smith.

But do we now have a reliable image of the founding prophet of the Restoration? Historian Donald Patrick Bradley Sr. and artist Joseph Brickey think that we may. See their article “Revealing New Rays of Light on the Smith Family Daguerreotype.”

Afa, Laura, Vera, and Isaac Ah Loo (borrowed from the “Go Fund Me” page)

This horrible story emerged from the “No Kings” demonstration in Salt Lake City this past Saturday: “1 man dead after being shot during ‘No Kings’ protest in Salt Lake City”

Had I not been under other preexisting obligations on Saturday, I myself might have been at one of those demonstrations — though most probably in Provo. While I agree that our immigration situation needs to be fixed, that government bloat needs to be reduced, that unelected regulatory agencies need to be brought under (congressional) control, and so forth, I’m troubled by some of the ways in which these changes are being pursued and I’m profoundly troubled by the accretion of yet more power to the imperial presidency. I intensely dislike rule by executive decree, for example, and I was not pleased by Saturday’s militarized birthday parade in Washington DC. (I am both a conservative and a small-“r” republican.) So, although there were almost certainly elements of protest the other day in which I would not have joined, I wouldn’t have been troubled at all by being there under the general banner of “No Kings.”

Still, the specific politics here are of, at most, tertiary significance. What happened on Saturday is a human tragedy, and I want to think about it on a personal level, to put a personal face on it: “‘We lost a very important person’: Family, friends mourn protester killed in ‘No Kings’ protest shooting: Family mourns the loss of Afa Ah Loo, the man killed at ‘No Kings’ protest in SLC”

Afa, Laura, and an unidentified mystery guest at Temple Square during the Christmas season (borrowed from Jaxon Washburn’s Facebook entry)

I hope that Jaxon Washburn won’t mind my borrowing his words (and an image from his Facebook entry) in order to call attention to this tragedy and to the “Go Fund Me” effort that has been undertaken to help a devastated family:

Samoan fashion designer and Latter-day Saint, Arthur Folasa Ah Loo, 39, lost his life as an innocent bystander at yesterday’s “No Kings” Trump protest in Salt Lake City, as local peacekeeping officials sought to apprehend a suspected gunman.

This tragedy makes him the first fatal casualty during a Trump-related demonstration of the president’s second term.

Raised in Samoa, Ah Loo had since lived in Utah where he moved after serving a mission in Salt Lake City and getting married. He attended Brigham Young University – Hawaii and had been a contestant on Bravo’s “Project Runway.”

If you would like to participate in even a small way in the “Go Fund Me” drive that has been established to help Laura Ah Loo, suddenly and tragically widowed, and her two small children, you can do so here. Forget about politics. To me, it’s a way — sadly, a small and utterly inadequate way — to express sorrow, love, and concern. They now face the prospect of many decades without their husband and father.

The Fortaleza Brazil Temple was dedicated on 2 June 2019 by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Media Library)

I close by sharing a trio of irritating and offensive stories that I’ve drawn from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File™:

“The Church of Jesus Christ Donates Bales of Clothes and Boxes of Food for Oklahoma, Texas: Church members coordinate efforts to alleviate food insecurity in Texas, address clothing needs in Oklahoma”

“General Officers See God’s ‘Abundant Love’ During Brazil Ministry: Sister Yee and Sister Spannaus traveled north and south in Brazil, sharing messages of hope, bringing humanitarian support and witnessing the Lord’s hand at work”

Incredibly, although such meddling theistic busybodies deserve to be mocked, condemned and stigmatized, they actually sometimes receive awards. Here’s an example: “Kentucky governor honors Latter-day Saint for her volunteer efforts: ‘When I am serving others, it helps me understand Jesus’ mission better,’ says honoree”

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