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Morehouse MLK Chapel Unveils Joseph Smith Portrait for Hall of Honor

The ceremony presented the Latter-day Saint founder through his 1844 anti-slavery platform as a figure in the civil and human rights tradition.

A portrait of Joseph Smith, the first prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is unveiled during Vesper Hour at the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel in Atlanta, Ga., on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
People in the audience interact during Vesper Hour in the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. A newly commissioned portrait of Joseph Smith, first president and prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was unveiled during the service.

Overview

  • The commissioned oil painting, titled "Sunset on Nauvoo" by Connie Lynn Reilly, was unveiled Feb. 1 during the chapel’s Vesper Hour service in Atlanta.
  • The portrait will hang between Abraham Lincoln and former church president Russell M. Nelson within a collection of more than 300 honorees.
  • Dean Rev. Lawrence E. Carter Sr. called Smith "Lincoln before Lincoln" and cited his proposal to abolish slavery as the basis for the recognition.
  • The artwork depicts Smith with a Book of Mormon, the 1846 Nauvoo Temple, and Jacob’s Ladder flowers to communicate Latter-day Saint symbolism.
  • More than 100 people attended, including local church members, with a sermon by Dr. Charles E. Goodman Jr. and music by the Spelman College Glee Ensemble.