Jesus Christ Being Baptized by Casey Childs

February — Jesus Christ Being Baptized
Scripture: 2 Nephi 31:12

The second painting in the series shifts from the still intimacy of January’s portrait to a moment of ritual and movement. In this luminous work by Casey Childs, Jesus is shown waist-deep in water, eyes closed, his body relaxed into the hands of John the Baptist. Sunlight glances off the surface of the river and filters through the trees. Overhead, a white dove breaks through the brush—a symbol not of spectacle, but of spiritual descent.

There is no crowd, no visible ceremony beyond the act itself. The composition focuses instead on the quiet gravity of the ordinance: Christ submitting not out of necessity, but obedience. The expression on His face is one of peace, not performance. In visual terms, it underscores what Latter-day Saints believe baptism to be—not simply a rite, but a covenant.

Here, in a scene drawn from both New Testament and Book of Mormon scripture, the Savior is not teaching, healing, or calling. He is showing—wordlessly—how the path begins.

Oil on canvas

24 x 30 in.