The Boston Globe, USA Today, and other news media outlets across the nation have reported on a picture of Jesus Christ that miraculously survived a fire that consumed the First Baptist Church in Boston, leaving nothing behind but a charred frame and ash. The fire began after lightning struck the historic church, built in 1872.
The Boston Globe reports:
In a statement, church officials expressed gratitude that no parishioners were hurt and thanked firefighters for battling the seven-alarm blaze. “We know that we serve a God who specializes in restoring brokenness and who can bring beauty even from ashes,” they wrote. “So we move into the future with trust, hope, and gratitude.”
Susan Auld, a former parishioner of the church who saw it burn, told The Boston Globe, “When the windows were all aglow — every stained glass window was aglow — it looked like you were looking into hell."
Another parishioner, Maria Kakalowski, told Boston 25 News about the salvaged painting, "I'm personally taking it as a sign and a reminder that the Jesus, the Christ that we serve is still alive and even though our church building is gone our church is here and the God we serve is still here."
Strangely enough, similar experiences have happened within Latter-day Saint sacred buildings of worship.
When the Provo Tabernacle burned to the ground, many shared the story of a picture of Christ that was miraculously salvaged from the wreckage.
When most of the building was reduced to ashes, this picture survived and the image of Christ in its center remained untouched.
Image from KSL
During the Saturday morning session of April 2017 general conference, Elder Mark A. Bragg told the story of L.A. firefighters who worked to save sacred artifacts from a burning chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
I felt that joy when I heard about the efforts of a brave group of firefighters who fought to save a burning stake center in Southern California in 2015. As the fire raged, a battalion commander called an [Latter-day Saint] friend to ask where the sacred relics and sacrament cups were kept so they could be saved. His friend assured him that there were no sacred relics and that the sacrament cups were actually very, very replaceable. But the commander felt he should do more, so he sent firefighters back into the burning building to pull every painting of Christ off of the walls that they might be preserved. They even placed one in the firetruck in the hope that the firefighters might be watched over. I was truly touched by the commander’s kindness, goodness, and sensitivity to the Light during a dangerous and difficult time.
In a darkening world, the Light of Christ will shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day!
Cory Hansen shared a picture from this event on Twitter:
LA firefighters remove paintings of #Jesus from burning church. One placed in fire truck to inspire. #ldsconf pic.twitter.com/71UfZ9fUqk
— #24601 (@cory_hansen) April 1, 2017