“Throwing away a copy of the Book of Mormon seems like throwing away someone’s opportunity to grow closer to Jesus Christ, and I could not let that happen,” Sister Tuck said in an email interview with LDS Living. This is what led Sisters Kellie Tuck and Autumn Dickey, who are currently serving in the England Leeds Mission, to spend three days transforming a waterlogged copy of the Book of Mormon into a mosaic of Christ.
The idea of creating a mosaic of Christ seemed to come “out of thin air,” as Sister Tuck described.
Sister Dickey recalled, “Sister Tuck and I were sitting across [from] each other, unsure how to go forward with missionary work. My eyes rested upon the waterlogged Book of Mormon we had been told should be thrown out. I just remember opening my mouth and saying the words, ‘Let's use this Book of Mormon to make a mosaic.’ It wasn't even much of thought. If it was, I know God put it there.”
After discussing the idea, Sisters Tuck and Dickey decided to create a mosaic of the Savior instead of anything or anyone else, because the Book of Mormon is all about Him. They chose to use a galaxy as a background that transitions into sunshine, meant to depict how Christ is “the beginning and the end” (see Alma 11:39).
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When asked why the Book of Mormon is so precious to her personally, Sister Tuck replied, “The Book of Mormon doesn't fix any of my struggles or trials, but when I read it, I find a way through those struggles and trials. The Book of Mormon has the power to change who I am into who Christ needs me to be.”
In response to the same question, Sister Dickey stated, “I have found answers from the Book of Mormon that have completely changed my life. Without that book, I would not be on a mission and, simply put, would not be who I am today.”
Sisters Tuck and Dickey created the mosaic gradually—scrap by scrap. They recognize that our relationships with Christ are also created day by day, and so they offered a few ideas for creating a life filled with His light.
“The best way to come to know Him is to spend time with Him,” Sister Dickey stated. “Our study of the Book of Mormon is one way to spend time with our Savior. As I have studied the Book of Mormon over the last [few] months, in and out of lockdown, I have felt not only like I know the Savior, but that I am walking beside Him.”
Sister Tuck suggests, “To ensure that Christ is the focus of our lives, visually see Him. Not just in your mind, but on your wall. Put up pictures of Him. Simply noticing Him will naturally help your mind think of Him. When I see Christ on my wall, I see Him in my life.”
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One way that Sisters Tuck and Dickey see Him in their lives is because “Christ takes our rough, rigid, and frayed pieces, and puts them together,” as Sister Tuck wrote in her Facebook post about the mosaic. She recognizes that this holds true in the scriptures and in her personal life.
Sister Tuck gives an example of Alma the Younger in the Book of Mormon: “Through the light of Christ, Alma the Younger turned his life around. Christ took his ‘rough, rigid, and frayed pieces,’ and strengthened them. No matter how damaged Alma’s pieces seemed, Christ was still able to make them new.”
She believes “rough, rigid, and frayed pieces” in her own life are why she needed to serve a full-time mission. “I was attending a university and I knew what I wanted to do and how to do it. I didn’t realize that I had ‘rough, rigid, and frayed pieces’ that needed to be touched up,” she said. “But Christ knew. Just when I thought I had the next few years of my life figured out, Christ helped me to realize that I needed to go on a mission. . . . Only here in England would I learn what I need to. A change of plans was the plan," Sister Tuck stated.
Sister Dickey has also personally experienced Christ putting together her broken pieces. While at the Missionary Training Center in Preston, England, she received constructive criticism from one of her teachers to improve at planning and teaching with a companion. Her heart dropped, and she recalled turning to the scriptures for comfort:
“I'm not sure what scripture it was, but the message I received was clear. I needed to be humble, I needed to admit that I could not be a missionary on my own, I needed to apologize, and I needed to repent. At this moment, my heart that had dropped previously seemed to hit the ground and break into a million pieces.
“Hours later, as my companion prepared for bed, I stole away to our room. I knelt and prayed earnestly for what was very easily the first time in my life, knowing that if anyone needed help, Sister Dickey sure did. As soon as I uttered the words, ‘I'm sorry, please help me,’ I felt an overwhelming love. I sat there and sobbed.
“The rest of my MTC experience was a joyful blur. My testimony of Christ's infinite Atonement was strengthened and has helped me immensely through this past year of my missionary service.
“Yes, Christ has power to forgive sins, but he also has power to heal our hearts, smooth our rough edges, and glue back together our broken pieces.”
This mosaic of Christ represents hours of a careful and tedious labor of love, but perhaps more importantly, it embodies Sister Tuck’s and Sister Dickey’s testimonies of Jesus Christ.
“I know that Christ knows each and every one of us,” Sister Tuck testified. “He knows you and loves you. He thought of you and everything you will go through. He hurt as he suffered for your pains. But, He did it. He did it because He wants to live with you again. I know Christ will walk with you every step of the way.”
In her Facebook post about the mosaic, Sister Dickey wrote, “We may be damaged like this copy of the Book of Mormon was, our pages might be torn and wrinkled, but there is a bigger plan. Jesus Christ is the life and the light of the world. If you feel especially dark, think of Him, and cry out to Him. His light will shine through those clouds and into your heart, He will paint you a more beautiful picture than you could ever imagine, and you will know that He is there just for you.”
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Images courtesy of Sisters Tuck and Dickey
