Imagine the expression on George Q. Cannon's face when, in the spring of 1890, two determined young men came to talk to him about embarking on an LDS mission.But not a Mormon proselytizing mission — an art mission.Cannon, first counselor to church President Wilford Woodruff, listened to the unconventional proposal of budding artists John Hafen and Lorus Pratt. Both were in search of an opportunity to expand their talents. The young men felt that by going to Paris to learn painting techniques, they could return and share what God wanted them to do."I (had) made it a matter of prayer for many years that (God) would open a way whereby I could receive the training which would benefit me to decorate his holy temples and the habitations of Zion," Hafen reminisced in Martha Bradley and Lowell Durham's article "John Hafen and the Art Missionaries" from the Journal of Mormon History.After much prayer, the First Presidency acknowledged Hafen and Pratt's request to go to Paris and set them apart as official "art missionaries" for the church.The decision was in perfect tandem with the precedent Brigham Young set regarding the Saints and the arts.President Young, a fervent champion of the arts, was known to dismiss "tight-laced religious professors of the present generation (who) have a horror at the sound of a fiddle." Instead, he once declared that were he marooned on an island of cannibals, the first thing he would do to "civilize" the inhabitants would be to construct a theater.Brigham did just that upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, establishing the Musical and Dramatic Association — which later became the Deseret Dramatic Association — in 1850.This enthusiasm was passed to his successors, who likewise encouraged exploration of the arts among the Saints. President Wilford E. Woodruff even decided to send others besides Hafen and Pratt on art missions, including John B. Fairbanks, Edwin Evans and Herman Haag.In "Harvesting the Light: The Paris Art Mission and Beginnings of Utah Impressionism," Linda Jones Gibbs wrote that as apostles bid the missionaries farewell, they counseled the young men to stay away from trouble and temptation, but to "see everything on earth that you can."The missionaries boarded the steamship Nevada for London on June 23, 1890. They were intent on making the experience spiritual and productive. They made up a rule that if one of them neglected producing a new sketch each day, that unlucky elder would be fined 10 cents."The only fine imposed ... on our trip was on Lorus," Hafen recalled. "One day he was so busy teaching the gospel to fellow passengers (on the steamer) that he forgot to make a sketch so he had to fork over ten cents."In London, the elders purchased supplies and toured art museums. They reached Paris on July 24, 1890 — exactly 43 years after the Saints reached the Salt Lake Valley.In Paris, Impressionism was at its peak: Monet, Degas and Renoir were all actively pursuing their craft. The young Mormon artists, however, didn't become heavily involved in the Impressionist movement. They were enrolled in the prestigious but more conservative Julian Academy.It fit with their goals of learning the basis, the truth of art, in order to better serve the growing church.With the Salt Lake Temple nearing its 1893 completion, their timing couldn't have been better. In 1892, Hafen was the first to return home to begin work on the Garden Room mural.Hafen wrote to his fellow missionaries still studying and told them how close the temple was to being done — and how he needed their help with the other murals. Fairbanks and Evans would heed Hafen's call and return to paint the original World Room murals.Likely none of these faithful "art missionaries" realized the lasting impression their diligent studies and beautiful handiwork would make on temple attendees throughout the years.
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