Study of "Nephi and His Bow"

Graphite on Paper

10 1⁄2 x 8 in.

1 Nephi 16:23

A portrait of the young prophet Nephi. According to his own description, Nephi was “a man large in stature” (1 Nephi 4:31). Even as a young man Nephi was formidable. Friberg has depicted him with the broad shoulders, muscles, and the cut jaw of a leading man. He also carries a bow with arrows, a reminder of the bow and arrow that Nephi made after the breaking of his steel bow almost led to the starvation of his family (1 Nephi 16:18). In this and in many other crises, Nephi did not succumb to fear and doubt; but instead helped lead his family forward. Perhaps this is why Friberg shows Nephi looking up and to the distance.