By Elizabeth Stitt
The deep purple Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry trees provide a fitting background to one of the most secluded yet central places on campus.
The atrium of the Joseph Smith Building houses a statue depicting Joseph Smith during the First Vision. The small outdoor room is a place of peace, quiet and solitude that many students don''t know about.
Alan Borden, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, visits the atrium at least twice a week before class.
'It drowns out all the noise and it''s peaceful,' Borden said. 'It''s a place where it''s really easy to reflect.'
The atrium and statue were dedicated in 1997, but the story behind it is often untold. Before 1997, the atrium''s original plan was as a Biblical garden, but the garden failed because the characteristic biblical era plants couldn''t survive. By about 1994, the religion department knew it would be replaced.
The graduating class of 1945 wanted to donate a gift for their 50-year reunion, so they decided on a statue for the newly constructed JSB. As costs grew for the gift, several other alumni classes joined, including the classes of 1947, 1955 and 1957.
Religion professor Alan Parrish, chair of the JSB display committee at the time, said they looked for a gift that would best convey the theme and importance of Joseph Smith in the new building.
'Nothing does that as well as the vision statue,' Parrish said. 'Nothing is more key to the Restoration of the Church.'
'The Vision' statue was originally a plaster model of Joseph Smith made by Avard Fairbanks.
Daniel Fairbanks, dean of undergraduate education, is Avard''s grandson. At the statue''s dedication, Daniel Fairbanks explained its origin.
'He had it cast in plaster without a contract or commission, or a site intended for its erection,' Fairbanks said. 'He spoke with me often of his desire that the heroic statue could be cast in bronze and placed somewhere where it could solemnly tell the story of the beginning of the restoration of the Gospel.'
The statue was originally planned to be placed against a wall, so when it was planned for a 3D setting in the atrium, Avard''s son and grandson, finished the back of the statue.
It was then cast in bronze, just as Avard Fairbanks had dreamed, and placed in the atrium.
The unveiling was a private ceremony held in the atrium Oct. 17, 1997. Elder Henry B. Eyring attended the ceremony as well as President Merrill J. Bateman.
At the dedication of the statue, Elder Eyring said one of the great qualities of the sculpture is what is not shown.
'One of the marks of great art is not what it portrays, but what it suggests,' Elder Eyring said. 'There is another figure, not sculpted here, for you to imagine in faith. God the Eternal Father and his Beloved Son Jesus Christ appeared to open this dispensation.'
Fairbanks said he stops by the grove whenever he has a chance because he feels connected to his grandfather''s statue.
'It''s a place where we can go and remember what that statue represents,' Fairbanks said. 'To me it''s a place to contemplate, a place to worship, a place to think about the importance of the Restoration.'
Many students come to the grove to study their scriptures, write in their journals or just ponder about life.
'It''s silent, but it''s still outdoors,' said Jae Clark, a freshman from Sandy. 'There aren''t too many places on campus this quiet. Not even the library is this quiet.'
Students are welcome to sit in the atrium and those involved in its production hope the atmosphere is inspiring.
'The faculty, staff and students who walk around this courtyard will be influenced by it,' President Bateman said at the dedication. 'Not just the 30,000 who are here now, but many in the years to come, student after student.'