X
The Billings Montana Temple, located near the Billings Rimrocks, is one of a series of detailed pencil drawings and paintings created by the artist Chad S. Hawkins. In 1989, at the age of seventeen, Chad started this unique temple series, becoming the original LDS artist to involve hidden spiritual images in his artwork.
To the north and east of the city, sandstone cliffs, from 300 to 500 feet high, form a landmark border known as Rimrocks, which rise above the Yellowstone River Valley where Billings is nestled. These sandstone cliffs provide a dramatic setting as the sun creates morning and evening shadows on the rims. A goal of the temple project leaders was to build the temple near the rims while preserving their integrity and natural beauty. In this temple drawing, Chad has sketched Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, in the famous Rimrocks. The Savior is accompanied by his flock of sheep in the rims and among the clouds.
Christ is the Shepherd; his sheepfold is the Church of Jesus Christ (see John 10:14). As we attend the temple, we learn more richly and deeply the purpose of life and the significance of the atoning sacrifice of the Lord, Jesus Christ. The day will come when there will be “one god and one Shepherd over all the earth” (1 Nephi 13:41). “He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom . . .” (Isaiah 40:11).
