John Hafen — Financial Provision for Art Mission

During a period of significant financial struggle, John Hafen, a devout Latter-day Saint artist, felt a divine calling to use his talents to glorify God by painting murals for the Salt Lake Temple. Despite having only three cents in his pocket at one point, he maintained his conviction that his plan was divinely inspired. He approached the First Presidency of the Church, who, recognizing the lack of qualified artists to decorate the temple, authorized the subsidization of an 'art mission' to France. The Church provided $2,160 to fund the studies of Hafen and his colleagues, Lorus Pratt and John Fairbanks, allowing them to train at the Académie Julian in Paris.