an apple in his pocket, full of faith and hope, but equipped with no knowledge of English and even less money.

Out of his hardships and experience, his art found a visual form. His sculpture of a couple struggling to pull a handcart, now displayed on Temple Square, was but a figurative demonstration of his own life.

Knaphus eked out a meager financial existence and often found himself in the employ of the church he loved, underbidding what an artist should have been demanding for projects he had committed to.

After the death of his first wife, he was commissioned by the church to do a sculpture of the angel Moroni that could be placed on the Hill Cumorah----- bringing attention to the prophet whose work marked the end of the Book of Mormon.

Torlief struggled to visualize what the prophet would look like. It apparently is a struggle that took place for a long period of time. He made the issue a matter of prayer and would often go to Ensign Peak for communion with God about the matter.

His second wife, Rebecca Marie Knaphus, said the artist told her once that during this period of time he was visited by Moroni. She said he described him as being dressed in white in a sort of military outfit. It was too sacred an experience for him to elaborate, she said. No details are given about how or where or specifically when this sacred visit occurred. He seldom spoke about it, she added.

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