Mark Mabry: Reflections of Christ Photographer Faced Nine Months of No Faith

The car was quiet. Mark Mabry's wife had asked him to come to the temple. Her father had flown in. They were already late. Somewhere on the way, he stopped pretending. "I don't even think I believe this stuff." She turned to him. Her face went pale. Of all the things she had ever thought she would hear him say, this was not one of them. Mark had been the man who photographed Jesus Christ for the world. He had created the first mainstream photographs of the Savior, images that had reached millions. And now he was telling his wife he did not believe.

Mark Mabry is the creator of Reflections of Christ, a body of photographic work that changed how a generation sees the Savior. His images have hung in homes, galleries, and Church-affiliated spaces across the world. But behind the work is a man whose faith cracked open in 2016 under the weight of hard questions he could not answer.

In a recent episode of Why We Believe, host Nathan Gwilliam sat down with Mark to walk through the full arc. The bishop who arrived unannounced years before the crisis. The blessing that promised millions would see the work. The nine-month wrestle, the canyon walk, and the answer Mark found waiting on the other side. This is the story he shared.

A Bishop at the Door

Years before the crisis, Mark had been quietly praying about his career. He was a photographer in his thirties, with kids who were starting to play tee ball, and the wedding work that paid the bills was eating his weekends. He asked Heavenly Father what to do next, and the answer he received was not what he expected. Get rid of all your music. Throw away your art books. Mark did both, even though neither prompting made any sense to him at the time.

Then came an impression to do photographic work depicting the life of Jesus Christ. No one had done that before. The Church handbook did not even permit it as an art form yet. Mark called a friend named Nancy Woodell, who ran the local Easter pageant, and floated the idea. He had not told anyone else.

A few days later, his bishop arrived unannounced. He sat down at Mark's kitchen table and told him he was there to set him apart as a photographer. The blessing that followed promised that millions of people would one day see the work. That promise was given before social media existed. Every detail of the blessing has since come true.

Nine Months of No Faith

Years passed. Mark created Reflections of Christ. The images traveled the world. Then, in 2016, something broke. He woke up one morning with no faith at all. He could not explain it. He had not done anything to invite it. There were no scandals, no shocking discoveries, no moral collapse. He just woke up and the conviction was gone.

For nine months he kept everything outwardly the same. He taught gospel doctrine. He paid his tithing. He held a temple recommend. Inside, he wrestled with a question he could not answer. Was any of this real?

The breaking point came in the car on the way to the temple. His wife had asked him to come. Her father had flown in. They were running late. Mark finally told her the truth. I don't even think I believe this stuff. His wife wept. She told him that of all the things she had ever thought she would hear him say, that one had never crossed her mind.

A Canyon Walk and Burned Grass

That spring his parents invited him and his wife to come to Hobble Creek Canyon to watch general conference. Mark agreed without telling them what he was carrying. He walked into the house planning to slip out for a run as soon as he could.

Then Elder Uchtdorf began to speak, and his voice struck a chord. Mark sat still. He looked like he was listening. What was actually happening was something else. Every testimony-building moment of his life was flooding back. The repentance of a seventeen-year-old. His mission. The birth of his children. The making of Reflections of Christ. They came back to him, but with a different flavor.

After the talk, Mark told his wife he was going for a walk. She asked if she could come. They walked together down the canyon, past the grass that was regrowing where a wildfire had burned the slopes the season before. She asked him how he was doing. Mark told her his testimony felt exactly like that grass. The undergrowth had been torched. What was coming back was fresh and new. And it was less about the Church and more about Jesus Christ Himself.

Why He Still Believes

When Nathan asked Mark why he believes today, Mark gave one answer. Repentance works. He explained that the moment he turns with willingness to change, a warmth fills his heart that is unmistakably from Jesus Christ. The framework of His Church gives him the same warmth when he reads the scriptures, when he serves, when a conference talk hits him at the right moment. It is no longer doctrine he holds at arm's length. It is the lived experience of being met by the Savior.

Mark also talked about how he recognizes the Spirit now. His patriarchal blessing told him he would do things that felt like his own desires and only later realize they were God. He saw that play out the day his wife told him she was pregnant, and the warmth in his chest told him that child was meant to come. He sees it in the canyon walk, in the bishop at his door, in the red of his crucifixion image that he later traced back to Russian artists he fell in love with on his mission in St. Petersburg.

Take the Walk

Mark Mabry's faith did not survive nine months of doubt because he held on tighter. It survived because he kept walking. He kept teaching gospel doctrine when he had nothing to say. He kept paying his tithing when he was not sure why. He kept going to his parents' house for conference when he would have rather been alone. The Savior found him in the canyon, but only because he was still walking.

If you are in a season of wrestle, take the walk anyway. Show up to the things you would normally do. Listen for the voice. Trust that the Savior is closer than your doubts can convince you He is. Repentance works, and so does showing up.

Key Takeaways

Mark Mabry's story is a reminder that faith centered on the Church can crack, but faith centered on Christ can bend and come back stronger. His life shows how the Lord prepares His servants long before the calling arrives, often through small promptings. Repentance works, and the feeling that comes after genuine repentance is unmistakably from Jesus. Talents and creative gifts find their highest purpose when offered back to God to draw others closer to Christ. And repentance brings near-immediate warmth from a loving Savior who forgives more quickly than we expect.

Thank you for reading this week's blog post inspired by the Why We Believe show. If you are interested in more stories like this, you can check out our other blog posts and episodes at WhyWeBelieve.com.

Follow the Why We Believe Show: Website: WhyWeBelieve.com | YouTube: @WhyWeBelieveShow | LinkedIn: @Why-We-Believe-Show | Instagram: @WhyWeBelievePodcast

Follow Nathan Gwilliam: LinkedIn: @NathanGwilliam

Follow Mark Mabry: Instagram (Personal): @itsmabry | Instagram (Reflections of Christ): @reflectionsofchrist | Facebook: @itsmabry | LinkedIn: @MarkMabryJr | Website: ReflectionsofChrist.org