I smile every time I see this relief on the face of the Joseph Smith Building at BYU. To me (and probably only to me), it looks like Smith is electrifying nearby people with the rays emanating from his hands. I made this juvenile observation back in high school, but it has stayed with me.

Regarding this relief, something dawned on me today (and this will totally betray my nerdiness): Here, Joseph Smith resembles the 19th century inventor Nikola Tesla! So I created a side-by-side comparison and added it to my LDS leader look-a-likes post.

Okay, granted. They don’t really bear a physical resemblance. But their presentation in these pictures is very similar—their gesture, their stance, their clothes. And most strikingly, they both hold in their hands an incredible source of power. For Smith, it’s the “word of God”; for Tesla, orbs of electricity.

I know it’s not the funniest comparison, but I’ll be damned if it’s not unique!