During her tenure as Primary president and editor of "The Children's Friend", Howells commissioned a series of paintings by Arnold Friberg depicting scenes from the Book of Mormon in 1950. Since there was not enough in the magazine's budget to cover the cost of an artist and the church did not supply the funding, Howells funded the project herself by selling her own land. The first painting appeared in "The Children's Friend" in January 1953. Twelve more paintings were featured in the magazine during the next 8 years. In 1953, these paintings received the best magazine insert award from the National Offset-Lithography Competition. These Book of Mormon paintings have been used throughout church curriculum.