LDS Church reopens Church History Museum
Wayne Pullman, a designer who worked on the museum, and his wife Jenifer Pullman, tour exhibits in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland cuts the ribbon during a ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Church Historian Elder Steven E. Snow speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Church Historian Elder Steven E. Snow speaks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
A pocket watch and rifle owned by David W. Patten, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, are pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are seen during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
The facade of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
A Smith patented printing press is pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are pictured during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
A thimble owned by Brigham Young is pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are seen during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are seen during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are seen during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are pictured during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are pictured during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
String used to bind the Book of Mormon and a wallet and pocket watch owned by Martin Harris are pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are pictured during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are seen during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland speaks at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 in Salt Lake City. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum are pictured during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Portraits of John and Clarissa Lyman Smith, which hung in the celestial room in the Nauvoo Temple, are pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
A cane owned by Joseph Knight is pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Wayne Pullman, a designer who worked on the museum, and his wife Jenifer Pullman, tour exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
Iron bars and a stone from the jail in Liberty, Missouri are pictured among exhibits in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Church History Museum during a media event on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. SPENSER HEAPS, Daily Herald
After a year of updates and extensive renovation, the LDS Church History Museum in Salt Lake City is now open to the public with new interactive exhibits.
A special ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday evening to mark the reopening of the museum.
A new permanent exhibit, The Heavens Are Opened, focuses on how the hand of God guided the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through Joseph Smith and the Mormon pioneers.
To teach a new, tech-savvy generation in a meaningful way, the exhibit blends state-of-the-art interactive media with artwork and artifacts.
“One very unique feature of this exhibit is the 220-degree Vision Theater, which allows our visitors to feel as if they’re in the Sacred Grove watching the First Vision unfold,” said Museum Director Alan Johnson.
The new film is considered the centerpiece of the exhibit.
“At the end of the film, you’ll see that we actually take you up through the grove and overlook the valley,” said Mike Weber, senior product manager of the Church History Department. “What we’ve done is we’ve actually had a helicopter come in, tied to a camera with 12 different angles. And it rose through the trees to give us that shot.”
At Tuesday’s ceremony, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke about the importance of the museum and for people and cultures to keep a history of their artifacts, art and more.
“We are thrilled to be here. This has met every expectation,” Holland said. “A sense of honor and respect for the past is essential for any true civilized society.”
Holland noted that as early as 1843 the church was planning a history museum. Six months after Brigham Young and the LDS pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley, they were asked to start collecting artifacts, art pieces and more so their children and posterity would see what the pioneers went through.
“A chance to see something of our history with our own eyes,” Holland said, “the experience inspires us.”
Johnson said visitors can expect a great combination of art, artifacts and multimedia so that stories can be told in a way people prefer to receive information today.
“We’re taking people right to the source material,” Johnson said. “For example, the multiple accounts of the First Vision [of church founder Joseph Smith] — we have copies of those in the gallery space that if people want to look through the actual documents, they’re welcome to do that. In fact, we welcome that.”
There are more artifacts on display than ever before.
“In terms of polygamy, we have firsthand accounts of those impacted by those experiences from their journals, and those are on display here as well,” Johnson said.
An area of the museum has been set aside to highlight the contributions of women in LDS Church history and the organization of the Relief Society.
Another area of the museum tells the story of the martyrdom of Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith.
“I hope that people come to this part in the exhibit and take a moment to realize that these were real people that went through a horrific event and get to know them a little bit better, get to know the context of what happened, and then they can draw their own conclusions about how they feel about those events,” Johnson said.
Maryanne Stewart Andrus, exhibitions and programs manager for the Church History Museum, said visitors will hear new perspectives.
Andrus, who was involved in the planning from the beginning, said one of the most difficult stories to depict was how the church grew simultaneously in Missouri and Kirtland, Ohio. The space is one of her favorite rooms.
The Church History Museum is free and open to the public. The museum will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Sunday.
For more information visit history.lds.org/museum.
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