New LDS Church History Library

Opening of a new library is an event in our household. We have been known to take out-of-town visitors on a tour of the local public library as a treat. We are especially anxious to visit the new Church History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City, Utah. Not to be confused with the Family History Library, the new structure opened for the first visits on June 12 and 13, 2009. As reported in the Church's Newsroom, " After 15 years of planning, four years of construction and a million artifacts moved, Elder Marlin K. Jensen from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints placed the last historical item on the shelf in the new Church History Library in front of local media."

The article goes on to explain the importance of the last book on the shelf,

Jensen, the historian and recorder of the Church, explained that this last item was one of the 100 scrapbooks kept by President David O. McKay. “It is a personal record filled with photos, letters and journal entries that documented his travels as an apostle in 1921 to the far corners of the earth.” Elder McKay’s world tour took him 55,000 miles to such countries as Australia, France, England, Italy, Switzerland, Samoa, Palestine, India and Egypt to survey the Church’s missions. One photograph captured a moment in Egypt with Elder McKay and his traveling companion, Hugh J. Cannon, both sitting on camels in front of the famous Sphinx. Elder Jensen was joined by President McKay’s grandson, Alan Ashton, when the journal was placed in one of the many vaults of the Church History Library.

You may wish to read the entire article, please go to Media Sees Rare Historical Treasures at Tour of New Church History Library