LDS Scene

Ambassador to Gambia Visits Church Headquarters

During a recent visit to the United States, George Haley, U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Gambia, met with the First Presidency in Salt Lake City and toured the Family History Library, Temple Square, and Church welfare facilities.

As might be expected, Ambassador Haley, brother of Roots author Alex Haley, was impressed by the Family History Library, which had assisted his late brother in research for his best-selling book. But Ambassador Haley was also impressed with how the Church helps families and individuals through its humanitarian efforts.

Old Mormon Fort Rebuilt in Las Vegas

Many of southern Nevada’s governmental leaders joined with hundreds of Church members and others in Las Vegas, Nevada, recently to celebrate the dedication of the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort.

The adobe fort, constructed in 1855 by 30 missionaries sent by Brigham Young to settle the region, is Nevada’s newest “historic park.” It is located on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

Since 1937 the site, which marks the birthplace of what is now Las Vegas, has been gradually preserved, rebuilt, and reconstructed by Church members and by the department of Nevada State Parks. “The old fort has always been a symbol of our pioneer heritage,” said Rulon Earl, 89, whose ancestors helped settle southern Nevada in the late 1800s.

Visitors to the fort can see a re-creation of a pioneer garden, corrals similar to those used by the missionaries, and portions of the original fort as well as the reconstructed section.

Legacy Continues

With the March opening of the new film The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building at Church headquarters, Legacy has been moved to the North Visitors’ Center on Temple Square.

“The First Presidency wanted to continue to make this amazing story of faith and courage available to all who wish to see it,” explained Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Seventy, executive director of the Church’s Audiovisual Department.

Showings of Legacy are at 1:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. every day except Sunday. No tickets are required.

To obtain free tickets for The Testaments, call 1-801-240-4383, or call toll-free 1-800-453-3860, ext. 2-4383, in the U.S. and Canada.

Museum Displays The Beehive Image

Through November 2000, the Museum of Church History and Art is exhibiting The Beehive Image: Symbol of Industry and Cooperation. The new exhibit features the beehive as an ancient and modern symbol of industry and community harmony.

The display includes everything from the original brass doorknobs of the Salt Lake Temple to t-shirts and novelty items.

“The beehive has been the most enduring of Latter-day Saint symbols,” said Robert O. Davis, exhibit curator. “For centuries, prophets, politicians, and poets used this symbol as an example of good social order.”

The exhibit is open to the public from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. Monday through Friday and from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. on Saturdays, Sundays, and most holidays. Admission is free. For more information call 1-801-240-3310, or call toll-free 1-800-453-3860, ext. 2-4615, in the U.S. and Canada.

Ambassador George Haley visits Welfare Square with Marvin Lewis, bishops’ storehouse manager. (Photo by Glen K. Lund.)

Church members and friends met with government leaders in Las Vegas to dedicate a restoration of the Old Mormon Fort, built in 1855. (Photo courtesy of Church News.)

These 19th and 20th century relics are among those on display in a beehive exhibit at the Museum of Church History and Art.