Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit Travels across Europe

Brigham Young University’s Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS) sponsored a traveling exhibit on the findings and importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This exhibit has proven to be an effective missionary tool in Europe.

The exhibit helped strengthen relations with leaders and dignitaries in European countries and allowed Church members to share their beliefs with those of other faiths. More than half of those who visited the exhibit were not members of the Church.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of biblical and nonbiblical writings found in caves along the Dead Sea in 1947, contain writings dating as far back as 300 B.C. In the early 1990s, the Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation approached BYU to discuss the possibility of supplying an electronic version of the writings. The initial database was finished in 1999.

The exhibit’s tour, which ended in May, included Austria, Belgium, the British Isles, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.