Church History Museum

Purpose

The purpose of the Church History Museum is to provide engaging experiences for individuals and families to connect with the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the growing spiritual, artistic, and cultural legacies of its people. These experiences allow visitors to reflect on the faith and sacrifices of Latter-day Saints throughout history and around the world and, by doing so, to increase their own faith, gain a greater understanding of God’s dealings with men and women on this earth, and desire to know Him.

Organization

The Church History Museum is part of the Church History Department, which includes the museum, the Church History Library, Church Historic Sites, and the Granite Mountain Records Vault.

There are currently about 30 full-time employees at the museum, including administrative staff, curators, registrars, conservators, and educators. In addition, over 100 volunteer docents serve at the museum on a weekly basis, providing frontline educational programming and guest services.

Collection

The museum’s collection includes more than 150,000 historical artifacts that tell the story of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from its earliest beginnings up to the present day.

While the Church History Library is home to manuscript, print, and audiovisual records of the Church, the museum is the custodian of most other types of artifacts. These include collections of tools, clothing, furniture, and other personal belongings of Church leaders; pioneer relics; architectural remnants; artwork by and about Latter-day Saints, including folk art and decorative art such as quilts, lace work, and needlepoint; cultural objects from around the world; and memorabilia of all kinds of significance to the Church. Many items are on display at the museum and Church Historic Sites, and others can be viewed online in the Museum Treasures article series.

Acquisitions and Donations

As part of its mission, the Church History Department selectively acquires documents, diaries, letters, photographs, books, artwork, and artifacts from all over the world that have historical significance to the Church. If you have such materials that you are willing to donate to the Church’s archives, we may be interested in them. Please contact our acquisitions specialists by calling 1-801-240-5696 or using our online contact form.

Please discuss your potential donation with our acquisition specialists before bringing your materials to the Church History Museum, Church History Library, or any of our international locations. The specialist will work with you to accept your items; they can also offer alternatives for preserving your records should they fall outside our collecting guidelines.

The museum front desk is not authorized to accept donations of any kind.

Contact Us

General Information
Phone: 1-801-240-3310
Email: ChurchMuseum@ChurchofJesusChrist.org

Group Visits
To schedule a group visit please fill out the form on our Planning a Group Visit page.

Museum Store
Phone: 1-801-240-3592

Research Questions
To submit a question to our team of historians, curators, educators, and conservators, please use the Church History Library’s Ask Us online service.

Special Requests
To ask about viewing collection items not currently on display, please contact our Collections Care team at ChurchMuseum@ChurchofJesusChrist.org to set up an appointment.