By Nicole Santiago NewsNet Staff Writer - 19 May 2004

A faith and educational story will soon unfold in the glass-enclosed gallery of the Joseph F. Smith Building projected to finish in April 2005.

"The story by itself isn't enough," said Sue Peterson, exhibit development coordinator and church service missionary. "We have to find out who was involved in this story, where are they living now, can they be photographed, can they be filmed and are there any artifacts."

"Education in Zion" a permanent exhibition, will be an engaging display of people's lives that the Lord has worked through to enhance education throughout the world.

Multi-media means including artifacts, text panels and documentary films will depict the faith and contributions of individuals by telling stories about people who have created an educational tradition in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as those who continue to carry on this tradition throughout the world.

"The church has done a wonderful job of preserving the stories of our pioneer heritage ... and sharing stories of people all over the world who live the gospel in individual circumstances," project director Terry Warner said. "Those stories tell us how to be good Latter-day Saints, but we haven't done anything like that with education."

The theme of the exhibit is "To Learn in the Light: Stories on Education and Faith." Seven different sections exemplify life histories highlighting what individuals have done in their lives as well as instances about how the Lord has worked through individuals.

Section one, "The Source of Light and Truth," focuses on individuals and their accomplishments with a knowledge that God is in the details of their lives. A few of these individuals include Abraham of the Old Testament, Johann Sebastian Bach, William Tyndall and George Washington Carver.

Section two, "Foundations of the LDS Tradition," features Joseph Smith, Kirtland, Nauvoo, early schools in Utah and academy schools. This section emphasizes the relationship between secular and religious education.

Section three, "Schools in Zion" highlights individuals who have been lead to assist in the education of others at BYU, BYU Idaho and BYU Hawaii.

Section four, "Extending the Heritage" portrays stories of people in the world through the Perpetual Education Fund and the Church Education System.

Section five, "Recent Achievements," tells of colleges and universities that have contributed to the world.

Section six, "The Most Important School," shows how families have helped one another.

Section seven, "The Chapel," depicts stories of individuals who have had such a profound revelatory experience in education that it is sacred.

"When you have about 30 seconds when a person walks up to an exhibit to catch their attention and if you do, you have them for 30-60 more seconds," Peterson said. "We want to make it as interesting as possible."

Of the 479 stories submitted, research to discover the details of the individuals brings to life their contribution to society. Once the story is established, the design for the visual materials and objects will be done.

Researchers assigned to a specific topic or person learn about an individual's life and find out why it is an example of how the spirit worked through them to overcome personal difficulties.

Researchers must also discover not only why they were a good person, but also how they have become significant in the lives of others. Julie Low is researching the story of Thomas L. Martin, who the MARB is named after.

"My job is to find stories that demonstrate how the Lord has worked through Thomas Martin's life and how each of us can be an influence for good in the lives of those around us," Low said.

Low's research tells of when Martin was 15 years old and he worked on a dairy farm in Utah. All the money he made he sent to his family, who lived in England. He hadn't seen his family in three years. His parents wrote and told him that if he could send just $100, they would have enough to come to visit. Martin prayed and his prayer was answered when his boss co-signed on a loan with him.

"In typical museums you are highlighting a person and their contribution to the world," Peterson said. "We're not doing that. We're highlighting their works and the spirit working through them."

With the exhibit in the stages of development, project directors are still looking for specific stories to fill in the holes. The Web site identifies which stories they are looking for. For information regarding the project, visit http://exhibit.byu.edu.

"Education isn't just one of the things the church does, it is the way the church does it," Warner said.