The Crandall Printing Museum

Did you know that the WORLDS most complete Guggenheim printing "shop" is in Provo Utah?  Seems random doesn't it.  Well, that is what I thought before I visited this little gem of a museum last week.  Mr. Crandall started printing when he was 14 and learned that trade from his father.  It was this apprenticeship that fostered within him a love for printing.  After trying his hand at the business and other business ventures such as building a theme park (half the size of Disneyland) the mayor of Provo asked him to come and start a similar theme park project in Provo which never came to fruition and he started his printing museum instead.

     This museum takes you through the history of printing from Guggenheim's printing of the Bible to the printing of the Book of Mormon.  Through the tour it becomes evident in the discussion of history that printing played an important role in religious and secular history.  Words printed on the page were expressions of spirituality, a means of exchanging ideas, spreading messages, and leading us in our first steps toward globalization.

   I enjoyed this experience most of all as it related to the restoration of the Christ's church on the Earth.  We looked at how the development of printing lead so beautifully and in perfect time for the printing of the Book of Mormon which would allow missionaries and church leaders a tangible set of doctrine to differentiate them from other faiths but also to build on the truths in the Bible.  The most incredible part of the museum experience is the way Mr. Crandall explained how nearly impossible it would have been for so many books to be printed in such a short amount of time but, they had a goal of 5,000 copies to make in a very short amount of time and the men in that print shop made it happen miraculously and, for those of faith, we believe it happened by the hand of the Lord.  It's incredible to think about and watch how long it would have taken to go through each of the steps necessary to create a book, even with all the technological advancements since Guggenheim's first printing of the Bible.  It was truly a miracle.  Another facet of my testimony of the Book of Mormon being a true and wonderful book, there was so much effort put into providing these precious words for the world to read and it is truly a blessing.