of the Old Testament
Overview
This section outlines how to schedule the exhibit and host the event in your area.
The Farmington Utah North Stake oversees the Old Testament Tabernacle indoor exhibit and hopes its portable design will allow it to travel widely. Although interest often peaks in years when Church study focuses on the Old Testament, the exhibit has had a profound impact no matter when it is shown.
Using the information on this website, the event can be managed by a committee of current stake and ward leaders. In addition, it is helpful to assign one person, or a couple, with strong organizational skills to serve as the point of contact and overall coordinator(s).
Planning
Planning is the first step to a successful event. Start by selecting the building, confirming how many stakes will participate, and deciding how many days the exhibit will be hosted. Next, check exhibit availability and coordinate dates around other stake and community events in your area.
Building Requirements
The full-scale tabernacle replica requires a stake center with a large cultural hall. The cultural hall must be at least 50 feet wide and approximately 90 feet long, with a clear ceiling height of 18 feet or more in the center. In most buildings, the basketball standards must be retractable.
The exhibit arrives in a 24-foot bumper-pull trailer which will remain in the parking lot for the duration of the event.
In many buildings, the tabernacle can be positioned so Sunday meetings can still use part of the cultural hall for overflow if needed. This can be done by temporarily moving the courtyard posts and curtains and moving the Altar of Sacrifice.
Duration of the Event
The exhibit can accommodate approximately 120 visitors per hour. During the school year, tours are typically scheduled on weekday afternoons and evenings, with extended hours on Saturdays. During the summer, longer daily schedules allow for higher overall capacity.
Use those estimates to plan (1) how many wards can attend each day and (2) how many days are needed to include all participating units.
Tours typically use 10–20 youth guides, serving individually or in pairs. Guides usually serve 2 to 2½-hour shifts. If you have many YM/YW, consider shorter shifts to include more participants. If you have fewer youth, you can supplement with YSAs and/or full-time missionaries.
Costs
The Tabernacle Experience is designed to cover its operating costs without generating a profit.
Shipping
All exhibit materials are transported in a 24-foot bumper-pull trailer. A shipping company has quoted an average one-way cost of $2.50 per mile. If possible, several setups will be coordinated within the same region, allowing a standard shipping charge to be established for each setup in that area. For the first group of setups in the southeastern states, the estimated shipping cost is $1,500 per venue.
User Fee
As with previous setups by the Utah Tabernacle Mission, each setup will include a fee to cover the costs of the exhibit, ongoing maintenance, trailer expenses, and related needs. The calculated user fee is $4,800 per setup. This amount is intended to keep the exhibit in like-new condition while minimizing setup expenses.
Payment
Based on the fees above, the current total cost for transportation and setup at each location in the southeastern states is $6,300. As the tabernacle travels to other parts of the country, the user fee may be adjusted to reflect shipping and other related expenses. Payments may be made to the Farmington Utah North Stake.
Preparation
In preparing for the Tabernacle experience, focus on the main objectives of the exhibit:
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Help people gain a deeper understanding of temple covenants and the Savior’s atoning sacrifice.
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Strengthen the faith of the rising generation and help prepare them for missionary service and temple ordinances.
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Invite friends and neighbors to explore shared beliefs in a welcoming way.
Advance preparation includes assigning responsibilities or issuing callings as needed, advertising the event with clear dates and times, and training Young Single Adults and youth to serve as guides.
Youth
The Tabernacle experience can have a powerful impact on young people. As youth prepare to teach about the Tabernacle and participate in teaching moments, they gain confidence and strengthen their testimonies.
Preparing the youth to serve as guides can be accomplished in a few different ways:
We have had great success training a small group of YSAs to give the three-minute presentations for each tour station. They then demonstrate those presentations to the youth of the stake during a youth fireside, with youth rotating through classrooms and the cultural hall to see the nine stations. Other options include dedicating a mutual night to learning and practicing the parts or assigning parts in advance and asking the youth to use the website to prepare before a brief training meeting on the day they serve.
Young Single Adults
Young Single Adults can benefit tremendously from participating in the Tabernacle experience. The event gives them an opportunity to study Tabernacle principles more deeply, teach basic concepts to others, and mentor youth who will soon be transitioning into the YSA program.
Primary
In some areas, Primary children have been invited to participate in an activity day at the Tabernacle. Activities have included walking through the Red Sea, created with blue blankets draped over chairs along both sides of a pathway; gathering at the base of Mount Sinai to hear Moses, represented by an adult in costume teaching about the Ten Commandments; and touring the Tabernacle exhibit with simple explanations of the altar of sacrifice as a symbol of repentance, the laver as a reminder of baptism, and the table of shewbread as similar to the sacrament.
Adults
The Study Guide section of the website includes written descriptions and videos that can help adults learn more about the Tabernacle before the event. As they study, they will see how every part of the Tabernacle points to the Savior as our Redeemer and Advocate with the Father. He is the gate, the sacrifice, the living water, the bread of life, the light of the world, and the veil that admits us back into the presence of God. Everything about the Tabernacle points to Him and to the covenant path.
Before the Tabernacle experience, leaders may also consider holding an adult fireside or assigning sacrament meeting talks about the Tabernacle.
Friends of Other Faiths
The exodus from Egypt and the Tabernacle are significant in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faith traditions. Some areas have hosted interfaith devotionals where leaders of other faiths share their perspectives on the Tabernacle and a representative from our church explains our beliefs. These gatherings can help communities recognize shared beliefs and build stronger relationships.
Invitation
All are invited to take advantage of this unique and rewarding opportunity. The event is designed to be easy to prepare for, set up, and manage. The trailer arrives with everything needed, youth-guide scripts are available on this website, and senior missionaries called from the Farmington Utah North Stake will coordinate setup and takedown on site. If you have questions, use the link below, or contact David Dixon at (801) 726-0741, or email davedixon1001@outlook.com.