Mormon Church Artifacts on Display in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is putting some of the faith's most treasured artifacts on display for the first time in a new exhibit that opens to the public this week in Salt Lake City.

The collection includes 26 books, manuscripts and documents that go back to the early days of Mormonism. The church was founded in 1830. The exhibit at the church's history library includes the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, a copy of the Book of Commandments, and church founder Joseph Smith's journal from 1832 to 1834.

Church historians unveiled the "Foundations of Faith" exhibit during a news conference Wednesday. A year ago, the church released a book of historical documents that shed light on how Smith formed the church in upstate New York.