I remember as a young man after my mission in 1978 always looking for a unique place to take a date. I didn’t like the usual dinner and a movie. Unless I was meeting a girl for the first time and she only had a “sweet spirit”, then I definitely took her to a movie where it was dark. I’m just kidding. It’s a joke ladies. I met my current wife Stacy on a blind date and I wore a bag over my head in case she didn’t like what I looked like, then she wouldn’t have to see me. But that worked out in our 32 year marriage.
Anyway, I drove by this unusual tiny park in the middle of the block just east of Trolley Square in Salt Lake and I happened to see an old beat up sign that said “Gilgal Garden.” Out of curiosity I had to see this so-called Garden with an ugly sign. It was behind some old homes in Salt Lake and it all of a sudden opened up to a magnificent display of rock, gardens, scriptures and a sphinx of Joseph Smith. I was amazed. I remember the date who was with me, as we thoroughly loved the garden and spent 3 hours there enjoying and reflecting on the spirit and the many scriptures’ that were carved on rocks.
I think you will find the information here a breath of fresh air as the Pioneer Thomas Child shares his magnificent piece of art to the world. I hope you enjoy this unique place. (Take a date and impress them)
Gilgal- Bible Dictionary
GILGAL (Heb. גִּלְגָּל), name indicating an ancient sacred site on which a circle of large stones was erected. Gilgalim (“circles”) were constructed in Canaan from very early times; the Bible mentions several places called Gilgal which were named after gilgalim in their vicinity.
The place in “the plains of Jericho,” “in the east border of Jericho,” where the Israelites first encamped after crossing the Jordan ( Joshua 4:19 Joshua 4:20 ). Here they kept their first Passover in the land of Canaan ( 5:10 ) and renewed the rite of circumcision, and so “rolled away the reproach” of their Egyptian slavery. Here the twelve memorial stones, taken from the bed of the Jordan, were set up; and here also the tabernacle remained till it was removed to Shiloh ( 18:1 ). It has been identified with Tell Jiljulieh, about 5 miles from Jordan.
A place, probably in the hill country of Ephraim, where there was a school of the prophets ( 2 Kings 4:38 ), and whence Elijah and Elisha, who resided here, “went down” to Bethel ( 2 Kings 2:1 2 Kings 2:2 ). It is mentioned also in Deuteronomy 11:30 . It is now known as Jiljilia, a place 8 miles north of Bethel. Source
Gilgal Sculpture Gardens in Salt Lake City
Talk about obscure: Gilgal Garden is a quirky little green space hidden in a residential neighborhood. Most notably, this tiny sculpture garden contains a giant stone sphinx wearing Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s face. A very unique and inspiring place to visit.
Located at 749 East 500 South in Salt Lake City, Gilgal Sculpture Garden was envisioned, designed and created by Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. in the mid-twentieth century.
Tucked in the middle of the block behind houses and businesses, many are still unaware of its existence and enjoy a true sense of discovery when they visit the garden for the first time.
Gilgal Sculpture Garden contains 12 original sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with scriptures, poems, and literary texts. As a whole, Gilgal Sculpture Garden is significant as the only identified “visionary art environment” in Utah.
The public is invited to visit the garden seven days a week. There is no admission charge. Walking tour brochures are available at the garden. Visiting hours: April/September – 8 am to 8 pm October/March – 9 am to 5 pm Closed New Year Day; Thanksgiving; Christmas.
This monument represents more of Child’s religious beliefs and consists of four parts: an arch, four books resting on a stone, a purple boulder, and a spire. The arch symbolizes sources of revelation. The white-quartz keystone engraved with Alpha and Omega represents Christ, while the stones on either side represent the prophets. The arch rests on two white boulders meant to symbolize Christ and Adam.
The four cast-stone books represent the standard scriptures used by the LDS Church, the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The stone on which they rest symbolizes the Rock of Revelation on which the LDS Church is built. Child planned to carve the large purple boulder as a globe and place it on top of the books. Unfortunately, Child died before completing this part of the monument.
The tall spire of quartzite aggregate represents the LDS Priesthood. The taller shaft symbolizes the Melchizedek priesthood while the shorter side represents the Aaronic Priesthood. Atop the spire is a wire sculpture of the Angel Moroni.
Hortense Child Smith
By Keira Dirmyer The Salt Lake Tribune May 23, 2012
Friends remember as a “magical storyteller,” and one of her best historical yarns remains on view in the rock at Salt Lake City’s Gilgal Sculpture Garden.
The longtime Salt Lake City resident, a mother of two, died at home on Thursday, May 17. In remembering her, friends and colleagues credited her as a key figure in saving and restoring the stone sculptures tucked away in one of the capitol city’s quirkiest corners, at 749 East 500 South, now a city park.
Hortense Hogan was born and raised on a family farm in Thatcher, Idaho, and moved to Logan to attend Utah State University, then earned a degree from Salt Lake City’s LDS Business College.
In 1939, Hortense married Robert Child, the son of Thomas Child, who owned the property and conceived of the Gilgal sculptures to tell an alternate history of his Mormon faith. The couple lived on the property, where she developed an intimate knowledge of its history. “Hortense was a truly astonishing woman,” said Catherine King, a former board member of Friends of Gilgal Garden, of which Hortense Smith was a founding member. “She was a magical storyteller.”
One story she told was about her father-in-law inviting visitors to tour Gilgal. “Quite often he had a portable organ, which he had moved from sculpture to sculpture to provide music as background to the stories he’d tell about the sculptures,” King recalled Hortense Child saying.
Hortense Child served as a Navy WAVE from 1943 to 1945 in Washington, D.C., where she learned the savvy sophistication that she later drew upon to promote the garden. “She had so many levels to her … one of those capable people,” King said.
Child raised money to restore Gilgal through garden tours, gathering people who would help with the cause, said sculptor Frank McIntire, a Utah artist and former art critic of The Salt Lake Tribune. “Her enthusiasm and historical knowledge of Gilgal was remarkable,” he said, recalling how Hortense Child said the purpose of Gilgal was to tell the Mormon story in a unique fashion.
After Robert Child died, Hortense married Mormon patriarch Eldred G. Smith in 1977. King recalls Hortense Child Smith recounting how she and her husband would drive to meetings to let church members see the clothes (right and below) Smith’s ancestor, Hyrum Smith, was wearing when he was killed, along with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith. Hortense thought it was important for people to see and touch the clothing — bullet holes and all.
“She was a great friend,” McIntire said. “I enjoyed her enthusiasm.”
Hortense is survived by her husband, Eldred.
