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Then and Now: Book of Mormon Pavilion

1974: The Book of Mormon Pavilion, built on pilings in the Spokane River, was one of two religious pavilions at Expo ’74. The Great Northern Clocktower, right, and the U.S. Pavilion, behind, are shown around the grounds of the fair on July 19, 1974. The 40-by-80-foot building, designed by Molander Associates, was intended to resemble the stack of golden plates that church founder Joseph Smith said he found containing the text of the Book of Mormon. (Spokesman-Review photo archives)
1974: The Book of Mormon Pavilion, built on pilings in the Spokane River, was one of two religious pavilions at Expo ’74. The Great Northern Clocktower, right, and the U.S. Pavilion, behind, are shown around the grounds of the fair on July 19, 1974. The 40-by-80-foot building, designed by Molander Associates, was intended to resemble the stack of golden plates that church founder Joseph Smith said he found containing the text of the Book of Mormon. (Spokesman-Review photo archives)
By Jesse Tinsley jesset@spokesman.com(509) 459-5378

At Expo ’74, there were 10 pavilions sponsored by individual countries and many commercial displays, but there were only two pavilions with religious themes.

The Book of Mormon Pavilion at Expo was a unique building perched on wooden pilings over the south channel of the Spokane River. The 80-by-40-foot structure was designed to resemble the two stacks of gold plates, like those on which church founder Joseph Smith said he received the text of the book. The architect was the Molander Associates, and Warren J. Mathwig was the general contractor. Mathwig said the total cost of participating in the fair was around $350,000. An advertisement in The Spokesman-Review thanked structural engineer Andrew T. Bingham, mechanical engineer Robert Luhn and many subcontractors and suppliers.

The Book of Mormon Pavilion was like all the buildings on the Expo grounds, which were modular and designed to be removed at the end of the fair. Only the U.S. Pavilion and the Washington State Pavilion, now the First Interstate Center for the Arts, would be kept.

Approximately 2,000 visitors walked through the Book of Mormon Pavilion each day of the fair, many watching the movie “Ancient America Speaks” and learning the church’s story of the ancient origin of the Book of Mormon and how Joseph Smith said he found the texts in the 1800s.

Outside the pavilion stood an obelisk with a gold statue of Moroni, the angel whom Joseph Smith said appeared to him. The gold figure, holding a trumpet, is seen on many buildings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The 1973 film “Meet The Mormons ” was shown in the pavilion. It can be seen on YouTube today.

Church President Spencer W. Kimball and other church officials from Salt Lake City visited the pavilion during the fair. A 200-voice Expo Mormon Choir was formed locally to perform multiple times in front of the pavilion. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Salt Lake City also performed at the fair.

The other religious presentation was called Sermons from Science, presented by the group Christians for Expo, in a small theater that seated up to 200 people for 30 minute films and live science demonstrations by George Speake and Dean Ortner of Moody Institute of Science. The theater had a budget of $300,000, paid for by donations.