As The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prepared its open houses prior to the dedication of the Nauvoo Temple in 2002, the Brigham Young University Alumni Association launched a Church History tour program that in subsequent years has drawn thousands of alumni and their family members as participants.
"The alumni program's appeal comes, in part, from having a BYU host share history and scriptures at sacred sites from New York to Missouri at a price lower than participants could book for themselves," said Alumni Association tour coordinator Janae Low.
Although BYU has targeted its alumni for this offering, the association is now making this opportunity available to interested Church members throughout the United States by adding extra buses for its 2005 tours.
"This means that hundreds of additional travelers can visit significant areas of early Church history-and they can do it at a price that merely passes along the cost of air flights, hotels and buses," said Low.
Three different tours are offered. The first looks at the roots of the Church in Palmyra, at the Hill Cumorah and the Kirtland Temple. The second tour is highlighted by stops at Nauvoo, Independence and Winter Quarters. These are both five-day tours. The third is a nine-day trip that visits all of the sites.
For additional information, visit the Web site at alumni.byu.edu or email Janae Low at janae_low@byu.edu, call 1-800-437-4663 or locally at 801-422-6746, and reserve a spot on one of these affordable family trips.
"When I hosted a tour, it gave me an opportunity to study church history with an intensity I had never before experienced," says Carr Krueger, BYU Alumni Board president. "I appreciated the opportunity to spiritually influence a bus of 45 people who wanted to be there and wanted that experience. Our objective is to bring individuals, couples and families together for these tours, and we encourage our friends in any locale who may not have had the opportunity to attend BYU to join us."
Writer: Charlene Winters
