The Church History Museum on West Temple Street, adjacent to Temple Square and the Family History Library, holds the primary collection of artifacts, documents, and art relating to the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from its founding in 1830 to the present. Admission is free.
The permanent galleries cover the church's founding in New York, the persecution in Missouri and Illinois, the westward migration, and the settlement of Utah. The art collection includes paintings by artists who traveled with pioneer companies and documented the landscape of the American West. Even visitors with no particular interest in Mormon history will find the collection an informative introduction to one of the dominant cultural forces shaping the American West.