What an adventure hidden near downtown SLC! You have to know what you are looking for to find it. I have seen lots of photos of the sculptures in this garden but was fascinated by the scriptures, songs, poems, etc etched in stone around the sculptures. They more completely tell the story of how the sculptures came to be, and the thought processes by Child (the creator) that contributed to his faith/spiritual journey. It is one eclectic Mormon journey. It isn’t every block that reveals a Joseph Smith sphinx. I loved the symbolism of stars (aka Masonic symboism).
Child named the garden Gilgal after the Biblical location where Joshua ordered the Israelistes to place twelve stones as a memorial. The name ‘Gilgal’ is sometimes translate to mean ‘circle of standing stones,’ an appropriate appellation for a sculpture garden. Gilgal is also the name of a city and a valley in The Book of Mormon, a sacred scripture in Mormonism.
Because I am a rock lover and a storyteller, I’m including a lot of these stone verses that enhance the meaning behind the actual sculptures.
Scenes From the Lily Pad 