LDS Church bottles time, sealing capsule for 2049
BYU Newsnet 9Dec99 N1
By Diana Van Orden: NewsNet Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The first time capsule was closed in 1899, and opened 50 years later, in 1949. At that time a second time capsule was closed, and was only opened earlier this year. Now President Gordon B. Hinckley closed a third time capsule commemorating the founding of the Sunday School on December 9, 1849.

The second capsule was opened with some fanfare earlier this year, with President Gordon B. Hinckley finding himself in several of the items stored in the Capsule. This new capsule is a 28-inch titanium globe created by five BYU students who estimate they spent more than 2,000 hours in the project. It will be displayed at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for six months and then put on display in the Church Office Building plaza until April 2049.

Attending the capsule's sealing were members of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, and the Sunday School general presidency, as well as other general authorities.

Sunday School General President Harold G. Hillam told those attending that the capsule wasn't just about the Sunday School, "We'd like to feel that this capsule represents the entire church. That it isn't only Sunday School, even though we do honor them at their sesquicentennial year, but weíre honored to be able to present this as a capsule for the whole church."

The capsule contains items from each of the Church 28 geographic areas worldwide. Each member of the First Presidency also placed something in the capsule. President Hinckley included a blueprint for the Nauvoo Temple restoration, President Monson, Wednesday's Deseret News and a piece of the Berlin Wall, and President Faust a Portuguese triple combination. Also included were items like a piece of granite from the LDS Church's new Conference Center and a laptop computer and CD-ROMS with thousands of photos, video segments, books and articles.

In talking about when the capsule will be opened again, President Hinckley joked, "I'm looking forward to that occasion. I hope I'll be here at that time."