On June 3rd, ‘Heavenly Majesty’ opened to the public. The exhibit will conclude on October 31st, with a final fireside offered at the D. C. Temple Visitors’ Center on Sunday, October 25th at 7 pm. To date, more than 10,000 guests have come to see the exhibit.
The Washington D. C. Temple Visitors’ Center, with its beautiful garden setting in a quiet neighborhood and the majestic white-and-gold temple next door, is normally a place of great reverence. But visit the Center right now, and you may find that reverence to be deepened and amplified.
A smiling sister missionary will quietly greet you and suggest that you visit the exhibit hall on the left to see the astronomy gallery. Step into the hall, and you suddenly find yourself in another dimension, in what appears to be God’s very workshop of creation. On each wall, you see the birth and death of stars and galaxies, displayed in artistic and entrancingly colorful detail. Truly, no mortal hand could have painted these canvases; this is the work of Divinity, and indeed, the only place big enough to hold such glory is the universe itself.
Hubble's Sharpest View of the Orion Nebula. Credit: NASA,ESA, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team.
Genesis
The exhibit, entitled ‘Heavenly Majesty: Images of Creation,’ was conceived and developed by Rob Woodhead, a member of the Church from Reston, Virginia who serves on the Cultural Arts Committee of the Visitors’ Center. Although he is not a scientist by profession, Brother Woodhead has long enjoyed astronomy as a hobby. It occurred to him one day how appropriate it would be to show images of the cosmos at the Visitors’ Center, so close to the temple—the place that represents the ordering of the universe.
The committee loved the idea. Brother Woodhead based the exhibit on ten beautiful images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which has a particularly clear view of the heavens since it orbits the earth beyond the densest layers of the atmosphere. These NASA images are in the public domain, and easily accessible via the Internet, but Brother Woodhead’s vision went far beyond what one could normally see on a home computer screen.
So he and another member of the committee, Ginny Bywater, found a print shop that could print the images on a large scale and at the highest resolution available—the largest being 4 feet by 7 feet. Each of the images was paired with a verse of scripture testifying of God as our majestic Creator.
The Majestic Sombrero Galaxy (M104). Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Brother Woodhead emphasized that “an exhibit like this can be held anywhere, in any exhibit hall you could find, but to hold it on the temple grounds gives us an opportunity to provide an environment where people can get free access to the high resolution images…and a spiritually uplifting environment that gives new dimension to the immensity of space.” In few other venues could one so openly and so effectively connect the creations to the Creator.
Science and Spirituality Together
The Visitors’ Center held the first of four firesides in conjunction with the exhibit on the evening of Sunday, July 5th, featuring astrophysicist Dr. Mario R. Perez of NASA and President Earl C. Tingey, formerly of the Presidency of the Seventy in the Church, and currently serving as the president of the Washington D.C. Temple.
Observing the crowds arrive for the event was Sister Mary Rich, who serves with her husband Elder Robert Rich, the director of the D.C. Visitors’ Center. “The excitement of the crowd as they entered was palpable,” Sister Rich related. “The main theater, which seats 540, quickly filled—as did all the other theaters to which the presentation was video streamed, for a total of more than 700 guests.” Many others arrived late, and were disappointed to find no seats available.
A Giant Hubble Mosaic of the Crab Nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University).
In the first portion of the fireside, Dr. Perez explained the scientific background of the pictures, projected onto the 30 foot by 50 foot theater screen. He emphasized the incredible size of the universe, with one slide showing the position of several stars in relation to our little planet. He explained that because of the immense distance between us and these heavenly objects, when we look at them, we are seeing the past. The light that emanated from the stars thousands or millions of years ago is just now arriving to us on Earth. Dr. Perez, as both a scientist and a committed member of the Church, expressed his conviction that “there is no conflict between true science and true religion.”
President Tingey gave the second half of the fireside, discussing the Hubble images from a spiritual perspective, bearing testimony of the omnipotence of our Heavenly Father. These images give witness to the great power of creation that He holds. Science can give us insight into how the universe was created, but only the gospel can tell us why it was created. This truth, President Tingey said, is summed up in the Book of Moses, chapter 1, verse 39: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” The audience “was completely silent at the end of that hour and a half. Even the children were still,” commented Sister Rich.
"Light Echo" Illuminates Dust Around Supergiant Star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon). Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI).
Still More Interest
Due to the great interest in the exhibit and success of the earlier fireside, Brother Woodhead agreed to give a 40 minute presentation on the following Sunday in a smaller theater. He talked about the artistic beauty of the images and of the universe in general. He also hoped to help the audience enjoy the exhibit more by giving them some definitions of the scientific terms used in the gallery, and by helping them understand just how gigantic these celestial bodies are.
Here is an example he gave: We know that the star nearest to us, Alpha Centauri, is about 4 light years away. But just how far is a light year? Light will travel 186,000 miles in one second, and there are over 31 million seconds in a year. Thus light will travel about 6 trillion miles in one year—making Alpha Centauri 24 trillion miles away. And how much is a trillion? Consider that a million seconds is about 11 1/2 days, a billion seconds is about 32 years, and a trillion seconds is 32,000 years. Outer space is truly immense. Bro. Woodhead gave the presentation five times to audiences of 25 to 40, and at the conclusion of each, there was a line of people waiting to get into the next presentation.
Ultra Deep Field Image Reveals Galaxies Galore. Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team.
Dr. Perez, the astrophysicist, was asked to return and repeat his remarks, this time in Spanish. On Sunday, September 13th, another enthusiastic crowd arrived to hear him speak. A smaller but significant group of English-only speakers also came, hoping there would be a chance for them to hear the talk as well. Though English translation had not been planned, and though they were certainly not accustomed to translating scientific terminology, a few Spanish-speaking sister missionaries serving at the Visitors’ Center took the challenge to provide translation, and “thanks to their training [by Brother Woodhead] about the exhibit, successfully completed a formidable assignment,” according to Sister Rich.
From left to right, Sister Toth and Sister Roberts, full-time missionaries serving at the Visitors’ Center, and Brother Stacey Morgan, Sister Kris Morgan, and Sister Paula Russell of Stafford, Virginia. Photo credit: Elder Robert Rich.
Guests’ Reactions: Delighted and Inspired
To date, more than 10,000 guests have viewed the Heavenly Majesty exhibit. Many of them left their thoughts and thanks in the guest book. Here are a few excerpts:
From children:
"... Any 10 year old like me would love this...."
(Jordan)
"This rocks! I so totally love astronomy...."
(Zachary)
The Eagle Has Risen: Stellar Spire in the Eagle Nebula. Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
"I like this and I bet my brother liked it too."
(Jessica)
"These photographs are mind boggling! I hope I can go there someday...."
(Dillon)
"Wow, that is a lot of light."
(Mike)
Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300. Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acknowledgment: P. Knezek (WIYN).
"Who thought we were so small."
(Ellie)
From adults:
"The pictures in this room can change a person's life and they can strengthen people's testimony, and I know that the promises God made to us are real."
(Kellie)
"Can't think of a more appropriate place for these pictures than the temple, where all humankind is invited to come to be reminded of God's eternal perspective. Dazzling, humbling, inspiring... thank you."
(Chip)
The Cat's Eye Nebula: Dying Star Creates Fantasy-like Sculpture of Gas and Dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA). Acknowledgment: R. Corradi (Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes, Spain) and Z. Tsvetanov (NASA).
"What majesty! How lovely to capture such beauty. I thank the Lord that He allows us to see his ongoing work!"
(Maxine)
"Wow! This exhibit touched my spirit like no other exhibit at the Visitors' Center has.... It actually reminds me of how I felt going through the temple for the first time -- absolute awe at the things that we are able to witness and for having a Father in Heaven who loves us enough to bless us with these things. This brief moment has greatly increased my testimony."
(Anonymous)
"Inspiring, breathtaking and very moving! I felt the Spirit so strong and felt comforted. We are in good hands!
(Teryll)
The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme. Credit for Hubble Image: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Credit for CTIO Image: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF.
"Oh my -- words cannot express -- I am completely overcome!.... This has touched my soul deeply, to ponder His endless works and beauty and power! Thank you for such a worthy exhibit and learning experience!"
(Andrea)
"And despite the vastness of all His creations - He knows me by name, incredible!"
(Anonymous)
Iridescent Glory of Nearby Helix Nebula. Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO).
A particular scripture inspired Bro. Woodhead throughout the process of creating the ‘Heavenly Majesty’ exhibit: “The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God…. Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power” (D&C 88: 45, 47). The committee’s hope in creating this exhibit was that children and youth who came would be inspired to study science, and that all would find their testimonies strengthened. From the reactions observed by Elder and Sister Rich and the sister missionaries, it would seem they have succeeded.
Visit the D.C. Visitors’ Center website to learn more about this and other events for the public. Find out more about the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) here. For access to the images featured in this exhibit and others from HST, click here.
