Power in the Printing Press

On Tuesday Oct 20 I attended the presentation at the Crandall Printing Museum on Center St. in Provo. I rushed there from my Spanish class feeling a little skeptical on how they could effectively keep my attention for 2 hours. I highly underestimated the museum!
Since I know right now I won' be able to capture the real experience here, I will start by strongly encouraging any reader to attend the Crandall Printing Museum tour. Go with family, friends, ward members, etc. Plan the trip with at least 15 people and the cost is only $3/person. Location: 275 East Center Street, Provo, Utah, 84606. Phone: 801-377-7777 (call to schedule a group). You won't regret it!
When I arrived there was a man dressed-up like an early 19th century person and another kind man who welcomed me with such warmth and seemed so excited I was there. I immediatley knew these men really cared about what they had to share and that some of that would surely rub off on me. I watched as another historically-dressed man told the amazing story of Johannes Gutenberg inventing the first printing press. This was a process, not an event, and the story is told in an incredible replica of the original print shop. The presentation was very real and brought you back in time to truly appreciate the reality and innovative nature of the printing press. Thinking about Gutenberg's sacrifices to make not just one but six working printing presses and then to go out of business because of financial constraints was humbling. I agree with the presenter's assertion that Gutenberg was inspired because with six presses and all the men trained to work them led to the spread of the technology. And the museum's order of presentations was even more powerful with the reference point of the Gutenberg press since the printing press technology really didn't change for four hundred years after that.
We were led to a few different rooms after the Gutenberg print shop: Ben Franklin's Print Shop, E.B. Grandin's Print Shop, and a brief stop in the Deseret News print shop. Ben Franklin's story was no less powerful than Gutenberg's. I felt deep appreciation for the founder's of our nation and gratitude for the Hand of God in guiding men's lives like Ben Franklin to have the skills, knowledge, and moral compass in place to influence profoundly the birth of the United States. Their sacrifices were huge! And the printing press had a key role in keeping the continental soldiers on board when most would likely have abandoned the cause of the revolution. All the leaders put their lives at stake. Then I got to feel actual metal type all set-up in a replica of the original press used to create the U.S. Constitution!
The things I learned and felt in the shop telling the story of the printing of the Book of Mormon also were incredible. As we passed through time I saw more clearly how the Lord prepared so many things for hundreds of years, from the birth of the printing press to the birth of this free country to prepare the time for the Restoration and coming forth of the Book of Mormon. I know God has a Hand in our lives and that impossible tasks (like printing 5,000 copies of an over 500 page book in a frontier town) are made possible through our faith and hard work coupled with God's tender mercy.