The park, which is filled with unusual symbolic statuary associated with Mormonism, notably to the Sphinx with Joseph Smith's head, was designed and created by LDS businessman Thomas Battersby Child, Jr. (1888-1963) in his spare time.

Thomas Child, a masonry contractor and Bishop of the 10th Salt Lake LDS ward, conceived of a symbolic sculpture garden that would be a retreat from the world and a tribute to his most cherished religious and personal beliefs.

[2] The finished statues are likewise unconventional, even eccentric: a sacrificial altar, a shrine to Child's beloved wife Bertha, even a sphinx with the face of Joseph Smith.

[5] The group arranged a $400,000 commitment from Salt Lake County and $100,000 each from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation, covering the lion's share of the purchase price.

At a ceremony celebrating the occasion, Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson called the garden "an absolute jewel.

The Friends of Gilgal Garden, who serve as the park's curators, and a number of other nonprofit entities in the Salt Lake City area are in the process of raising funds to restore the damaged sculptures.