Described as a deep thinker, Child immersed himself in philosophical and religious books. Hortense inherited a library with thousands of Child's books, most underlined and highlighted by him.

"He had such a passion for learning," she said. "He set out to prove he could be as smart as anyone in college because he never graduated from college."

And in 1947, Thomas made his first attempt to put his thoughts and feelings into religious expression. He began Gilgal, which means a circle of sacred stones, and continued creating the garden until his death in 1963.

"During the '50s he spent his whole time on the garden," Hortense said. "Thinking about it, dreaming about it, seeing it."

Child expressed his feelings for his garden in writing: "If you want to be brought down to earth in your thinking and studying, try to make your thoughts express themselves with your hands."

Child gathered the one- to 78-ton rocks for the garden from various locations in Utah. Through the help of son-in-law Bryant Higgs, Child developed an oxyacetylene torch, an advanced method of sculpting rocks. Child also hired well-known Utah sculptor Maurice Edmund Brooks to assist with the creation of the 15 sculptures and over 70 stones engraved with scriptures, poems and literary texts.

Although stones were engraved with philosophical elements, everything in the garden has a religious tie, Hortense said. Child interpreted everything in the garden, down to the minute details, which is why there is such a deep meaning behind the sculptures and rocks. For 19 years, Child served as bishop for the LDS 10th Ward, which is adjacent to the garden. Hortense described him as a "serious student of the gospel" and a "seeker of truth."

For example, the sphinx with Joseph Smith's face, the most prominent sculpture in the garden, was meant to exemplify the historical questions the sphinx answered — who we are, why we're here, where we're going. By putting Joseph Smith's face on the sphinx, Child hoped to symbolically represent that these questions were answered through the Restoration of the prophet.

Although some members of the church thought he was going too far with his religious devotion and "a lot of people thought he was crazy," including most of his brothers, Child made sure he got the message out about the interpretation behind his garden. The garden was open to the public, and people from all over the world would visit the garden and sign his guest book. The Child family hosted dinners in the garden for family and friends, and Child would give tours.