Complex sentence: The finds attracted the interest of LDS Church members, and in 1909, Mormon scientist James E. Talmage participated in a "dig" and then thoroughly tested the artifacts in his lab back in Utah.
Split into simpler sentences: The finds attracted the interest of LDS Church members. This led Mormon scientist James E. Talmage in 1909 to participate in a "dig" and then to thoroughly test the artifacts in his lab back in Utah.