Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took a nostalgic step back in time Saturday to witness rededication of the Salt Lake Tabernacle, one of the city's most venerable landmarks.

The Tabernacle, a community religious, cultural and arts center for more than 100 years, has undergone an extensive two-year seismic upgrade. Until dedication of the larger Conference Center north of Temple Square in 2000, the egg-shaped Tabernacle was the primary gathering spot for church members attending semiannual conferences.

In the early days of the church in Utah, most of the membership could be seated in the building. As demand increased, the balcony that circles a good share of the building was built to provide additional seating. It was first dedicated on Oct. 9, 1875, by President John Taylor.

Several thousand returned to the building to witness the rededication during the Saturday afternoon session of the 177th Annual General Conference of the church. They took seats on new benches that "are as hard as the old ones," President Gordon B. Hinckley quipped, exhibiting his trademark sense of humor.

President Hinckley pronounced the dedicatory prayer, asking that the Tabernacle remain "a place where thy people may gather for many reasons." He expressed gratitude for the faith of pioneering Latter-day Saints who suffered persecution in several areas of the Midwest before coming to the Salt Lake Valley in the mid-1800s. The work to which they were devoted has continued, he said, with the church now established throughout the world.

Prior to the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley said the Tabernacle had historically been "a unique and wonderful place of assembly. ... This is a peculiar building, the only one of its kind in all the world. It was built in the day of the poverty of our people. It was literally a Tabernacle built in the wilderness."

Skeptics predicted that the walls of the building would collapse when the scaffolding was removed, he said. "This did not happen, and it has remained in place through sunshine and storm through all these many years."

With the refurbishment complete, the Tabernacle will again become the home to the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, he said. As it has historically, it also will host many productions and undertakings and will be used for stake and regional conferences, public lectures, musical concerts and other entertainment, President Hinckley said.

Each of the Saturday afternoon speakers commented either briefly or at length on the influence the Tabernacle has had in their lives. Bishop H. David Burton, who as presiding bishop of the church was assigned to oversee the building's retrofit, said it now is "revitalized and ready for another period of distinguished service."