"I have had many spiritual experiences over the years as I have stood here.... The Tabernacle is a part of my life, a part which I cherish," he said. He called on church members to rededicate their lives to "the work of the Lord" to parallel the rededication of the Tabernacle.

President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, who remained seated because of his declining health, also recalled fond memories of the historic building. The church has incorporated special buildings into its history almost from the first, he noted.

A canvas tabernacle planned by church founder Joseph Smith to be constructed in Nauvoo, Ill., could not be built because of persecution there in the mid-1840s, but "about 4,000 yards of canvas" went West with the Saints who migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, helping them build wagons and temporary shelters. The Salt Lake Tabernacle has dimensions comparable to those planned for that building, he said.

Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Quorums of the Seventy stressed the importance of remembering, including remembering the history of the church.

"That remembering," he said, "enables us to see God's hand in our past, just as prophecy and faith assure us of God's hand in our future."

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