Rededication of Capitol to mirror 1916

Otherwise, the program, which starts at 2 p.m. today, will closely resemble the original ceremony. It will be most apparent with the choices of speakers:

• LDS Church President Joseph F. Smith was the featured speaker at the original dedication, so current President Gordon B. Hinckley will be the featured speaker for the rededication.

• The Rev. J.E. Carver of Ogden gave the invocation in 1916. This time, the Rev. Charles Petty of Ogden's Second Baptist Church will have that honor.

• Joseph S. Glass of the Catholic Diocese of Utah gave the original benediction. This time, the benediction will be from the Rev. Donald Hope of Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price.

• Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will speak at today's event, just as then-Gov. William Spry did in 1916.

What today's rededication speakers will say has not been made public. However, what was said during the original dedication could just as easily hold true today.

In his speech in 1916, President Smith said, according to a report in the Deseret News, that the location was chosen by the pioneers and despite efforts to change it, the Capitol stood where those original settlers intended. Additionally, he declared it would stand "until God shall shake the earth and mountains fall to the ground."

This time, President Hinckley could make the same promise with even more confidence, thanks to the extensive seismic upgrades that were the focus of the Capitol reconstruction.

Spry told the spectators who filled the Capitol that "it is your Capitol, my friends; it always has been, it always will be," according to the Tribune 1916 story. In Huntsman's speech, it would not be surprising to hear him echo Spry's sentiment that the Capitol is the people's house.

"We have decided to ring bells throughout the state of Utah and ask people to participate that way," Gamble said. Inside the Capitol will be 150 bell ringers, including members of the Bells on Temple Square, and bell choirs from six Utah high schools. Live television feeds will be transmitted showing students ringing bells in four schools in rural areas of the state.

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E-mail: rscott@desnews.com