LDS Conference Center: Mormon church's enormous house of worship and art is 10 years old

SALT LAKE CITY — As the LDS Conference Center embarks on its second decade, some may talk of what it might have been — a massive domed arena — or of its lesser-known amenities, like the collection of wood, welding and machine shops and the adjoining 900-seat theater.

Others may focus on its unique features, such as the roof top gardens and multi-acre meadow. Or perhaps the trivial — that a Boeing 747 jet could easily fit inside the massive main assembly hall. Maybe the topic would be the wide range of events held there over the past 10 years, including elaborate productions, musical performances, religious programs and even a barbershop-quartet convention.

But the first and foremost purpose is found in its name — as the 21,000-seat venue hosting the semiannual general conferences of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Presiding Bishop H. David Burton's responsibilities include oversight of church properties and facilities, and he has watched the 21,000-seat Conference Center grow from concept, announcement and ground breaking to construction, completion and function.

"We could go from stem to stern about the various aspects of the building," Bishop Burton said, "but it was a prophetic vision, founded out of years of concern that Latter-day Saints have an opportunity to attend and participate in general conference."

In the 1940s, church leaders considered an assembly building — with 10,000 main-floor seats and another 9,000 in a balcony — that would double in providing the arts and amusement offerings of the old Salt Lake Theater and Social Hall.

The current Conference Center resulted from the prolonged ponderings of then-LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley during the early 1990s, as he worried how to drastically increase the typical conference-session capacity of 6,000 to 7,000 in the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle.

Officials were sent scouring the world for possible prototypes as he mused about domed arenas and capacities of upwards of 30,000 and more. Nothing offering the size and seating was found.

Ultimately, the church ended up with its own architecturally renowned design on a full, 10-acre downtown block. Digging into the hillside resulted in a massive building and parking edifice of 1.5 million square feet that still fits under the city zoning's 75-foot height restriction.