Committed to preserving church history

LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson challenged church members to be "faithful guardians of our history" during the Saturday morning dedication of the newly completed Church History Library.

"The church is as committed today as it ever was to preserve history," President Monson said during the 60-minute dedication service.

President Monson's address was extra special for him because the pulpit brought in for the dedication was the same one used in the Salt Lake 6th-7th ward meetinghouse, where he worshiped while growing up in the 1930s and 1940s and later served as bishop in the early 1950s.

"This pulpit is, to me, a cherished remembrance of sacred experiences," he said.

President Monson said future generations will benefit from history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, if it is recorded properly.

In his dedicatory prayer, President Monson said history can offer us a brightness of hope, and he asked God to protect the building from acts of nature or man.

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve described the new building as "magnificent."

"It will bless the lives of generations yet unborn," he said.

Elder Nelson said he learned much more about the lives of his European ancestors from church historical records. Many others will find hidden treasures of knowledge about their ancestors in the new building's records, he said.

Presiding Bishop H. David Burton described the new building as a "facility" because it is much more than an ordinary structure. Building it was a team effort, he said, and many miraculous stories unfolded as it was being developed.

"We do have a wonderful facility where the spirit of God can dwell," Bishop Burton said. "A great work has been accomplished."

Several developers coveted the property on the northeast corner of Main and North Temple while church officials determined how the site would be used, Bishop Burton said. But the site was being saved for the right use — church history, he said.

Much of the facility was constructed to be oriented in the direction of the temple, located across the street, Bishop Burton said.

Elder Marlin K. Jensen, church historian/recorder and member of the Quorums of the Seventy, said dedicating the new library was both a humbling and thrilling event.