PROVO, Utah – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints put the finishing touches on their Provo City Center Temple Sunday, and thousands of people attended the ceremony.
The structure has been a work in progress ever since the old tabernacle was in a fire five years ago, but Sunday lines wrapped around the building as the choir sang ahead of the ceremony to mark its completion.
Attendees, like Celeste, said they’ve watched the progress with interest.
“When I was standing and watching it burn, as a college student, and then being able to stand here and see how beautiful it is today: It’s really cool,” she said.
Celeste and Steven, along with hundreds of others, came to see LDS Church leaders like Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife put the finishing touches on the temple’s cornerstone.
“Thank you to the many who gathered here on University Avenue to witness this symbolic completion,” Oaks said.
It may have only been a few years since the tabernacle burned down, but for father and son Robert and Matthew Bailie, the flames are unforgettable
“To see the devastation, it was heartbreaking,” Matthew Bailie said. “But then to see it recreated as a temple, you can't hope for anything better than that. It's just such a beautiful building, a wonderful presence as you come down here, you just feel the spirit.”
Jennifer Platt also said she felt that comforting sense as she watched several children help with the process of completing the cornerstone--symbolizing future growth in the temple.
“I think in part that God doesn't leave anything undone, and that he used that as a symbol of completion,” she said.
