Provo Tabernacle

I guess you could say I am in mourning. This morning my sister texted me to tell me that the Provo LDS Tabernacle was on fire. The Tabernacle isn't like our regular church buildings and they aren't like our Temples. In our churches we worship weekly on Sunday. In our Temples we have weddings and other ordinances for eternity. In our Tabernacles we also worship, meeting there every six months with a larger geographical area than just our regular church members. We also hold cultural events there as well as funerals for dignitaries. I guess you could say it is a building used for larger groups. There aren't Tabernacles in every City. Usually it is a '"Pioneer City", where the Pioneers started the city long ago. There is a Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, one in St. George, and Brigham City, Utah. There are more than that but I am not going to list them all. You would recognize it if you saw it because it looks old and large and beautiful.

But Provo LDS Tabernacle was special to me. I grew up attending meetings every 6 months in its majesty. I remember sitting and staring at the beautiful stained glass windows those old pioneers had made by hand as the speakers would edify us with spoken word. When the meeting became too warm, a man would go around with a long hook and slide the windows open for any kind of breeze that would stir the air. I remember the choirs filling our souls with liquid warmth, clear down to your toes. I sat in the choir loft, on soft seats, sharing my voice with others to fill the space with melody and harmony. I graduated Seminary there, I listened and participated in the Hallelujah Chorus there, I took tours through that magnificent building, and attended the funeral of a dear friend. It seems so much of me was intertwined with the smooth varnished wood and the spiral stairs to the balcony. To the hand carved ornateness of the woodwork to the funny cramped women's bathroom. I feel as if I have lost a part of me today as I looked at the pictures and video of its destruction. I know how much I loved that building and I am sure there are many others that feel similarly as I. I shall always look back on it with fondness for the memories had in that building. But today, I will mourn with the many in Utah County that are also mourning.