History
The Tabernacle was built to house meetings for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS church), and was the location of the semi-annual LDS General Conference for 132 years. However, because of the growth in the number of conference attendees, the LDS General Conference was moved to the new and larger LDS Conference Center in 2000. In the October 1999 General Conference, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a talk honoring the Tabernacle and introducing the new LDS Conference Center. Now a historic building in Temple Square, the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still used for overflow crowds during General Conference. The Tabernacle is the home of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and was the previous home of the Utah Symphony Orchestra until the construction of Abravanel Hall. It is the historic broadcasting home for the radio and television program known as Music and the Spoken Word. In 2005, the Tabernacle was closed for 2 years of intensive renovations that greatly increased its ability to withstand earthquakes. It was reopened and rededicated during the Saturday afternoon session of the Church's General Conference on March 31, 2007 by Hinckley. The Museum of Church History and Art opened an extensive display on the Tabernacle as part of the rededication of the historic edifice.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle was inspired by an attempt to build a Canvas Tabernacle in Nauvoo, Illinois in the 1840s. This tabernacle was to be situated just to the West of the Nauvoo Temple and was to be oval shaped, much the same as the Salt Lake Tabernacle. However, the Nauvoo edifice (never built) was to have amphitheater style or terraced seating, and was to have canvas roofing.
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