OCR Text |
Show Pres. Davicl O. McKay has since 1951. at conferences v O presided ' its Podium if&f. t. sion were the two counselors In the First Presidency. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson shakes hands with Pres. Hugh after U.S. leader's speech in Tabernacle. The conference continued for three end of which President Young asked the congregation if they wanted to adjourn or if they preferred to continue for another day. The vote to continue was days at the B. Brown 7S unanimous. After the first conference, weekly Sunday meetings were inaugurated in the Tabernacle, morning and afternoon. The General Authorities and others were speakers at these sessions. The Tabernacle Choir provided music. This program was cut, in time, to an afternoon meeting and was finally discontinued completely in : S' A 41 die 1930s. President Young conducted the dedica-tioservice for the Tabernacle on Oct. 9, 1875. He had conceived the idea for the already-famou- s building and could justly be proud of it. Two years later, the great Churchlead-e- r and statesman was buried from the Tabernacle. His was one of many funerals held beneath its dome. All of the Presidents of the Church who have died since his day except President Joseph F. Smith have been buried from the Tabernacle.. President Smith died during a severe flu epidemic Vftnd only a graveside service was held. Funerals for other General Authorities also have been held in the historic building. In addition, Joseph Standing, a missionary killed by a Georgia mob, and a War soldiers number of whose bodies were shipped home from the Philippines have been honored with Tabernacle funerals. Memorial services have been held in the Tabernacle for three U.S. Presidents killed by assassins: James A. Garfield, William McKinley and John F. Kennedy. U.S. Presidents who have visited or spoken in the Tabernacle include Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, William jl. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Herbert C. Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S Truman, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. President Hayes was amazed to find that he could stand at the rear of the building and carry on a conversation in normal tones with Gen. William T. Sherman who was near the organ some 200 feet away. The President was introduced to Tabernacle builder, Henry Grow, and commended him for his excellent work. Dwight D. Eisenhower spoke in the n Spanish-America- Pres. John Taylor Pres. Wilford Woodruff Tabernacle as a presidential candidate as did others who were less successful in William Jennings their campaigns Bryan, James G. Blaine, Richard M. Nixon and Barry Goldwater. Other famous persons who have visited the Tabernacle include Gen. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army; Sir Arthur Sullivan who played his composiThe Lost Chord, on the organ; tion, Susan B. Anthony, champion of womens suffrage; Emperor Dam Pedro II of Brazil; Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii and a procession of other assorted princes, princesses, earls, barons, counts, dukes, lords, countesses and lesser bluebloods; actress Lillie Langtry; Gen. Philip Sheridan; actor Edwin Booth; Joseph Smith IH, son of the Prophet; Ferdinand de Lesseps, builder of the Suez Canal; Henry Ward Beecher, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Harvard President Charles William Elliot, to mention only a few. Many of these visitors heard the organ recitals which were inaugurated in 1906 on basis by John J. McClellan a and his assistant, Edward P. Kimball. Later the recitals became a daily event. Nearly all of the world's noted musical artists have performed in the Tabernacle and it has been the home of the Utah Pres. Lorenzo Snow , twice-a-wee- k Symphony. Other events that have been held in the building include a debate on polygamy, , Pres. Joseph F. Smith nominating conventions for political offices, a mass protest meeting over the conduct of federal appointees in the territory, a benefit concert for the Johnstown flood victims, the Western Silver Conference, President Wilford Woodruffs 90th birthday celebration, part of the Pioneer Jubilee celebration of 1897, a convention of Episcopalians, a pageant commemorating the 100th anniversary of the organization of the Church, and Pioneer Day programs. June Conference of the Mutual Improvement Association became a part of the Tabernacles regular schedule in 1888. Through the years, the Tabernacle kept up with the progress of the world in adornment and equipment. Gas lighting and steam heat were installed in 1884. Electric lights were turned on in die nineties. At the April conference in 1924, a new instrument known as a microphone was installed on the highest of the three Tabernacle lecterns. It was connected to sound amplifiers in the building and in front of the Bureau of Information. In October of that same year, the Sunday sessions of conference were carried over Radio Station KSL to those fortunate persons in the area who owned crystal radios. Ailing sets or battery-powerePresident Charles W. Penrose was reported to have heard every word as he listened to the meetings at home. d Pres. Heber J. Grant Pres. George Albert Smith A new era of communication had begun which would soon bring millions inside the Tabernacle at conference time both to hear and see. In 1929, Tabernacle conference power was A radio Tabernacle the national broadcasts of the Choir began. All sessions of were put on the air and KSL's boosted. control room was built in the in 1938. Other stations began to carry the broadcasts. After World War II, the marvel of television became a reality. Camera's were in- stalled in the Tabernacle in 1949, and the saw as well as heard. local Again, there was expansion. Television stations throughout the nation began carrying the conferences. Last April, there were 218 television stations and 48 radio stations that carried all or part of the sessions. Foreign language translations of conference sessions began in 1962. At that time, the translators operated in the Church-owne- d short wave WRUL Studios in New York. Later, a room was provided in the Tabernacle basement for the translators. Conference now goes out to Europe and South America from the Tabernacle in Spanish, German and Portuguese as well as the usual English. The 100th anniversary conference is the first to be seen in TV color. New lighting Continued pa Page 12 WEEK ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1967 . CHURCH- -5 |