I want to tell you a story. It’s not a personal story. But it is a story about me in so many ways and maybe even about you. This may be a story that you have heard before, but it is such a good one that it bears repeating even if you have.

The Utah Stake Tabernacle, also known as the Provo Tabernacle began construction in 1883. The building was being used for meetings by 1886 but it was not finally dedicated until 1898. It was designed as a large meeting-house that could hold more people than the previous tabernacle. It could hold up to 3000 people and over its lifetime it hosted many meetings including sessions of General Conference, numerous concerts and events, and funerals of several notable members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This building was a part of Provo’s identity and history. Generations of Saints grew up around this beautiful building. As the years passed the building grew old and needed some maintenance and work. In 1913 it was partially condemned due to sagging of the roof because of the central tower. The tower was eventually removed in 1917. It was condemned again in 1949 due to problems with the roof system that needed repairs. In 1964 the electrical and heating systems were updated. Other renovations took place in the 1980s. But the historic building remained mostly intact and preserved.

On the night of December 17th, 2010 a rehearsal for a large Christmas concert was taking place in the Tabernacle. In a talk brother Hank Smith shared that the security guard that was working said that he heard the smoke alarm go off three or four times that night. He called the people who were over the event, and they told him not to worry about it, that it happened all the time and to just reset the alarm. Some people remember smelling something like a hot glue gun but thought it was coming from the production equipment and a smoke machine that was being used for the show. Each time the alarm went off he would call and ask if anything was happening, or if they could smell smoke. Each time they told him no and asked him to reset the system. Finally, one time as he went back in to reset the alarm he could smell smoke. He hurried to call the fire department. The guard recalled later that they arrived 90 seconds later. That is a crazy response time. Most times even on a full-time fire department the firefighters have to stop what they are doing, get to the truck, put on their gear, and then drive to the call. That takes longer than 90 seconds even on the best of days, but on this night they were already out on another call that was a false alarm.

The fire ended up being a four-alarm fire which means that after the initial alarm to alert the fire department, three subsequent alerts were sent out requesting more resources to help fight the fire. Originally the fire department had hoped to save the roof, but then around 6am the next morning the roof caved in. The entire interior of the building was lost. However, because the fire department got there when they did they were able to keep the fire from getting hot enough to destroy the exterior brickwork of the building. By the time the fire was eventually extinguished, those bricks were almost all that was left standing as an empty shell of the building it had once been.

For the next few months, a special group of around 20 people met to research and come up with recommendations on what to do with the tabernacle. Should it be rebuilt, or bulldozed to make room for a new structure? After providing their report to the first presidency, they, along with the rest of the church, waited to hear what would become of this building.

In October of 2011, during the Saturday morning session of General Conference, they got their answer. Only 15 people in the church knew what was going to be announced before President Thomas S. Monson stood and said, “After careful study, we have decided to rebuild it with full preservation and restoration of the exterior, to become the second temple of the Church in the city of Provo”. I remember hearing the gasps from those in attendance at the Conference Center.

This was an exciting announcement but there were some major challenges. This was an old building, with an old foundation. It would not be able to withstand the extra weight of a temple. A stronger foundation would be needed. To make this happen while preserving the brick walls of the temple would be a challenge. The original walls were made up of 5 layers of brick. The inside 2 layers were removed and the remaining layers were reinforced and strengthened with thousands of metal rods and a reinforced concrete wall on the interior. The bricks that remained were examined brick by brick to see if any of them were too weak. About 10,000 bricks had to be replaced which is around 5% of the remaining bricks.

Once the walls were strengthened the entire building had to be removed from the old foundation so that it could be replaced. This had never been done before with a building of this size, anywhere. Very carefully the existing foundation was exposed then pulled away so that steel beams could be installed to hold the building up. Eventually, the old foundation was completely removed and the building was standing in the air. Then word came back from the Church headquarters that they needed a basement. So they started to dig very, very, carefully. By the time they were done the shell of the tabernacle looked like it was 40 feet in the air although the walls had never moved as they dug below them. People came from all over the world to see this engineering marvel.

The foundation was rebuilt stronger and deeper than before. The basement of the temple even went so deep that they were below the water table. Water had to be pumped out constantly during construction and the basement had to be built to be watertight to prevent water from entering the building. Once it was finally set on a strong and solid foundation the interior construction could begin.

It required a lot of hard work and careful planning but six years after the fire the new Provo City Center Temple was dedicated as a House of the Lord.

Now if you remember how I started this. I said this was a story about me, and maybe even about you. So I am going to think of myself as the Provo Tabernacle, you are welcome to do the same if you like. There are two different ways I can think of that this story describes my life.

1. The Faithful Person

I like to think that I have been a good person. This tabernacle was a good tabernacle. It wasn’t an eyesore. It did what was asked of it as well as it could. Sure there were problems that needed fixing and things that needed maintenance but that is true of all buildings, and all lives. This building though had a brighter future than I suspect anyone at the time saw. Maybe you and I do too. But the process of going from where I am to where I am meant to be is not an easy process.

There are bricks in my life that need to be removed because they are too weak. That doesn’t mean they are bad things. Just not the best things. As Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families”. Some of the remaining bricks will need to be drilled into and reinforced to handle the new stresses. Not everything has to go, maybe it just needs to be refocused or prioritized. There are things that make each of us unique, and bring us joy. Our lives don’t have to be all scripture study and hymns. I think all good things can be beneficial for us as long as we put the most important things first. Sometimes it’s also a willingness to listen to the spirit when something in our lives needs to be changed or even removed.

Then a new deeper, stronger foundation will have to be laid carefully without upsetting those good things that are already in my life. That foundation is Christ and His gospel. We lay that foundation as we do those things that a prophet of God has asked us to do. Serving a mission, getting married in the temple, reading the Book of Mormon, even taking a social media fast. The big and the small things all add to and build our faith and reliance on Christ, the sure foundation. Don’t be discouraged if you are like me and feel like your foundation still needs some work. It is a process that will take years, not days or moments.

2. The Challenges of Sin and Circumstance

There have been days in my life that I have felt completely hollowed out like the tabernacle. Times when my circumstances felt too heavy to bear. Through no fault of my own, my world seemed to be crumbling all around me. My life was burning to the ground while I watched. Elder Dieter F. Uchdorf said, “even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light—He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness”. That light is not always instantaneous, and it may be just a flicker at times, but it will be there. I have sat on a set of stairs and wept and prayed because I just didn’t think I could keep going. I have hiked in the mountains pouring out my heart in frustration and looking for answers. Each time I have received just enough light to calm my heart and keep going. It was never a miraculous light that vaporized my troubles or answered all my questions. It was more like some advice that President Harold B. Lee gave (as quoted by Elder Boyd K. Packer) when he said, “Walk to the edge of the light, and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and you will find that the light will appear and move ahead of you”.

There have also been times that the hollowed out feeling came from fires that were started by me. My poor choices and sins have burned away parts of the life that I was trying to build. Sometimes these consequences are easy for others to see. I think it is much more common that the flames smolder beneath the surface where no one else knows they are burning. Elder Richard G. Scott said, “The painful consequences of sin were purposely put in His plan of happiness by a compassionate Father in Heaven so that you need not follow that tragic path in life”. Those pains do not define us or label us. They are there to teach us. Elder Uchtdorf has said, “Satan would rather that you define yourself by your sins instead of your divine potential. … don’t listen to him”.

Fighting

Regardless of how the flames started, I have tried to fight. Trying to put out the flames that were consuming everything around me. At times I have been completely inadequate to the task. Times, when it didn’t seem like anything I did was making a difference. Sometimes the only way to put out the fires in our lives is to send out another alarm and ask for help. A friend, a family member, a spouse, or a Bishop. With help and time, any fire in our lives can be extinguished. Then we can begin the process of rebuilding, strengthening, and even expanding our capacity to reach a potential we didn’t even know we had.

I hope that neither of my experiences describes your life. But chances are they do, or they have, or they will. They have described me more times than I care to count. I also know that they will again in the future because my renovations aren’t done yet.

What remains

The day after the fire Provo Mayor John Curtis went to tour the tabernacle site and to take pictures for the city history. While he was there he photographed the remains of a painting in the midst of the rubble. Only about 10% of the painting had survived. The painting was of the second coming, with Christ descending with his arms outstretched surrounded by angels. Although everything around it is charred or destroyed, the fire left a near perfect outline around the image of the Savior. Even in the midst of all the destruction around it, this image remained. I’m not going to say it was a miracle but what a beautiful symbol. In the worst challenges and trials of our lives, I believe we all have an image of Christ in our hearts. Sometimes we may have it boxed away and put in storage because we don’t want to be reminded that the lifestyle we are living or the choices we have made have led us away from him. But no matter what flames may consume our souls or our lives he will still be there waiting for us with his arms outstretched.

In the book Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis said, “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”. If I may, I would change one word in that quote. He is building a Temple.

Be prayerful. You cannot make it alone. You cannot reach your potential alone. You need the help of the Lord”.

President Gordon B. Hinckley

These kind of renovations are not easy. They are hard. They may take years. There have been so many times I have had to fall to my knees looking for strength. Whenever I have reached out for Him He has been there. I have felt His gentle pleas, “Please don’t stop. Please don’t give up”. Our builder respects and loves us so much that He will not force us to change. He will wait across the road with all of His tools and materials ready to step in as soon as we will let Him. But He will not repair our lives unless we trust Him enough to allow Him in.

The Destination

Look at images of the Provo City Center Temple now. Beautiful gardens and walking paths surround the temple and on the inside, every breathtaking detail is as perfect as it can be. I haven’t been to visit this temple yet, but it is one my wife and I hope to visit one day. When I do though I won’t think less of the temple because it used to be a tabernacle, because it was condemned twice, or because it was nearly consumed by fire. If anything it makes the end result all the more beautiful and awe-inspiring.

God doesn’t care nearly as much about where you have been as He does about where you are and, with His help, where you are willing to go.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

I need to be a less hard on myself for my past, and sometimes even for my present. What really matters is where I will be tomorrow and the day after that. As long as I can be one step closer to Him, eventually all those steps will lead me home to Him, and then the past won’t matter anymore. He won’t even see it. He will only see what I have become.