Tragedy to Triumph

from deseretnews.com

I remember seeing the fire at the Provo Tabernacle several months ago. It was heartbreaking for many, including me.  YouTube videos of the scene had people sobbing their eyes out over the tragedy. And it truly was one. This building served as sacred meeting house, concert hall and public gathering place on holidays. It seemed that nothing could really make everything all right again. Restoring it screamed, "Why did it happen?" and demolishing and building something else was just depressing.

Well, as usually happens in this Church, tragedy is just God's way of preparing things for the future. Provo has been swamped in temple work. With the MTC next door, BYU students in large quantities and a generally high percentage of faithful temple going LDS saints in the neighborhood, Provo Temple has been past capacity for a time now. It has been a blessing to many, including our family, but it isn't able to serve everyone who wants to use it. But where would another temple go?

Enter the prophet. President Thomas S. Monson comes into the session today and literally shocks thousands by announcing the tabernacle's outside would be restored and turned into the second Provo Temple! My wife and I were jumping out of our seats and craning our necks to hear over our children's noises. This is the second time a city has been given two temples in history. Absolutely fantastic!

from KSL.com

It is a blessing and a privilege to live near a coming temple. The neighborhood will become more beautiful over the years and the spirituality of the area will become increased. That is a great miracle for this town. God is watching over us and is doing great things. I LOVE CONFERENCE!

POST SCRIPT: Note the steeple on the computer image. That was on the original tabernacle, but the structure couldn't support it. Having a big open area underneath for meetings meant less support. They condemned the building twice for it. They finally tore it down and left the structure without a center spire until it burned down. With the new temple design, the steeple will have support underneath and can be put back like in the original - just this time with an angel on top!