By Janene Pack
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will dedicate the long awaited 21,000-seat Conference Center during the 10 a.m. session of general conference Sunday, Oct. 8.
President Gordon B. Hinckley will offer the dedicatory prayer for the Conference Center after his remarks Sunday, said Kim Farrah, public affairs spokeswoman for the LDS Church.
“Church members worldwide will participate in the dedication,” Farrah said. “Including those assembled in the 21,000-seat Conference Center auditorium, believed to be the largest religious and theater auditorium in the world.”
“This is truly a magnificent building, I know of no other comparable structure built primarily as a hall of worship that is as large and that will seat so many,” said President Hinckley in a press release. “It is beautiful in its design, in its appointments and in its wonderful utility.”
Finishing touches to the Conference Center include a 7,667-pipe organ that will debut Saturday, Oct. 7, Farah said.
Never in musical history has a pipe organ been played in an auditorium that seats 21,000 people, she said.
Another addition to the Conference Center includes a theater. Seating approximately 900 people, it’s comparable to a Broadway theater. The high-tech lighting and the sound system can rival the best of Broadway, Farrah said.
The center is also adorned with a newly completed landscape on top of the roof, resembling the wild landscape of a Utah mountain, Farrah said.
“I like it because it is indicative of the types of things you see in Utah,” Farrah said.
President Hinckley announced plans to build the Conference Center during the church’s general conference in April 1996 and it was first used for general conference in April 2000.
The workers are working long and hard to make sure it is completely finished by this weekend for the dedication, she said.
“This building is a testament to our leaders and a reflection of our dedication to the church,” Farrah said. “It’s just how President Hinckley said, ‘it is more than just an auditorium, it is a house of worship.'”
