A New Place of Gathering
by Scot Facer Proctor

A stream of people flowed into the New Conference Center, and through these photographs, you are there, too.

Every six months Saints from around the world gather to Temple Square in fulfillment of the prophecies of old: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (See Isaiah 2:2,3 and Micah 4:1,2.) After generations of gathering at the unforgettable and beloved Tabernacle, the Saints gathered for the first time in the new Conference Center located on the block directly north of Temple Square. Could there possibly be enough Saints to fill the 21,000 seats for each of the five sessions? Requests for tickets nearly exceeded 400,000 for the 105,000 slots. Meridian Magazine was there at the first session with a digital camera. Our mission: to give the Saints around the world a view of this new place, that will, over time, become as beloved and warm as the Tabernacle itself.

A moving river of Saints headed towards the new Conference Center. A feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air.

Young men brought their scriptures and note-taking materials to the first session. They will soon carry the word to the far reaches of the earth.

Elder John M. Madsen of the First Quorum of Seventy stops to chat with the Saints on his way to the Tabernacle. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Elder Madsen and Elder Richard B. Wirthlin presided in the Tabernacle during the first session of conference. Just before the session started word came there were extra seats available at the Conference Center. With a "whoosh" about half the Tabernacle congregation got up and nearly ran to the north to fill the seats.

(l-r front) Elders David B. Haight, L. Tom Perry, President Boyd K. Packer, President Thomas S. Monson, and President Gordon B. Hinckley look out over the vast sea of Saints in the new Conference Center. President James E. Faust is entering from the right.

Looking across the three levels of seating in the new Conference Center while Sister Coleen K. Menlove, President of the Primary, speaks at the pulpit. Large screens on either side of the congregation give better views to the Saints as they listen to and watch the speakers.

Interlude hymn brings the congregation of 21,000 to their feet as they join in singing the songs of Zion. An amazing feeling of unity and great power was felt as we joined for the first time in a congregational hymn in the new Conference Center.

Brother Craig Jessup leads the choir and congregation in the interlude hymn. The sound of the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir was amazingly clear and seemed to fill every cubic inch of space of this voluminous Center.

After the conference the Saints flooded out of the Center. Many of the volunteer ushers were telling the by-standers to move aside and get firmly grounded or hold on to a pole so they would not be swept away by the river of people who would come out after the session ended.

Saints were coming out of the Conference Center from multiple levels. The "downloading" of the Center took about 30 minutes to complete.

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Scot Facer Proctor is the Publisher of Meridian Magazine and the author with his wife Maurine of several books.