Friday, December 17, 2010

Very sad day...


Video Courtesy of KSL.com


I woke up this morning to the news that the Provo Tabernacle is burning down... it started at about 3 am, and it's 9:11 am right now, I'm sitting at work one block east of the tabernacle, and it's still burning. The roof has collapsed, and it's a very very sad day.

I wonder how the early Saints feel knowing that all their hard work is up in flames. The original organ, the original Minerva Tichert paintings, the antique furniture, pews, stained glass.... so so sad.

This is like the tenth LDS building to burn down in probably like 6 months.

At first I thought that the saints would be so very sad... and I think they are...

but I also think they'd want us to realize, through this fire, that there is so much more to life than things.

Yes, the tabernacle was more than a thing... it was a beautiful memorial of who we are as Latter-day saints, of all the early saints sacrificed, all that...

But we're not taking the tabernacle and the paintings and the organ and the pews with us.

The fire did not destroy what the tabernacle stood for...

I think that's what they'd want us to remember.

***

Update: 10:37 am

Some people are leaving the office here at the county building to walk over and see the tabernacle... apparently there are flames shooting out of it... one guy and his wife visited there a lot when they were courting before they were married probably 40 years ago. They're going over to pay their respects I suppose... so very sad.

Update: 12:55 pm

Firefighters are still fighting the fire. That guy I work with just got back with his wife... he said you can still see flames through all the windows. You can see the inside balconies just burning through and falling down. They're spraying water on the outside and down into the inside from the top, but it's just burning away. It's not even slowing down...

 Update: 2:19 pm

I'm still here at work and I can smell the tabernacle's smoke coming in through our ventilation systems now...

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