Latter-day Saint tabernacles have helped unite diverse communities for nearly 2 centuries

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is well known for 350 temples in various phases of construction, dedication and announcement throughout the world, along with many thousands of chapels that serve 31,490 congregations worldwide.
Yet something significant is missed when the 79 tabernacles built by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its first 100 years are overlooked — each of which served their respective communities as a multipurpose gathering place and unifying civic center for diverse neighbors in the outlying area.
In his rededication of the Logan Tabernacle Sunday night, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prayed: “We rededicate this building for the purposes for which it has been used since the pioneer days, a house of worship, a cultural center, a historic site, and a beacon of welcome to the beautiful city of Logan.”
In addition to renewing its continued function as a house of worship, the apostle prayed for a blessing upon those who use the building for “instruction, for administration, for service and for the enjoyment of the cultural arts and activities that thou has designed for the benefit of mankind.”
Early settlers who entered Cache Valley in 1855, recounted Elder Thomas K. Checketts, Area Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ, met a group of members of the Shoshone tribe who spent summers in the valley “but were smart enough to leave for the winter.”
As the snow multiplied in an early winter, these early settlers “decided that they needed to escape the valley” — making it back to Brigham City with only 420 of their 2,000 cows still alive.
“Undeterred,” Peter Maughan was sent back the following year in 1856, establishing a settlement in the Wellsville area. Three years later, five additional “colonies” were created in places the settlers called Providence, Mendon, Smithfield, Richmond and Logan.
The name Logan was derived not only from an early trapper in the area (Ephraim Logan), Elder Cook noted, but also from “the first name of a Native American who had been helpful to the saints in their early travails when they were driven out of Nauvoo.”
Chief Logan Fontenelle of the Omaha had worked to facilitate peace between early Latter-day Saints and his tribe, while also helping Brigham Young know how to travel to Utah. The well-loved Native American leader died in 1855, the same year the settlers arrived at Cache Valley.
“So far as I know, no other valley in this territory is equal to this,” Brigham Young had said on a visit to Cache Valley in 1860. “This has been my opinion ever since I first saw this valley.”
In 1864, settlers began discussing building a tabernacle, with ground broken and a foundation laid the following summer. Building was delayed when the supervisor was called on a mission and even more in 1877 when Young selected a site for a temple — diverting skilled labor to a more important project.
By that time, all that was left on the tabernacle was the interior finish work and the steeple. But completion was delayed another 14 years, till its dedication in 1891 — prompting Elder Checketts to reflect, “sometimes projects, even important projects, need to be left undone for a time so that work at the temple can be done.”
Nearly 40% of Cache Valley’s population was foreign born in the 1870s and 1880s, Elder Cook said — citing “massive immigration” in the 1850s and 1860s for thousands of “almost destitute new converts.”
The apostle quoted a newspaper from Sept. 3, 1852, reporting on the arrival of many immigrant converts from Wales, with the First Presidency of the church, accompanied by a brass band, greeting personally this “band of pilgrims, sisters and children, walking sunburned and weather beaten, but not forlorn.”
“Their hearts were light and buoyant, which was plainly manifest by their happy and joyful countenances,” the newspaper account continued. “As they passed the temple block, they were saluted with nine rounds of artillery and thousands of men, women and children gathered from various parts of the city to unite in the glorious, joyful welcome.”
“May the Lord God of Israel bless you,” Brigham Young said to these new arrivals. “We have prayed for you continually. Thousands of prayers have been offered up for you, day by day to him who has commanded us to gather Israel, save the children of men by the preaching of the gospel and prepare them for the coming of the Messiah.”
Young encouraged many immigrants from Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland and other European countries to settle in northern Utah. At this “spectacular location,” Elder Cook said, this “unique gathering” of immigrants and converts from the rest of the U.S. came together to create “a marvelous society.”
“Many people who live in Cache Valley today trace their lineage to these countries and the languages they spoke,” the apostle noted — recalling a German-speaking congregation that worshipped in the valley when he grew up in the area. “Today, we are blessed that many people speak Spanish.”
“From the beginning, our faith was determined to protect religious freedom for people of diverse faith, as well as those of no faith,” he emphasized to an audience that included friends and leaders of other religious denominations located throughout the valley, as well as mayors and government officials from 38 cities and towns in the valley, and leaders at Utah State University, including President Elizabeth Campbell.
“In this valley, our faith, working with Catholics, Evangelicals, Jews, Muslims and other faiths, have striven to succor, be a sanctuary, and respect people, regardless of faith or no faith,” Elder Cook said, reflecting one of the church’s Articles of Faith, which says, “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may.”
“We can always do better in our relationships with people of other faiths, other races and other cultures,” he added. “Everyone, regardless of where they came from, needs to be welcome in Cache Valley. It is my prayer that we will resolve to individually and collectively do just that.”
It is this element of early pioneer culture — namely, the relentless outreach to diverse neighbors also attracted to Utah — that is reflected in tabernacles.
To serve this growing community, 79 tabernacles were built from the 1840s through the 1950s — starting with the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs Iowa in 1847 and ending with a 1956 tabernacle in Ogden. In the 1960s, these larger buildings were replaced in their ecclesiastical functions by normal chapels with more classrooms and office space.
Yet across nearly two centuries, these tabernacles have been used for not only various worship services, but also community gatherings that include concerts, school graduations, choral programs, lectures and funerals.
“Think of all that’s transpired in this building over the last almost 150 years,” said Paul V. Johnson of the updated Logan Tabernacle, recounting how the Agricultural College of Utah (now Utah State University) regularly held meetings in the building. Lunch and learns, lunch concert series, “Messiah” sing-alongs, and community fairs also took place on the grounds.
Considered some of the finest examples of Latter-day Saint architecture, these historic tabernacles are expressions of early pioneer faith and ingenuity.
An estimated 37 tabernacles remain of the original 79 (the number varies slightly due to some buildings called “tabernacles” by locals that weren’t officially designated as such). Six of the 76 tabernacles burned down, and one came down in an earthquake. Others were torn down and replaced by a bigger tabernacle. In Vernal and Provo, tabernacles have been turned into temples.
Many of the remaining tabernacles have been carefully cared for and preserved as historical treasures and architectural works of art. The St. George Tabernacle was renovated in 1993, with the original chandeliers brought back. The Paris Idaho Tabernacle, located north of Bear Lake, was refurbished in 2004 and the Manti Tabernacle in 2014.
As reported by the Cache Valley Daily, the Logan Tabernacle upgrades include the organ and piano now facing the audience and the baptismal font on the bottom floor replaced with several new meeting rooms, according to Allan Cooley, the Logan South Stake President of the Church of Jesus Christ who oversees the tabernacle. As part of a seismic upgrade, two thirds of the top balcony were also replaced with a concrete wall in the back and changes to the bell tower. The benches now have padding and the pews are further apart, with new carpet chosen to match the appearance of pioneer era flooring.
“The workmanship, it’s just second to none,” said local stake president Frank Crawford on the occasion of the Paris Idaho tabernacle being renovated. “Obviously it was a matter of great importance to them.”
A poem was written by pioneers who built the St. George Tabernacle and tucked underneath the sandstone steps, only to be found 75 years later:
“We have labored long / For many a year, / This noble structure / For to rear;
“And thus we’ve often / Lacked for bread, / ‘You’ve nobly worked’; / By all was said. …
“So now kind friends, / We say farewell, / This house and steps / Our works do tell,
“God will preserve / And bless his own / With life eternal / And a crown.”
Note: A recording of the dedication service can be viewed here, with a lovely photo gallery by Eli Lucero of the Herald Journal also available.