"Press Forward: A Book of Mormon Family Musical" has been a labor of love for over two years, with a specific guding vision :
To create an inspiring original musical that could be performed by the members of the Sandy East Stake, at the LDS Conference Center Theatre.
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This theatre has for a number of years been home to the production "Savior of the World," and other performances or events. It is a magnificently equipped theatre with all the amenities of a premier theatrical venue, including top-quality lighting and sound sytems, and a full fly system.
It is a theatre built not just of physical materials, but of expansive prophetic vision.
In April 1996, exactly 20 years before this production opens, President Gordon B. Hinckley, announced the construction of a magnificent new structure, the LDS Conference Center, including these words:
"It will accommodate not only religious services, but will serve other Church purposes, such as the presentation of sacred pageants and things of that kind. It will also accommodate some community cultural events that will be in harmony with its purpose." (Ensign, April 1996, "This Glorious Easter Morn," Gordon B. Hinckley)
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4 years later, in April 2000, the Conference Center was sufficiently completed to hold a first General Conference there. 6 months later, on October 8, 2000, the Conference Center and its adjoining theatre were dedicated during General Conference by President Hinckley, in a dedicatory prayer including these words:
"May this great hall be a place of dignified entertainment, a home to those arts which are uplifting and which amplify the culture of the people. May there never be anything presented here which is lacking in dignity and which does not portray that beauty which is of Thy divine nature... May it be a thing of beauty to the beholder both inside and out. May it be a house of many uses, a house of culture, a house of art, a house of worship, a house of faith, a house of God.
"May it give expression to the declaration of Thy people that “if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (A of F 1:13).
"Now Father, as we dedicate this Conference Center, we also dedicate the theater which adjoins it. It is a beautiful structure, designed to serve as a meeting place, as a home for the performing arts, and for a variety of uses, all dignified and created to cultivate the beautiful and ennobling. Protect it and bless it as we have prayed concerning the Conference Center." -- Gordon B. Hinckley, "This Great Millennial Year," Ensign, October 2000
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In a time when so much of what is deemed performng art is anything but "uplifting" or "dignified," we of the Sandy East Stake, with utmost reverence and gratitude, prepare to enter this beautiful and sacred space. Here together, we will help fulfill the prophetic vision of President Hinckley, who guided the construction of this magnificent theatre, and who articulated the purposes for its construction.
Likewise, together with reverence, we engage in fulfilling President Spencer W. Kimball's "Gospel Vision of the Arts," and President Ezra Taft Benson's vision of bringing the great stories and characters of Book of Mormon to life in artistic expression, including theatre and music. All in service of the great invitation of the Book of Mormon itself:
To invite all to come unto Christ.
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For more information about the history and purpose of the Conference Center, including this theatre, see "This New and Wonderful Hall," published October 2000 in the Ensign.
For more general information about the history of the Conference Center, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDS_Conference_Center
