President Howard W. Hunter was remembered warmly by President Gordon B. Hinckley and his counselors in the First Presidency at groundbreaking ceremonies for the new BYU law library that will bear the name of the 14th president of the Church.

The Howard W. Hunter Law Library will be an addition to the north end of the J. Reuben Clark Law Building, located on the east side of the BYU campus. President Hinckley; his first counselor, President Thomas S. Monson; and his second counselor, President James E. Faust; spoke during the outdoor ceremonies. About 800 people attended the groundbreaking, conducted by BYU Pres. Rex E. Lee, who also spoke.President Hinckley, who was the last speaker before the actual turning of the soil, said: "I'm grateful to be here on this wonderful occasion, this significant historic occasion when we break ground for this enlarged library at the J. Reuben Clark Jr. Law School. I'm so happy it will carry the name of our dear friend and associate, Howard William Hunter."

The members of the First Presidency were accompanied by their wives - Sister Marjorie Hinckley, Sister Frances Monson and Sister Ruth Faust - at the ceremonies. President Hunter's wife, Inis Hunter, and his sons, John and Richard, and other members of his family were also in attendance.

Members of the Quorum of the Twelve attending were Elder David B. Haight, who attended with his wife, Ruby; Elder Neal A. Maxwell; Elder M. Russell Ballard, and his wife, Barbara; and Elder Henry B. Eyring. Sister Janette Hales Beckham, Young Women general president and a member of the BYU Board of Trustees, attended with her husband, Raymond E. Beckham. Jon M. and Karen Huntsman, close personal friends of President Hunter's, also attended.

The ceremonies were held in the parking lot where the addition will be built. A canopy protected those on the stand from conditions that shifted back and forth between bright sunshine, overcast skies and light rainfall.

During his remarks, President Hinckley spoke of the many years he and President Hunter worked side-by-side as General Authorities. "I sat next to him in thousands of meetings during the 20 years that I was in the Council of the Twelve," he said. "He always sat next to me; I sat next to him. I was the next man appointed to the Twelve after he became a member of the Twelve. He became a member of the Twelve in 1959 and I became a member of the Twelve in 1961.

"When you sit with a man in that circle, you develop a kinship, a brotherhood, an appreciation, a respect and understanding that is tremendous and wonderful. I will always be grateful for that choice and delightful association. I'm just so grateful that we are naming this library in his honor."

He expressed appreciation, on behalf of the board of trustees of which he is chairman, for those who helped make the new facility possible. Then he talked about the library in relation to the law school.

"A law school really, when all is said and done, is comprised of two things: a faculty and a library," he noted. "The faculty are alive and living; the library is the source of all that has happened in the past in the way of rulings, judgments and laws and statutes and programs concerning the behavior of men and women.

"It contains the traditions that reach back thousands upon thousands of years, and of what has become the basis for our civilization. It is so tremendously important. A law school cannot be a great law school without a great library.

"The action we take today will begin the process of making this into a tremendous library that will enhance the scholarship here and the quality of the product which is turned out of this law school."

He invited the audience to return for the building's dedication in the winter of 1996, and then said, "I know only one way to get things done, and that's to work. I suggest that we pick up a shovel now and go to work."

President Monson, speaking just before President Hinckley, told how President J. Reuben Clark at one time "called me into his office and said, `I'm going to publish a book I've worked on for many years.' " The book, Our Lord of the Gospels, was handwritten on reams of canary-colored legal pads.

"You know the book found its way into print, and into the minds and hearts of Latter-day Saints everywhere," President Monson said. "I think it appropriate that this law library would be named the Howard W. Hunter Law Library, a man whom President Clark loved and whom he would welcome in the honors and the signage, if you please, of that which appears on this facility and the one soon to be erected."

Calling President Hunter a remarkable individual, President Monson said: "He loved books. He loved learning. He loved history. He loved the law. Most of all, he loved the gospel of Jesus Christ."

He described President Hunter by referring to Doctrine and Covenants 88:119, the blueprint for the Kirtland Temple: " `Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.' "

After elaborating on each of those qualities in the life of President Hunter, President Monson concluded: "I'm pleased that he is being honored today. I'm also encouraged that all who will come to this library which will bear his name will find a treasure of knowledge and information to assist them in their career of a lifetime, and in so doing when they contemplate the name of the library, they will recognize that it has been named for a man of prayer, a man of fasting, a man of faith, a man of learning, a man of glory, a man of order, a man of God, even President Howard W. Hunter."

President Faust shared some personal feelings about President Hunter.

"It's a personal pleasure and a great honor to participate in these exercises which will be the groundbreaking for Howard W. Hunter Law Library, which memorializes in perpetuity the name of our beloved president, associate, friend and companion," said President Faust. "President Hunter and I enjoyed reminiscing about our experiences in the law. He taught me many things."

Then he said: "At the founding of this great law school, President Marion G. Romney said that the law school was established for men and women to study the laws of men in the light of the laws of God. I don't know how many thousands of books this new law library will hold, all of which contain some of the rules of the laws of men. My hope and prayer is, Dean

H. ReeseT Hansen and the faculty, that there will be a compensatory amount of study of the laws of God, given the size of this great law library."

After the benediction, President Hinckley led the way to a plot of prepared ground. He and his counselors, along with Sister Hunter and other dignitaries, each took a gold-colored shovel and turned over the first shovelfuls of soil. Everyone in attendance was given the opportunity to take a shovel and participate in the groundbreaking.

At a luncheon prior to the groundbreaking ceremony, President Hinckley offered some remarks that included his desire that a tablet containing the "tremendously great words" of the 134th section of the Doctrine and Covenants be placed in the law school and which he said he regards "as a charter of the doctrine of this Church concerning law and government." He read the section, noting particularly part of verse 5: " `We believe that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly.'

"I emphasize that in light of recent events," he added, referring to the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, Pres. Lee said so that other potential donors will be encouraged to participate, he announced that half of the $11 million cost of the new library was donated by President Hunter's friends, Brother and Sister Huntsman.

The 38,000-square-foot library will include 50 computer stations, three computer classrooms, 26 group study rooms, and Internet-wired study carrels for law students.