When thousands of Church members from around the globe begin filing into the Conference Center for Saturday morning's historic conference session, an army of hard-hatted workers will likely offer a silent cheer.

For almost three years, scores of architects, engineers and builders have lent equal portions of skill and sweat to construct an assembly hall that reflects the Church's inspiring progress. They have labored to meet deadlines, survived a twister and met a prophet's charge to erect an edifice worthy of its sacred function.The Conference Center will be officially dedicated in the fall, but Saturday will mark the realization of a dream for many.

Building the new center has been more than a job -- "It's a big part of Church history," said project manager Thomas E. Hanson.

Indeed, Brother Hanson and others involved in the project admit constructing a replacement for the venerable Salt Lake Tabernacle is a humbling task. Still, they hope conference-goers and visitors will feel the same intimate and inviting spirit found for decades inside the Tabernacle.

The Lord's blessings have been evident.

First and foremost, not a single worker has been killed during the ongoing, expansive construction period. The few workers who have been injured have recovered. President Gordon B. Hinckley's wish to build the Conference Center with stone taken from Little Cottonwood Canyon was also realized.

The weather has been largely agreeable. When a tornado sliced through downtown Salt Lake City in August 1999 it harmed some nearby buildings, yet damage was light at the center building site. Even the construction schedule was only slightly delayed.

"We were back in business within a couple of days," said Paul Sandler, project engineer with Jacobsen Construction during a recent presentation to former Relief Society general board members. "It's just a miracle what happened to us out there."

"I'm sure our prayers and the prayers of the saints and the Brethren have had something to do," with the success of the project, Brother Hanson said.

Brother Sandler spoke of the spiritual impact the Conference Center has already had in the lives of many, including workers.

"I've been on a lot of construction sites in my life; this one has a very unique feel about it," he said. "And it is changing people's lives already. We've had many that have been inactive members that have reactivated themselves."

One of the project's supervisors was a non-member married to an LDS woman. He had not had much interest in the Church but decided to listen to the missionary discussions again. Brother Sandler and others would sometimes work late at the project and share their testimonies. The supervisor eventually accepted a baptism invitation.

Brother Sandler also witnessed a First Presidency visit to the project site. Their spirit, he said, touched all the workers -- regardless of the religious affiliation.

"President Hinckley, in his gracious loving manner, would shake their hands and tell them how great it is that they're here and thank them for the work that they're doing," Brother Sandler said. "To stand back and watch all of this develop spontaneously was an amazing thing."

CHURCH NEWS

WEEK ENDING APRIL 1, 2000 -- 7