LOGAN, Utah — A sculpture memorializing the eternal significance of the family and initiated in 1997 as a Pioneer Sesquicentennial project is finally complete. The sculpture was dedicated July 17 by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve.

"Family and the Covenant," a heroic-size bronze work by Bill L. Hill, graces the grounds of the Logan Tabernacle in the heart of the city at Main and 100 North streets. It depicts parents with three children. The sculpture is oriented so that the family appears to be gazing toward the majestic Logan Temple, prominent on the horizon east of the tabernacle.

Elder Perry is a native of this county seat in northern Utah's Cache Valley. He was accompanied to the ceremony by his wife, Barbara. Elder Perry gave the keynote address at a program in the tabernacle conducted by Pres. Jay A. Monson of the Logan Utah East Stake before going outside with the congregation, where he dedicated the statue.

The apostle spoke of the "heroes" and "heroines" of Cache Valley, the pioneers who settled the area, including Logan, in the 1850s and 1860s.

"On a plateau rising 200 feet above Tabernacle Square was the ideal place to build a temple," he recounted, "a place where the saints could make covenants with the Lord to be obedient to His law in order to receive His promised blessings. It was dedicated on May 17, 1884, [by] President John Taylor. . . . It was the fourth temple in the Church and the second to be completed in Utah. The evening before, President Taylor asked the Lord if the building was acceptable. His prayer was answered and a revelation given to him, in which the Lord told him that 'in these houses which have been built unto me, and which shall be built, I will reveal the abundance of those things pertaining to the past, the present, and the future, to the life that now is, and the life that is to come, pertaining to law, order, rule, dominion and government, to things affecting this nation and other nations; the laws of the heavenly bodies in their times and seasons, and the principles or laws by which they are governed.' (Church History in the Fulness of Times, p. 430.) The next day, the Saints witnessed the rich outpouring of the Spirit as the temple was dedicated.

"As we look back over the 115 years we have enjoyed the benefits of having a dedicated temple in our presence, we see that much of the revelation to President John Taylor that he received the night before the temple dedication has come to pass. We live in a marvelous age. I wonder if some of that wonderful heritage of the past is being lost. I wonder if the challenges of today are hard enough to build sufficient character to create a lasting heritage of values taught by our great early pioneers who entered this valley — those values of honesty, industry and morality as dictated to us by the Lord."

He concluded: "May this monument we dedicate today remind each generation who will frequent Tabernacle Square in Logan, Utah, of the sacrifices of those who have given us so much as we enjoy our lives in beautiful Cache Valley. May these noble pioneer virtues be successfully passed on with faith and with courage to each succeeding generation which follows in the noble, historic footprints of our pioneer forefathers."

Elder Perry's address was preceded by a reader's theater and choir presentation put on by the Cache Valley stakes. Written by Rhett S. James and directed by Duane J. Huff — two of the creative talents behind the annual Martin Harris pageant in Cache Valley — the presentation highlighted the history of the Church from Nauvoo days through the trek west to the valley of the Great Salt Lake.

Remarks were offered by Bartell W. Cardon, who was assigned the responsibility of selecting the sculptor, raising the approximately $120,000 needed, and providing general direction to the project. Though the statue was a Pioneer Sesquicentennial project, the sesquicentennial of Logan is not for another six years, "so we are actually ahead of schedule," Brother Cardon said.

He officially conveyed the monument to the Church through Elder Perry as a gift from the community.

The monument was suggested in 1997. The First Presidency gave permission for it to be built on Church-owned ground provided that it be a "unique community sesquicentennial project," that it be a community-wide effort, that no Church funds be involved and that the location and statue design be acceptable to the Church.

This is the latest in a string of dedications of heritage-related monuments in Cache Valley by apostles. Just two weeks previously, on July 4, Elder M. Russell Ballard dedicated a statue by D. J. Bawden of Hyrum Smith (brother of the Prophet Joseph Smith) in the town named after him, Hyrum, Utah. On Memorial Day, May 25, 1998, Elder Perry dedicated a monument by Larry C. Winborg in Hyde Park near Logan honoring the community's pioneer heritage. And on July 19, 1997, Elder Ballard dedicated a statue by Brother Hill in the artist's current home of Mendon, identical to one dedicated the same day in Council Bluffs, Iowa.