Category Archives: Manti Temple

MPNHA congratulates Mormon Miracle Pageant on 50 Seasons

MPNHA-Press-Release-50th-Year-Mormon-Miracle-Pageant

 

MORMON PIONEER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA (MPNHA)

MPNHA congratulates Mormon Miracle Pageant on 50 Seasons

For more information:

Linda Peterson

Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area

801-554-7513

Email: linda@bpmedia.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2016

MANTI, Utah–As the community of Manti is busy with preparations for this year’s Mormon Miracle Pageant, the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area offers its congratulations on the pageant’s 50th year.

“We congratulate the thousands of people who have contributed so faithfully to telling the story of their Mormon heritage over 50 years of dedicated pageant service,” MPNHA Director Monte Bona said.

Just as the pageant is celebrating a significant anniversary, so too is the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area which was signed into being by President George W. Bush on Oct. 12, 2006 —10 years ago.

Both the pageant and the MPNHA grew out of the desire of local people to tell the history of the Mormon pioneers of Central Utah, of the faith that led them to cross the American continent to forge new communities in a barren landscape.

In multiple projects over the past 10 years, the MPNHA has sought to preserve the heritage of those settlements, which became the towns of today’s Central Utah, and to share it with the world.

In that spirit, the MPNHA granted $240,000 toward development of the 2.25-acre Mormon Pioneer Heritage Gardens which were opened in 2012 across the highway from the Manti temple grounds where the Mormon Miracle Pageant is staged.

“The Mormon Pioneer Heritage Gardens stand as a striking example of why we received national designation as a heritage area,” MPNHA Director Monte Bona said. “They represent what the late Sen. Robert F. Bennett said when he introduced the Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Act: ‘The story of the Mormon pioneers is one of the most compelling and captivating in our nation’s history.’ The monumental Manti Temple overlooking the gardens bears witness to the cooperation, industry, ingenuity and true grit of the Mormon pioneers. We are proud to call it the Mormon pioneer miracle on Temple Hill.”

As the pageant continues to flourish, it will do so with the support of the MPNHA which recognizes it as a unique portrayal of those early settlers and the faith that fueled their courageous colonization of central Utah.

For more information, contact MPNHA Director Monte Bona at 801-699-5065 . ###

The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area includes 400 miles of glorious scenic byways, a vast array of wildlife, the best of western living, cattle and sheep ranches, and colorful mountain vistas, all within a trip on Utah Heritage Highway 89.

Tens of thousands of visitors pour in to Manti mid-June to see Mormon Miracle Pageant, this year celebrating its 50th year.

5 Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area Towns are Recognized

Move to These 14 Towns in Utah if You Want to Get Away From it All

has listed 5 Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area Towns.  This is a great honor to be recognized, of course Director, Monte Bona sates that, “I think that each one of our communities should be recognized as outstanding towns to raise your child or retire. These are just wonderful areas with even better citizens.”

If you live in one of Utah’s larger cities, you might dream of moving somewhere far away from other people. Our state has lots of small, rural towns that offer a much quieter, peaceful existence. Of course, job opportunities, shopping and entertainment are much harder to come by in these little towns. But that’s the point, isn’t it?

Manti City Celebrates LDS Tabernacle Restoration with Open House

MPNHA-Press-Release-Manti-Tabernacle-2015
MORMON

 

PIONEER NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA (MPNHA)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHAT: Manti City celebrates LDS Tabernacle Restoration with Open House

WHEN: Sept. 12-13, 2015

CONTACT: Monte Bona 435-462-9002

WRITTEN BY: Linda Petersen

Manti celebrates LDS Tabernacle Restoration with Open House

A prime example of Mormon pioneer architecture has been restored in Manti. The historic Manti Tabernacle, which was dedicated in 1903 by Joseph F. Smith, has just undergone a 15-month renovation and will be open for the public to tour two days next week. The tabernacle will be rededicated Sept. 13 at 12:30 p.m.

The tabernacle, which is listed on the national historic register, is one of only three 19th-century LDS Church houses still in use as a meeting house. “The tabernacle stands as a glowing example of the tenacity, grit and skill of the Mormon pioneers who played an important role in the colonization of the West,” said Mormon Pioneer Nati onal Heritage Area Director Monte Bona.

“The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area greatly appreciates the commitment that has been made to maintain the character and significance of this magnificent edifice that exemplifies what we hope to preserve as a national heritage area.”

“In our modern age, when its sometimes more expedient to remove old structures and replace them with economical new ones, this act represents a major commitment by the LDS Church to honor the faith of its founding membership,” he said.

The open house, where the public can tour the restored tabernacle, will be held Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12 from 3 to 7 p.m.  The building will be rededicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Area Seventy Elder Michael Jensen on Sunday, Manti Tabernacle Sept. 2015, after renovations are completed, Sept. 13 at 12:30 p.m.

— 2 –

The tabernacle has a rich pioneer history. In 1860, the impoverished Manti LDS church members laid its foundation, but delayed organizing a tabernacle construction committee for 17 years.

Work was ongoing on the Manti Temple, which was constructed from 1875-1888, during the same time period and most of the pioneers’ limited resources were used for that endeavor. It was finally completed in 1903.

“We are pleased to see this magnificent historic tabernacle rehabilitated with such care and skill,” said Don Hartley, Utah Division of State History historical architect.

“It was constructed in the late 1870s and has signifiance not just for Manti and Sanpete County, but churchwide as a symbol of faith and courage. For the Mormon pioneers in Manti to build both a temple and tabernacle possessing such architectural signifiance, and at such great material sacrifice and cost when even their own survival wasn’t a sure thing, reflects their devotion.

For the setters who worked on this building and maybe didn’t write letters or keep journals, this is their testimony, rendered in stone, still speaking to us across the generations.”

“It’s really significant that the church decided to do this restoration,” said Matthew Christensen, manager for the LDS church’s Manti, Utah facilities group, said. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints places great value on these historic structures which stand as a testimony to the skill, craftsmanship and the many sacrifies made by the early saints.”

— 3 —

The tabernacle, which was designed by William H. Folsom, the architect for the temple, had two additions to the main structure in 1927 and 1958.

When the structure was built, the early Manti church members did not have the funds to include decorative fascias and soffits on the building. However, in anticipation of a time when they could add them, they left nailer strips embedded near the top of the north and south exterior walls and on the east and west gables.

“They didn’t know how long it would be before they would be able to have the money for them so the strips were left exposed for decades after completion,” Christensen said.

While renovating the exterior, the project team and the church historical department decided to leave the nailer strips exposed to help tell the story about how the building was constructed, Christensen said.

The original structure and the later additions have all been reroofed and the attic has been insulated to modern standards. To complete the exterior upgrade, new landscaping and site irrigation have been installed.

Inside, particular attention has been paid to restoring the chapel. The original fir timber columns of the 1920’s balcony were cored out and steel beams were inserted into the columns to maintain their historic integrity while stabilizing the structure.

Cracked walls in the chapel have been replaced, and the historic Christ at the Well mural and wall finishes have been restored.

Period finishes such as a 1900’s-style chandelier, carpets, paint, pew fabrics and wood and plaster finishes have been installed throughout the tabernacle.

For more information, contact MPNHA Director Monte Bona at 801-699-5065 or Matthew Christensen, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Manti, Utah facilities group manager, at 435-835-8887.

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The Mormon Pioneer National Heritage Area includes 400 miles of glorious scenic byways, a vast array of wildlife, the best of western living, cattle and sheep ranches, and colorful mountain vistas, all within a trip on Utah Heritage Highway 89.

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