The "Phoenix" Temple

Almost a year ago, I posted the following comments:

My favorite building in Provo burned down early this morning.  Is it weird to have a favorite building?  Is it weird to feel sad, almost mournful, about a building fire?  Because that's kind of how I feel right now.

I attended services at the Provo Tabernacle maybe a half dozen times--that's all--but I still have a sense of loss.  One Easter morning I went to an early morning concert there.  As usual I sat in the balcony, climbing the spiraling stairs to the narrow wooden pews.  As the choir belted out "Come Thou Fount" the sun crested the mountains and streamed through the stained glass windows; it was truly triumphant.  That moment taught me something about God, and I think that's the Tabernacle's legacy-- it was a place to experience the Divine.  I'll miss it.

Yesterday, President Monson announced that the Tabernacle will be rebuilt as a temple. Amen, and amen.

It may be melodramatic, but I want to one day look back at my life and see the Provo Tabernacle: having become meaningful to those around me through a lifetime of useful service, and having faced life's vicissitudes great and small, being able to rise triumphant as a better version of myself.

The refiner's fire, indeed.