Relating Tuacahn - a new arts center and outdoor amphitheater - to the pioneer heritage of the area, President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the new facility, nestled beneath red-rock cliffs in southern Utah on Saturday, April 8.
"I think this represents the fruition of something that began 141 years ago," President Hinckley said. "Jacob Hamblin was called by Brigham Young to come down into this part of the world to establish a mission among the Indians, to learn their language, to become a conciliator among them."President Hinckley's remarks and dedicatory prayer, and a concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir were highlights of the dedication ceremony in the amphitheater, marking the official opening of Tuacahn, located 10 miles northwest of St. George. It was built and is directed by the Heritage Arts Foundation. (See related story on page 4.)
Inaugural activities began April 5 when the Utah Symphony opened the amphitheater with a concert. The Jets, an LDS pop musical group, were featured in the amphitheater April 7. The Symposium for Mormon Artists was held April 7-8 at the facility, which also serves as a school for artists. The weekend ended with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast "Music and the Spoken Word" Sunday morning, April 9. (See related story below.)
President Hinckley's appearance at Tuacahn was his first official public appearance outside Salt Lake City since he became president of the Church on March 12. En route to southern Utah, he and his wife, Marjorie, stopped briefly at Cove Fort, a Church landmark in south-central Utah. Cove Fort was built by his grandfather, Ira N. Hinckley, in the 1860s, as a way station for travelers in the rugged and remote region.
President and Sister Hinckley arrived at Tuacahn late Saturday afternoon, traveling the final half mile by horse-drawn carriage. They were welcomed by a crowd in front of the facility that waved and sang "We Thank Thee, O God, For a Prophet." They then attended a reception and dinner in the arts center building.
After the dinner, they participated in the dedicatory ceremony at the nearby amphitheater. President and Sister Hinckley arrived at the amphitheater, again in a horse-drawn carriage.
Earlier in the day, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke at the symposium luncheon. "Tuacahn, this beautiful facility," he said, "has been established to create an environment for the artist to flourish, but not without purpose. While achieving greatness in artistic pursuits - painting, dance, music, drama, film, sculpture and written word - we should also seek to achieve God's purposes."
At the dedicatory ceremony, attended by more than 2,000 persons, Michael Ballam and Denise Williams, LDS performers, sang a song from the musical production "Utah!" which will be staged in the amphitheater from June to September. Ariel Bybee, an LDS mezzo-soprano with the Metropolitan Opera in New York, sang "How Great Thou Art." Then Hyrum Smith, president of the Heritage Arts Foundation, delivered some remarks and introduced President Hinckley.
Jacob Hamblin was mentioned several times by various speakers during the gala opening. President Hinckley paid extended tribute to the early missionary and his associates: "I think none of us really appreciates the immensity of their sacrifice and the tremendous price they paid for their faith in the call which they received. Jacob Hamblin, Dudley Leavitt, Jacob's brother Oscar, and others, walked back and forth across this desert land covering most of it, I guess, from Cedar City on the north to the Las Vegas Springs on the south and west. . . .
"I guess that it would be impossible to understand the depth and breadth of their suffering. They became acquainted with drought, with floods, with every kind of discouraging situation, but they stayed at it, they kept the faith, they were true to the trust that had been placed in them."
He then commented on the current generation, those who have made Tuacahn a reality.
"I cannot express how deeply I feel about the desire that I've heard them express to convey to the world, the millions of people who pass this way, some true sense of what Utah - southern Utah - really means in terms of struggling and fortitude and dogged pursuit of a vision and a dream," he said.
He added that it was fitting that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir participate in the Tuacahn celebration.
"This, too, is a pioneer organization," he noted. "This, too, represents the very best in art and refinement and uplift and all of the good that comes from the pursuit of these treasured impulses that are part of the divinity which is within each of us."
In his dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley said Tuacahn will "become a place of education, of development, for those who desire to increase their skills in various arts - music, drama, dancing and other disciplines. Here both student and master will be given opportunity to express their skills in a environment of peace, tranquility and appreciation."
President Hinckley dedicated the Tuacahn facilities "for the purposes for which they have been created. . . . May they increase in beauty and attractiveness and utility and popular interest for so long as they are used for good, for the expression of truth, for the kind of art which enhances and builds lasting appreciation and respect in those who hear and view."
After President Hinckley's dedicatory prayer, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir delighted the audience with a program of patriotic and religious songs as a south breeze blew and dusk turned to darkness in the canyon. The choir's performance included "God Bless America," "Grand Old Flag," "America the Beautiful," "Come, Come Ye Saints," and four selections from Handel's "Messiah." The spectacular finale was "Battle Hymn of the Republic" with fireworks filling the night sky during the final chorus.
Elder Ballard and his wife, Barbara, were guests at the symposium luncheon. Elder Ballard, a member of the Heritage Arts Foundation Advisory Board, was the featured speaker.
The symposium focused on the challenges facing LDS artists as they strive to excel in the world while upholding Church standards and spreading the gospel message.
"The word `artist' is not included in Holy Scripture," Elder Ballard pointed out, "but their presence and importance is unmistakable. There are myriad references to `all manner of workmanship' described as `exceedingly fine' and `curious.'
"That the creative process is rooted and revered in heaven is evident in the Lord's use of the word `workmanship,' not only to define the artistic accomplishments of His children, but the results of His own creation."
While creative capacity can be abused, Elder Ballard said, the greatest artists have acknowledged the divine source of their inspiration.
In the media today, he continued, Lucifer's influence dominates over the influence of the Lord, resulting in a war like the one in the premortal world. He said by learning to use technology properly, LDS artists from all fields can fill the world with goodness and truth.
He concluded, "We call upon those in the arts to expand your vision of what can be done. If we are going to fill the world with goodness and truth, then we must have artists who are worthy to receive inspiration so they can bless the lives of our Heavenly Father's children."