As the first building to house the Brigham Young Academy in Provo burned to the ground in 1884, Utah's future U.S. senator, Reed Smoot, stood next to Karl G. Maeser, the academy's first professor, and mourned the end of the fledgling school.
The older and wiser professor politely informed Smoot — whose father, Abraham O. Smoot, would spend his fortune keeping the school afloat — that it was simply the end of what was known as the Lewis Building, which had been donated by LDS Church President Brigham Young as the foundation for the academy.
A replica of that building was dedicated Wednesday morning at This Is the Place Heritage Park, largely as a tribute to the foresight of Maeser and the elder Smoot. Hundreds of area residents attended the hourlong, outdoor dedication ceremony under sunny skies, as temperatures approached 90 degrees.
Before dedicating the building, President Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints read from the diary of his father, Bryant S. Hinckley, who was among the first students to attend Brigham Young Academy. He also praised the Stan and Mary Ellen Smoot family and Abraham Smoot for their contributions, past and present.
"I don't know of any individual in the church who has given more, other than those who gave their lives," he said, referring to Abraham Smoot's dedication to the establishment of Provo academy. Smoot was a wealthy businessman asked by Brigham Young to help Maeser found the school, and he died virtually penniless in the effort to help it succeed.
President Hinckley called the replica of the Lewis Building a "very significant memorial" to the desire of early Latter-day Saints to become educated not only in spiritual subjects, but in secular learning as well.
Elder Merrill J. Bateman of the presidency of the Quorums of Seventy, former president of Brigham Young University, praised both Smoot and Maeser, saying the latter had had a dream years before the Provo academy's first building burned down in which Brigham Young had appeared to him and shown him a very distinctive building. He was so impressed by the structure that he awoke to sketch it and then put the drawing aside. Once the Lewis Building burned down, Elder Bateman said, Maeser's sketch was used as the basis for the reconstructed academy, which now stands restored in Provo.
BYU grew out of the academy's 19th-century roots and now ranks among the largest private institutions of higher learning in the nation.
Elder Bateman joined President Hinckley and park administrators in thanking Stanley and Mary Ellen Smoot, who were approached several months ago about funding a half-million-dollar completion of what will now be known as Smoot Hall at Brigham Young Academy. After considering the request for a short time, the Smoots agreed to not only put their resources behind the project but made suggestions for additional features.
The building now houses an innovative Family Search Center for family history enthusiasts on the lower floor, complete with new software that "interviews" visitors and — based on their responses — compiles individual short stories into a soft-cover bound book.
The main floor is comprised of a large meeting/lecture hall that will seat 250 to be used for a variety of events. A small theater will show a video tour of This Is the Place Heritage Park that was also funded by the Smoots. Administrative offices for the park will be housed on the upper floor.
Paul Williams, president and CEO of This Is the Place Foundation, was one of the principals to approach the Smoots for help in completing the building, the shell of which had already been constructed with funds generated by the BYU Women's Conference. Stanley Smoot is a great-great-grandson of Abraham O. Smoot, and his wife is a former general president of the LDS Relief Society.
The couple told those assembled Wednesday that the endeavor meant a great deal to them and their extended family, and they hope the new building will help draw additional visitors interested not only in Utah's pioneering history, but in their own family history as well. Music for the ceremony was provided by the Smoots' children and grandchildren.
E-mail: carrie@desnews.com