The body and the spirit can be developed together, and to facilitate that development the Church built the Deseret Gymnasium in downtown Salt Lake City, according to Elder Marion D. Hanks, emeritus General Authority.
Elder Hanks was the speaker at an open house Thursday, Feb. 16, commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Deseret Gym. He is a former member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and former chairman of the gym's board of directors.About 150 people gathered in the current building to reminisce about their experiences at the gymnasium.
The Deseret Gym was built, Elder Hanks explained, because the Church had the ambition for its people as individuals that they could grow and develop in body and spirit in an appropriate atmosphere.
He referred to Luke 2:52: "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Then Elder Hanks added that the principle behind the building of the Deseret Gym was the same - to help individuals increase in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
He said: "[The Deseret Gym] is important to us because as a Church we're committed to the notion, not everywhere held, that this body, a gift from God, is a non-evil component of the eternal soul. . . . There are many places where it's perceived to be evil and non-productive on its own, but in fact, it is a non-evil component of our eternal soul. The body and the spirit are the soul of the individual."
Elder Hanks also recognized many people who contributed to the growth and success of the Deseret Gym.
The original Deseret Gym was completed in 1910 on the block where the Church Office Building now stands. It was torn down in 1963 to make way for construction on the block. The current Deseret Gym at 161 N. Main was dedicated Jan. 5, 1965. More than 1,500 persons attended the dedication, which was broadcast over KSL Radio. President Joseph Fielding Smith, then president of the Council of the Twelve and a regular patron of the old Deseret Gym for many years, offered the dedicatory prayer.
The anniversary ceremonies were conducted by Elder Stephen D. Nadauld of the Seventy and vice chairman of the Deseret Gym board of directors. Prayers were offered by current gym general manager, Blaine Jay Smith, and a former general manager, Wayne G. Player.
The Deseret Gym's facilities include basketball courts; handball, racquetball and squash courts; a running track; two swimming pools; weight-training rooms; an aerobics room; and a golf practice range.
