A new 114,500-square-foot institute building located adjacent to the University of Utah was built because of the Church's great confidence in college-age young adults, said President Gordon B. Hinckley Oct. 18 before dedicating the structure — the largest institute building in the world.
What young people obtain at the Salt Lake University Institute of Religion will add another dimension to their lives, he said. They will explore the word of God. They will receive answers to the great questions man has asked since the beginning of time. They will mingle with their peers. They may "even fall in love."
"I commend to you the precious opportunities which this facility will afford," President Hinckley told the students gathered for the dedication. "I urge you to take advantage of it, to use it, to make your presence here an important part of your lives. I pray the Lord will smile with favor upon you. I pray that your days may be happy and rich with the experience of learning. I pray that your faith may be nourished."
President Hinckley said the Church built, "at great express," the "splendid and beautiful facility" because of the importance of obtaining a religious education in addition to a secular one.
"Man is a child of God," he said. "It is important that we qualify ourselves in these matters which will assist us in earning a living and in making the contributions of the society in which we live. But there is something of divinity in each of us. It is also important that this side of our nature be cultivated and given opportunity for expression."
President Hinckley was the final speaker in the dedication service which also included remarks from Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve and Commissioner of Church Education, and University of Utah President J. Bernard Machen.
"The values these students learn through their classes and activities at the institute are inextricably connected to the values promoted by the university," President Machen said. "At the University of Utah we hope to foster an appropriate balance of critical thinking skills, thoughtful citizenship and ethical and compassionate behavior. Intellectual growth, personal integrity and spiritual maturity are the core assets of all well-educated people."
President Machen also lauded Church leaders for their investment in the education of young people. "I know that all university students are welcome here and that the University of Utah is better for this relationship. I share with you the hope that future generations will be enriched by the vision and the values offered by the many who will pass through this door."
Elder Eyring also called the structure evidence of the importance that the Church places on the young people who will worship and study there.
It is, first, a place where young adults who share a common faith can socialize and support each other, he said. It is, second, a place where inspired teachers can help those young adults internalize and embrace inspired principles, he added.
The new building includes two separate wings connected by a glass-enclosed atrium. Each wing includes a chapel for Sunday worship and multipurpose areas for sports and other student activities during the week. The institute building also has 32 classrooms and 58 offices for staff use. Other features include a library and study areas, lounges, a game room and a food service area.
The three-story building will house up to 10,000 students, 22 full-time faculty, two student stakes, and 16 student wards.
Plans for the new building were announced in August 2000 and ground was broken in January 2001. The building was completed in time for the university's fall semester.
Ralph Swiss, director for physical facilities and real estate for the Church Educational System, said the decision to build an entirely new building was based on a steady increase in student enrollment.
The first Church institute classes were held in the fall of 1926 in Moscow, Idaho, with the enrollment of 25 young adults. Two years later the first institute building was completed in Moscow. From that small beginning the institute of religion program has grown to include more than 350,000 young adults in 132 countries throughout the world.
In 1976, 50 years after the first classes began in Idaho, an institute building was completed in Seoul, Korea — the first outside North America. There are now 321 institute buildings worldwide.
The institute near the University of Utah started in 1935 with 60 students. By the end of the 1938-39 school year, enrollment had reached 298. The upper floor of the university ward building was then converted into three classrooms, faculty offices and a student lounge. During the following school year, enrollment increased to 397.
Today, with the completion of the new facility enrollment increased again — 21 percent from last year, said Stephen L. McConkie, Institute Council president.
During a press conference before the dedication, the Church's Presiding Bishop H. David Burton said the institute adjacent to the campus has grown steadily for the past 70 years, beginning in the top floor of the old university ward building and culminating with the completion of "this magnificent facility."
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