Salt Lake Tabernacle - Definition and Overview

The Salt Lake Tabernacle, known worldwide as the Mormon Tabernacle, was the central place of worship of the Mormon church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now a historic building in Temple Square, it is still used for overflow crowds during the General Conferences held by the church every six months.

Built at a time before electronics and audio amplifiers, the tabernacle was constructed with remarkable acoustic qualities so the entire congregation could hear sermons given there. The roof of the tabernacle was constructed in a three-dimensional ellipse with the pulpit at one focus. A large portion of the sound from the pulpit is then concentrated at the other focus at the opposite end of the building. This not only brings sound to the rear of the building but essentially doubles the amount of sound carried throughout the building. Tour guides demonstrate the acoustic properties of the tabernacle by dropping a pin on a book at the pulpit, which is plainly heard throughout the building.