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Scott Haws reportingAlmost 159 years ago to the day, Brigham Young appointed three men to select a place for a "burying ground," now the Salt Lake City Cemetery. President Hinckley will be the 11th LDS Church president buried in that cemetery.
Crews have been working around the clock this week to make sure everything is just right for today.
It's truly been a team effort. Think about the logistics. You have to account for the number of family members who will be there, as well as factoring in the location of the grave site, which sits right in the middle of a hill, just above President David O. McKay's marker.
Then there are the cold temperatures to contend with, and of course, what to do with all of that snow. So they've been building platforms, putting up tents and getting heaters ready to make this as smooth and comfortable as possible.
Since 1847, when a little girl by the name of Mary Wallace died and her father dug a grave for her here, more than 120,000 people have been buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. And although we're talking about people who have died, this is very much a place for the living.
Two-hundred fifty acres, nine and a half miles of road, and a lot of history in between. For nearly 160 years, Utahns of all faiths and nationalities have been bringing their loved ones to what we now call the Salt Lake City Cemetery.
Sexton Mark Smith said, "In this cemetery, you go down to the older parts, you can't throw a stick and not hit a grave that's over a hundred years old, and those headstones are there and they tell such a story."
Mark Smith is the 31st sexton or caretaker of the cemetery. He says people literally come from all over the world to find loved ones and catch a glimpse of the past.
"They'll fly in to do genealogy work at the genealogy building, and then they'll come here to find them. So it's like their second stop," Smith explained.
To the casual observer, this may all seem like it's one massive cemetery. But adjacent to the city cemetery is the Mt. Calvary Catholic cemetery as well as three Jewish cemeteries, all maintained and operated separately.
And now, with another LDS Church president being buried at the city's cemetery today, the interest about church history will only grow. All week, there's been a flurry of activity around President Hinckley's grave site in preparation for today.
Right now, there are currently 10 other Church presidents buried at the city cemetery; most of their markers are found along the west side. Church presidents Lorenzo Snow, who was buried in Brigham City, and Ezra Taft Benson, buried in Whitney, Idaho, are the only presidents not buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery since the third president of the church, John Taylor, who died in 1887.
"We're looking to make something and preserve something for the next hundred years because this is gonna be around. You know, we start in 1847 and look at where we are now. We're still operating," Smith said.
