As a PR move to demonstrate to the citizens of Israel that the BYU students have been studying in the Holy Land for years and have not caused any problems, this advertisement was placed in the Jerusalem Post on January 5, 1986. All of the former students were listed.
This is a report of when the students finally took residence in the Jerusalem Center in 1987, after fierce opposition.
In the midst of the controversy regarding the center construction and opening, church leaders held a low-key dedication on May 16, 1989. The private ceremony included President Thomas S. Monson who conducted with Elders Boyd K. Packer and Jeffrey R. Holland in attendance. President Howard W. Hunter gave the dedicatory prayer. Link to a digital...
Quote below references the difficulties that Brigham Young University and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were having in 1986, which led to the acquisition of signatures of members of the US House of Representatives on May 8,1986 in support of the Jerusalem Center: “…the United States Congress intervened on our behalf with...
"I don’t remember the names of the selections he played that morning in the BYU Jerusalem Center, but I do remember the feelings, impressions and confirmations of the moment, doing as he suggested by listening, viewing and pondering."
