"On this historic occasion, we warmly welcome all Utah citizens. To those who work hard to raise their families and support their communities, we offer a deep sense of gratitude," said Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. "This is your state Capitol. This is the people's house."

More than 2,000 people jammed into the building to witness the invitation-only rededication ceremony, which opened with songs by the International Children's Choir, clad in bright costumes from around the world.

The more than three-year, $227 million construction project restored the ornate light fixtures, enormous murals and colors to their original state, and added four towering bronze statues in the corners of the rotunda.

It also strengthened the structure and added 285 base isolators, platforms on which the building now stands allowing it to shift up to two feet in the event of an earthquake. Before the project, a tremor on the nearby fault could have caused the columns in front of the building to buckle and the rotunda to fall in.

"This building can withstand an earthquake, but she cannot withstand citizen neglect," said Senate President John Valentine, who challenged Utahns to "rededicate yourselves along with this building. Help others. Re-emerge, not as subject but as citizens, as free people, as strong families, as self-sufficient communities."

Legislative leaders, the state's congressional delegation, Huntsman and other dignitaries were escorted in and the crowd rose as Gordon B. Hinckley, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stepped onto the raised stage and offered the dedicatory prayer.

First lady Mary Kaye Huntsman rang a brass bell that was answered by hundreds more, echoing off the stately dome and marble walls, growing to a crescendo that was joined by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing ''America the Beautiful.''

The Utah National Guard posted the flags and the children's choir sang the national anthem, joined midway by the Tabernacle choir as several spectators wiped tears.

"This, by any standard, is an epic day," said David Hart, the architect of the Capitol's renovation.

"It is important that we always remember this is more than a building. It is a special place," Hart said. "It is a temple to democracy. It is the physical manifestation of the Constitution and our rights."

Hinckley, 97, marveled at the grandeur of the building.

"It's absolutely beautiful, and what a tremendous credit it is to the state of Utah," Hinckley said. "This is the official house of the people of the state of Utah. May it be preserved from the elements of nature. May wisdom dictate all that is said and done here."

The Cathedral of the Madeleine Choir School joined the Tabernacle choir and 23rd Army Band in a stirring rendition of ''The Battle Hymn of the Republic.''

Huntsman, who has not had an office in the building since he was elected in 2004, is still putting books on shelves and hanging pictures in his office that looks south over the Salt Lake valley. Rows of chairs, still covered in plastic, are lined up in a nearby room.

"It feels like I have a job now," he joked. "There's a sense of grandeur that goes with working in the Capitol building."

Huntsman noted that the Legislature will return to the building on Jan. 22, and the building will return to its "full purpose." Mike Leavitt, the former governor who is now secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, proposed to his wife in the Senate chamber, where his father, Dixie, served as a senator.

"It feels like coming home," he said. "I've spent a lot of my life here, not just as governor, but as a small child."

Leavitt had to get permission from then-Senate President Haven Barlow to use the chamber for his proposal.

Barlow, who served in the Utah Legislature for more than four decades and under six governors, recalled that when he was first elected, all of the state agencies were located in the cramped basement of the building. Walking up the steps, he said, he noticed there were no grooves worn in the stairs from years of traffic. "This building is a whole new building," he said. "Everything is sparkling clean, and has a new smell."

Former Gov. Norm Bangerter, who served 10 years in the House and eight as governor, said he had "millions of memories" flooding back when he returned to the building.

"I love this building," he said. "That's the one thing I miss about being out of the political arena . . . I don't get to come to this building every morning."