‘A treat for your eyes’: See photos of Christmas lights on Temple Square

Having illuminated Salt Lake City’s Decembers since 1965, the lighted walkways and Christmas-card-worthy photo ops of Temple Square Christmas lights have become something of a family tradition — attracting thousands of visitors.

“It’s like a treat for your eyes and your ears and your heart,” said Lisa Marion from Alpine, Utah. She visited the lights with her husband, Mike Marion, and their five children the first night these lights turned on.

This year’s Christmas lights display began Friday evening, Nov. 29, at 4:30 p.m. MST. They will continue through Jan. 1, 2025, from 6 to 8 a.m. and from 4:30 to 10 p.m.

In addition to lighted trees, guests can find international Nativities, detailed luminaria and star-covered pavilions across the grounds.

Despite ongoing construction on the Salt Lake Temple and around Temple Square in recent years, several areas are available to see — the Church Office Building Plaza, leading to Main Street and the Conference Center, and continuing over to the Tabernacle and plaza directly northwest.

Having the iconic house of the Lord as the focal point of the lighted grounds points Lisa Marion’s focus to family and the Savior, she said. “It gets your head in the right space. You’re at Temple Square, you see the temple, and it reminds you that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and not Black Friday.”

Mike Marion agreed the lights allow visitors to slow down and focus on the Light of the World this Christmas.

“It’s something that you kind of pause and take in,” he said. “It puts you in the frame of: ‘Why am I here? What should I be thinking about instead of the hustle?’ It just focuses you on Christ in that way, like, ‘This is what’s most important.’”

Their young adult son Isaac Marion said: “This whole Christmastime feels like a gift to us. It’s a reminder of Christ’s Atonement and the gift to the world that He is.” The lights on Temple Square are “just a way to be surrounded by that in a more visual sense. It’s hard to ignore that out here.”

Visitors to Temple Square will also find a recently installed statue depicting the First Vision of Joseph Smith, created by artist Michael Hall, next to the Salt Lake Tabernacle. It’s the first in a series of 14 statues created by local artists — the rest to be placed around Temple Square throughout 2025 and 2026 — that will highlight key moments in the life of Jesus Christ and Church history.

“Temple Square has always had gardens and sculptures,” said Bill Williams, director of temple design for the Church’s Special Projects Department, according to a news release from the Church. “This renovation allowed us to reimagine the story these sculptures and gardens could tell.”

That story is one of faith and hope, said David Hunter, an architect for the Church. “We want to convey to the world that Christ leads His Church today. These pieces are designed to share that message with the world.”

See photos of this year’s Temple Square Christmas lights below.