Inside the new Temple Square Visitors’ Center in Salt Lake City, a large quilt hangs on the wall with 91 blocks or squares representing stories of eternal families and the temple.
It is called “The Family Quilt.” Accompanying information about it explains, “In quilting, sturdy stitching joins pieces of fabric to create a larger design. In temples, sacred promises join individuals, families, and generations with each other and with God.”
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from around the world made the individual quilt panels.
Gabriela Vega, from the South American country of Uruguay, sewed a block featuring different homes all crowned by the Montevideo Uruguay Temple. It symbolizes that families can be forever, she said.
Vega began making blankets when her grandson was born with a congenital condition called Trisomy 13 or Patau syndrome. After he died, Vega founded a group that crochets blankets for children in hospitals across the country.
The group, “Las Liebres: Tejiendo Vínculos de Caridad” or “The Hares: Weaving Bonds of Charity,” started with a few sisters from her ward and now has more than 300 people from many different backgrounds and faiths.
Vega mainly crochets blankets from yarn. She said there isn’t a strong tradition of patchwork quilting in Uruguay, but for the Temple Square quilt, she studied and did her best, sewing the small pieces of colored fabric by hand into her quilt square. She was honored when she found out her square was chosen.
“This square represents not only me and my family but is also dedicated to every helpful and selfless woman in Las Liebres, as well as the many Relief Society women in my country for whom the motto “Charity never faileth” is a part of daily life.”
Sachiko Aldous, from Vineyard, Utah, is a longtime sewer and quilter. For her block, she appliqued a traditional cherry blossom motif to represent her Japanese heritage.
“My quilt block represents different generations of my family and how we can influence each other,” she told the Church News.
In the middle she stitched the scripture verse, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20), which she said gives her comfort because she knows her ancestors are there for her as well as Heavenly Father. She especially misses and loves her grandfather, who died when she was in high school. But she knows families are eternal because of Jesus Christ.
Penny Stephenson, from Provo, Utah, was asked to stitch all 91 blocks together. She began in late March 2025 and finished the quilt in May 2025.
“Working on the quilt was a wonderful experience,” she said. At first, she only had the blocks but as she learned the background stories, she was grateful to know more about the creators and origins behind “the incredible variety of designs, colors and techniques.”
First she trimmed or sashed the blocks to make them all the same size, then sewed them together. She chose quilting designs with the design team in Salt Lake City and then quilted the piece on her longarm quilting machine.
“The leaves in the border represent the family tree and the Tree of Life, serving as a reminder that through Christ we are all connected and can be eternal families,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said sometimes she wonders if all her years of quilting experience led her to this quilt. “I encourage the viewers of the quilt to take the time to learn about the blocks and their meanings and creators.”
Viewers at the visitors’ center can scan the QR code on the sign by the quilt to read the names of each creator and learn about the blocks. The information is also at www.ChurchofJesusChrist.org/feature/templesquare/the-family-quilt.
For example, the information explains that one of the squares, by Diane Elizabeth Healey-Mainoo, includes pink floral cloth from an ancestor whose parents crossed the Plains from England and Italy.
“Knowing where my family comes from links me to them and has been key in understanding my identity,” Healy-Mainoo wrote.
Moana Burgess stitched a canoe, reflective of her Maori heritage. A canoe needs unity to move forward, she wrote, and unity is also essential to family.
Reading the stories of each block was inspiring, Aldous told the Church News. “Looking at the finished quilt reminds me that we all have unique stories we can learn from and we are all God’s children no matter who we are.”
When Vega saw the finished quilt in the visitors’ center, she reflected on the unity the gospel brings.
“We women in the Church are deeply appreciated; prophets and leaders recognize our worth as daughters of God and the vital role we play in His plan of salvation.”
