Despite the cold, blustery weather Monday, May 18, visitors were still warmly welcomed on the grounds of Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Exhibits and interactive experiences featured in the new Temple Square Visitors’ Center opened to the public for the first time. Many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, along with visitors from around the world, gathered for an inside look at temples and their sacred purpose.
The new visitors’ center features a Christus statue, a scale model of the Salt Lake Temple, a room with other temple models, other new statues and a 30-minute guided “Inside the Temple” tour.
Visitors quietly moved from room to room, pausing to study displays and take photos near the Christus statue and temple models.
Missionaries and guides were stationed throughout the center to answer questions and assist visitors.
Some guests had traveled from around the world to experience a glimpse into the purpose and symbolism behind the sacred houses of the Lord.
Yocheved Ater, from Tel Aviv, Israel, described her visit in one word: “peace.”
Ater and her husband, who are Jewish, said exploring the full-scale replicas of sacred temple rooms — including a welcome desk, baptistry, instruction room, sealing room and celestial room — was a unique experience.
Throughout the “Inside the Temple Tour,” bright chandeliers, white furnishings, wood designs and stained glass gave Ater a sense of peace and reverence.
“It’s so peaceful to be a member of this community,” Ater said. “We need a lot of peace.”
Both members and nonmembers can experience the spirit of the temple and better understand its importance through the exhibit.
“Our Church leaders really wanted the focus to be on Jesus Christ and the fact that this is His house,” said Elder Brent H. Nielson, an emeritus General Authority Seventy, in a ChurchofJesusChrist.org release about the tour. “The visitors’ center gives those not of our faith an opportunity to see inside a temple and better understand what happens there.”
Nat Carson, a Church member from Salt Lake City, called the First Presidency’s decision to create a walk-through experience “revolutionary.”
“Anyone — not just during an open house, but forever — can come through and experience what it is like in a temple and to understand the covenants and the blessings that can be made there,” said Carson. “Even though it will not be a dedicated space, it still carries the spirit that a temple does, and I think people will feel that. It will touch their hearts.”
After completing the tour, Maryann Broberg, a Latter-day Saint from Ogden, said she learned something new and felt the same spirit she had experienced in the temple before.
“I felt the spirit in the tour, and I was not really expecting that it would be that way,” she said.
Jesus Christ remains at the center of this new space, marking a significant step in the reopening of Temple Square, scheduled for the spring of 2027.
Progress has been made to the Salt Lake Temple. According to news released Monday, May 18, crews are paving stone around the temple exterior, installing chandeliers in the celestial room and completing additional finishing details.
For now, visitors hoping to experience the same spirit of the temple can visit the visitors’ center without an appointment. The center is open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with no tickets or reservations required. The “Inside the Temple” tour reservations can be made on the Church’s website.
