What started as a rough sketch on a napkin became two decades of planning and 6½ years of seismic renovations to protect the Salt Lake Temple against earthquakes.
Those seismic upgrades have been completed as Salt Lake City’s house of the Lord now rests on its new base isolation system.
“This is a milestone moment for this whole project,” said Brad Bohne, general superintendent with Jacobsen Construction, according to a June 30 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“The temple is set free,” Bohne continued. “Free to move now during an earthquake, so a big deal for us.”
Starting Thursday, June 25, construction crews removed over 1,500 bolts connecting 392 plates to the base isolators. These plates stabilized the 98 base isolators — located 20 feet below the temple — during installation.
The base isolators now allow the temple to move 5 feet in any direction during an earthquake.
Nathan Espinoza, assistant project manager with Jacobsen Construction, said that “the system is unlike anywhere else in the world.”
Additional Salt Lake Temple updates
Carpet has been installed in the historic temple’s celestial room and surrounding study areas. Several instruction rooms are also nearing completion.
In the east baptistry — one of two in the building — a chandelier now hangs above the baptismal font. Additional chandeliers beautify other hallways and rooms inside the house of the Lord.
Directly outside the temple, stone-paving work is underway. The pavement is being placed atop snowmelt tubing, which will help prevent snow and ice in colder months.
Other recent Temple Square news
The Salt Lake Temple’s refurbished oak doors were reinstalled on the east side of the structure June 23-25. The west doors returned in early June.
Jacob W. Olmstead, a manager in the Historic Sites Division in the Church History Department, said: “You look at those doors, and you understand you are on the threshold of the house of the Lord. You are at the dividing point between the sacred ordinances that take place on the inside that connect Latter-day Saints to Heavenly Father and their Savior, Jesus Christ, and the world outside.”
Through July 15, applications are open for volunteers and performers in its Salt Lake Temple Celebration. Volunteers should commit to at least eight weeks of service during the celebration, and most volunteer assignments are a single three- to four-hour shift per week.
“We’re really passionate about finding the right people to be here to welcome those guests from all over the world,” said Jen Allen, senior event manager for the Salt Lake Temple Celebration, to the Church News.
Also in preparation for the Salt Lake Temple Celebration, the Church has provided resources to involve members around the globe. A toolkit provides communication materials, planning guides and ideas for local participation, even for those not in Utah.
With these resources, leaders and members can focus local efforts on Jesus Christ, engage the rising generation and all people worldwide, coordinate efforts for the celebration and related activities, and strengthen faith by inviting others to learn about the blessings of the temple.
