Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the theme for the upcoming Salt Lake Temple Celebration on the same day reservations were made available for open house tickets.
Speaking from the new temple entrance building north of the Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, called the celebration a historic event that will accompany the reopening of the Salt Lake Temple in 2027 following its extensive, seven-year renovation.
“We invite the world — everyone, hundreds of thousands of people, millions of people,” he said. “We expect 5 million people to come and see and enjoy this wonderful experience — what the temple, the house of the Lord, represents.”
President Uchtdorf was accompanied at the event by fellow members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Quentin L. Cook and Elder Neil L. Andersen. Primary General President Rosemary K. Chibota, who began serving one month earlier, spoke about what she believes children can feel as they attend the celebration with their families.
“Everyone is invited,” she said. “We invite you to come and tour the temple. But this is more than touring a remarkable building, it is about coming closer to Jesus Christ.”
Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson; Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman; Presiding Bishop W. Christopher Waddell; General Authority Seventies Elder Matthew S. Holland, Elder K. Brett Nattress, and Elder Jeremiah J. Morgan; and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also attended the event.
A special children’s choir performed as part of the program.
The group of 12 children sang an arrangement of “I Love to See the Temple.”
During his remarks, President Uchtdorf said the celebration’s theme will extend to the youth of the Church around the world in 2027 as their theme for the year. FSY conferences, music festivals and other activities will all use the theme of “Rejoice in Christ” alongside the events of the Salt Lake Temple Celebration.
President Freeman said she looks forward to seeing how the youth both prepare for and participate in the celebration.
“We just had the announcement of the Churchwide, worldwide theme ‘Rejoice in Christ,’ and that is also going to be the youth theme this year. [It] will be this ‘Rejoice in Christ’ from Philippians 4:4 all year long,” she said.
President Johnson said she sees a great opportunity for sisters of the Relief Society around the world to worship in temples wherever they are.
“We hope it is unifying for a global Church, because temples do dot the earth,” she said. “There are opportunities to participate in temple ordinances coming with more regularity to our members as temples are coming to more places — remote places.”
And the preparation she invited sisters to do was less about this temple and more about their personal preparation to make covenants with the Lord.
“I would just say to our sisters, I invite you to prepare to be endowed and enjoy the blessings of endowment in the house of the Lord,” President Johnson said. “And whether a temple has been announced in your area or not, live ready to go. Have that temple recommend in hand. Show the Lord you are prepared to take His name upon you in new and higher and holier ways so that you can draw upon His power.”
Rich Sutton, a senior director in the Church’s Temple Department, conducted and spoke at the event.
“Tickets will be released and will continue periodically with batches over the coming months,” he said. Following the event’s conclusion, the first batch of hundreds of thousands of tickets made available through TempleSquare.org was nearly exhausted in less than one hour.
“Please do not get stressed if the first release of tickets reserves very quickly. Additional tickets will open regularly throughout this timeframe,” Sutton said.
This event was held in the new entrance building of the Salt Lake Temple. It was the first chance to see the new addition. A stained-glass installation lines the wall of the new building.
The announcement was streamed live on the Church’s YouTube channel and is available to watch.
Following the event, President Uchtdorf met with members of the media and spoke of personal efforts individuals must make to be protected and preserved like the Church has done for the Salt Lake Temple.
“We have responsibilities to protect the house of the Lord with all the knowledge and the means we have,” he said. “But even more, we have to protect our own foundation. We have to protect our own solid situation within the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not perfection — we need to be willing to be as good as possible. Then we know that Jesus Christ opens the temple doors, and with the temple doors, He opens the door into the eternities.”
Gov. Cox spoke of the temple and its draw to people who aren’t members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“While this is a building of faith for so many that practice this faith, it is also a building of interest — an historic building in the history of westward migration, in the history of faith communities in the United States, a place where people come every year and never get a chance to enter that building. And yet, they come anyway,” he said.
With the open house, that changes for a six-month period.
“Finally, they all get to go inside and see what this is all about and see what has happened on this space,” he said.
More details about the celebration, open house reservations and opportunities to participate in the celebration virtually can be found at TempleSquare.org. More information is expected to be published there in coming months ahead of the celebration’s start in April 2027.
Tour expectations
As individuals make plans to participate in the Salt Lake Temple Celebration and visit Temple Square, time for travel, parking and the tour should all be considered.
The starting point for the open house tours is across the street at the Conference Center. Each tour is expected to take more than an hour to complete. That time doesn’t include stopping for photos around Temple Square, visiting exhibits or watching musical performances.
“In addition to the tour of the temple, there will be many other exhibits, experiences, films, activities and performances on Temple Square that do not require a ticket — all free of charge,” Sutton said.
Parking instructions will become available closer to the beginning of the celebration, but the Church encourages visitors to use public transportation options.
The tours will be available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin and American Sign Language. Tours are also available for those who are blind or who have low vision. A neurodiverse tour is also available.
The Temple Square app hosts individuals’ tour tickets, the narration of the tour, details of available exhibits or performances and maps of the grounds.
For those who wish to volunteer during the Salt Lake Temple Celebration, applications are available through Sept. 14.
“During the celebration, we need thousands of welcoming volunteers to create a joyful experience for millions of guests,” Sutton said.
President Freeman said she is excited for youth around the world to share in rejoicing by both celebrating outside the Salt Lake Temple and also serving inside temples.
“It won’t just be the rejoicing that’s happening here on the temple grounds but the rejoicing that also happens on the inside of our temples,” she said. “And the opportunity and the privilege that is ours — the youth all over the world — to enter these temples and to serve there and the great work that is done there and the rejoicing that happens on both sides of the veil — both earth’s side and heaven’s side.”
Virtual tours
The Temple Square app and TempleSquare.org will help those who cannot physically attend the celebration and open house to have experiences not previously available with temple open houses.
“We will bring the celebration on Temple Square to you in your home through various means in a virtual setting,” Sutton said.
The first opportunity to do virtual tours through these two means is scheduled for October.
From the almanac
The Salt Lake Temple’s location was originally determined shortly after pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in July 1847. The groundbreaking for the temple took place six years later, on Feb. 14, 1853, after the valley was settled and the pioneers were more organized.
Construction of the temple took 40 years to complete, as the builders used 19th century construction techniques and tools to erect the 222-foot-tall building. It became the sixth temple dedicated in this dispensation.
