Temple Square all abuzz amid Saturday's conference sessions

SALT LAKE CITY — On any day of the year, Temple Square is the most popular tourist site in Utah. But twice a year, tourists are apt to find themselves lost in a sea of white shirts, ties and dressy dresses.

"This is interesting. Totally impressive. My hat's off to your gardener," said Bob Slacke, who, with his friend Sue Gatensbury, was en route to the Grand Canyon when they stopped off in Salt Lake City for the day Saturday. "The temple is unbelievable, but the most impressive part of the experience is how nice the people are."

Not being able to get into the temple, which is reserved for faithful LDS, was one of the few complaints tourists had.

Slacke and Gatensbury, from Vancouver, Canada, had been touring the Tabernacle Saturday and were invited, with other visitors, to leave so the building could be used by conferencegoers. During the sessions, the Assembly Hall in the square's southwest corner is also reserved for LDS members attending conference, particularly Spanish speakers.

Between sessions, tourists were again treated to tours of the Tabernacle and Assembly Hall.

The two visitors centers on the square remained open during the sessions, and tourists mingled with church members who couldn't get into the Conference Center or any of the overflow sites adjacent to the center.

"We just have fewer tourists, more members," said Sister Nyman, one of the many regularly assigned missionaries on the square. Her name tag bore a Norwegian flag to identify her country of origin.

Among church members who clustered around the popular South Visitors Center replica of the Salt Lake Temple were Katie Roskelley of Sacramento, Calif., and Emily Drumman, also a Californian but currently a student at BYU. "We're about to go get in line to see if we can get any tickets to the afternoon session," said Drumman.

Jason Wicks and Lyn Hamlett of Melbourne, Australia, visit the United States often for work and have been in Las Vegas a number of times.

"I always saw the highway signs pointing to Salt Lake City and wanted to come here," said Hamlett. This time, Utah was on their list and they landed in Salt Lake City just in time for conference.

"This is a beautiful city," said Wicks. "We are enjoying looking around." In fact, he said, they were planning another day in Utah, including a visit to Park City, based on their impressions of the area.