Tours of Draper Utah Temple: Access and answers

DRAPER, Utah — As is customary with other Mormon temples throughout the world, a series of

special media and VIP tours was conducted of the Draper Utah Temple before its two-months-long public open house.

The media and VIP tours specifically — and the public

tours in general — have a simple purpose: \"To provide truth

and understanding and to dispel falsehoods and rumors that may exist about

temples or what goes on therein, the First Presidency has opened the doors

to the temples for these open houses,\" said Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the

Presidency of the Seventy.He joined Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder Quentin L. Cook of the

Quorum of the Twelve and Elder William R. Walker of the Seventy in leading

the media in the recent Draper temple tours.

As president of the Utah North, Utah Salt Lake City and Utah South

areas, Elder Rasband is closely involved with the Draper Utah Temple and

the neighboring, soon-to-be-completed Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. The two

are the first temples in the Salt Lake Valley since 1981 to be open for

pre-dedication public viewing.

Before his call to the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Rasband served

two years as executive director of the church's Temple Department and one

year as assistant executive director. He's been involved in similar open

houses, including temples in Frieberg, Germany; The Hague, Netherlands; San

Antonio, Texas; and Sacramento and Newport Beach, California.

\"We want to invite anyone who has an interest about the temple to feel

free to come through,\" Elder Rasband said.

Church members may wonder if a media tour of the temple results in

leading or sensitive questions. On the contrary, Elder Rasband said he's

never felt threatened or embarrassed in such situations, with no such

questions asked.

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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.