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Temple Square
Perhaps no place in Utah's capital city is as intriguing to visitors than Temple Square, the best known landmark of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ravell Call, Deseret News |
It's the place tourists go to learn about the people who crossed the plains more than 150 years ago to settle this once desert valley, and learn about the religion that motivated them. Temple Square welcomes more than 5 million visitors a year and provides the public with 200 missionary guides from 40 countries speaking 35 languages.
The Salt Lake LDS Temple, with its magnificent six granite spires and golden statue of the Angel Moroni, is the main structure on the 10-acre Temple Square. Construction on the temple began in 1853 and took 40 years to complete, with pioneers hauling the temple's building materials in from miles away on horse-drawn carts.
Also on Temple Square is the church's historic Tabernacle, a domed meeting place where the church for almost a decade held its semi-annual conferences and still the place where the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performs.
The story of the LDS Church and Temple Square is told at two visitors centers, both of which recently reopened after an extensive renovation. The north and south visitors centers on Temple Square have been redesigned to help visitors gain information in an engaging manner to their level of interest.
There are 35 interactive kiosks and many historical and spiritual displays complete with texts. There are life-size replicas of Isaiah, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and other spiritual figures as well as diorama depictions of events ancient and modern.
The north visitors center deals with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, scriptures and revelations and service to others. The south center offers information on the building of the Salt Lake Temple and temples in general, as well as information on families.
Christus on Temple Square.
Tom Smart, Deseret News |
The famous Christus statue has remained virtually untouched, though it now shares "crown jewel" honors with a stunning vista of the temple itself from the grand new windows in the south center. There, the range and scope of the church's ministry may best be seen as quaint kiosks, in the shape of large play houses and equipped with video monitors, that show video clips of children, while --to the north—the spires of the temple stand in solemn grandeur.
Visitors first began visiting Temple Square in 1875, a good 18 years before the temple itself was completed. The first official center was constructed in 1902.
A holiday tradition at Temple Square is the lighting of the grounds with more than 1 million Christmas lights. Normally, the lights are taken down after the holiday season. During the winter of 2002, however, the Temple Square grounds will remain lighted through mid-March.
Temple Square and the visitors centers are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Admission is free.
For more information visit the church's Web site at www.lds.org/basicbeliefs/placestovisit/1035.html
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