The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CLJSDS) will open its doors to the general public for the first time since its dedication in 1893, the church said in a press release. Tourists will be able to see the religious institution central to the Mormon faith in Utah from April 5 to October 1, 2027, and a special reservation form will open from September 1, 2026.
The religious building, which CNN calls “mysterious,” has throughout its history been open only to followers of the Mormon faith. In 2019, it was temporarily closed for restoration, which, according to unofficial estimates, cost $2 billion.
During the work, the builders created an underground wing with an area of 100,000 square meters. feet (about 10,000 sq. m.), nine new ceremony rooms and a second baptismal font were added. Like the original font, it stands on 12 sculpted bulls, symbolizing the 12 tribes of Israel. The temple also received a new foundation with earthquake protection.
“The Salt Lake Temple survived bombing, a tornado and a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in 2020, which shook its walls and knocked a trumpet from the hand of the Angel Moroni statue at the top of the building,” CNN details.
Mormon beliefs, in addition to the Bible, are based on three other sacred texts. As is commonly believed in the CIHSDS, the main one, the Book of Mormon, was given by the Angel Moroni to the founder of the movement, Joseph Smith, in 1827.
The religious center of Mormons is considered to be Salt Lake City in Utah – there are more than 5,000 communities in the state, and up to 7 million followers of the confession live in the United States. The number of Mormons in the world reaches 17 million.
Salt Lake Temple Elder Matthew Holland noted in an interview with CNN that the building was originally built without modern tools and equipment. The material used was granite stone quarried from a small canyon about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the city center.
“In its time this was a remarkable engineering achievement. This is such a unique, one of a kind opportunity. [посетить храм] for the rest of the world to come and see what has been available only to members for over a hundred years [конфессии]”Holland added.
In a press release, CIHSPD emphasized that it is waiting for tourists from all over the world, and it will be possible to get up to six tickets per person.
Tours of the temple will be conducted from morning to evening, seven days a week. The church expects up to 25,000 people to visit the building in a day, and more than 4 million in six months. Salt Lake City tourism officials estimate that the event will bring up to $300 million in new revenue to the city's economy.
However, some managed to criticize the restoration of the temple itself even before the doors opened. Local art historian Micah Christensen said the building had lost its grand staircase as well as several hand-painted frescoes, including one depicting the Garden of Eden. It was originally created by a Mormon artist who trained in Paris.
“Most people don’t know how much the interior has changed. And they will be shocked. Do I think the original version was better than what they chose? I think this is a false choice between efficiency and conservation. I think you can do both,” said Christensen, who was married at the church before the renovation.
