An immersive new Temple Square Visitors’ Center opens in May: What to know

A new, immersive Temple Square Visitors’ Center will open next month and provide a unique experience to millions who come to the centerpiece of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The two-story center will offer the first walk-through experience of a temple outside of the generally brief public open houses held right after a temple is completed or renovated.

The church has invited the world to come and — for the first time since the temple closed for major renovations on Dec. 30, 2019 — tour the inside of the iconic, pioneer-era Salt Lake Temple on Temple Square during a six-month public open house in 2027.

Salt Lake Temple finally back on its feet

After that, it will close to the general public. The new center will help the church show visitors what it looks like on the inside.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Free reservations: The center will open on May 18. You can make free reservations for a 30-minute “Inside a Temple Tour” experience at Ticketing.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
• Iconic exhibits: The upper level has a statue of Jesus Christ and an updated cutaway scale model of the Salt Lake Temple.
• Walk-through replicas : The lower level features full-sized walk-through replicas of sacred temple ordinance rooms, including the baptismal, instruction, sealing and celestial rooms.
• Art-glass windows : New stained glass depicts scenes from the life of Christ, including his ministry to children as recorded in 3 Nephi 17 and his appearance to Mary Magdalene.
• Unobstructed views : Two ground-level, glass-encased pavilions offer direct sightlines of the Salt Lake Temple from the south side.

The celebration of the completed renovation of the Salt Lake Temple will be a public open house that will run every day from April 5, 2027, through Oct. 1, 2027. Free reservations to tour the renovated temple begin on Sept. 1, 2026.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, acting president of the church’s Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said virtual Salt Lake Temple tours will also launch in October.

President Uchtdorf says the theme of the open house celebration is “Rejoice in Christ.” Standing next to the Christus, he said, “I love my Jesus.”

The temple, he added, is a sign of dedication to Christ.

The new center stands just feet from the base of the temple. It has two glass-enclosed pavilions at ground level with a large underground space, built on the plot where the South Visitors’ Center previously stood. That center was demolished in early 2020.

On Monday, the church also relaunched its webpage, TempleSquare.org.

The guest building and pavilions are designed to help visitors understand the Latter-day Saint view of Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, the role of the Savior Jesus Christ in that plan, the purposes of temples to unite families for eternity and the importance of families as a foundation of society.

A complete timeline of the Salt Lake Temple renovations