MORMON TEMPLE, SALT LAKE CITY

The Salt Lake Temple is a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. At 23,505.9 m2, it is the largest LDS temple by floor area. Dedicated in 1893, it is the sixth temple completed by the church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth temple built since the Mormon exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois in 1846.

The Salt Lake Temple is the centrepiece of the 4.0 ha Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. Like other LDS temples it is considered sacred by the church and its members and a temple recommend is required to enter, so there are no public tours inside the temple, though there are public tours of other adjacent buildings on Temple Square. The church permitted Life to publish the first public photographs of the building's interior in 1938. In the photos below you can see a cutaway view of a model of the temple's interior.

The temple grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction. Due to its location at LDS Church headquarters and its historical significance, it is patronised by Latter-day Saints from many parts of the world. The Salt Lake Temple is also the location of the weekly meetings of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. As such, there are special meeting rooms in the building for these purposes, including the Holy of Holies, which are not present in other temples.

The temple is located in downtown Salt Lake City, with several mountain peaks close by. Nearby, a shallow stream, City Creek, splits and flows both to the west and to the south, flowing into the Jordan River. There is a wall around the temple site. The surrounding wall became the first permanent structure on what has become known as Temple Square. The wall is a uniform 5 metres high but varies in appearance because of the southwest slope of the site.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Photo of the Week meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
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