Fun Facts about the Salt Lake Temple-(Closed for Renovation-reopening date 2025)

Pic Credit:The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

-The Salt Lake Temple is the 4th dedicated Temple in operation, and the fourth in Utah, though it was started before the other Pioneer temples were started(St. George, Manti and Logan). Groundbreaking in 1853 by Brigham Young and dedicated in April 6-24 1893 by Wilford Woodruff. The Salt Lake Temple was dedicated three years before Utah became a state, in 1896. It took 40 years to build the temple!!

-The Salt Lake Temple is the only temple dedicated by President Wilford Woodruff.

- Only four day’s after Brigham Young entered the Salt Lake Valley he chose the site for the Salt Lake Temple. “As he and a few others walked across the area that would one day become Temple Square, he struck the ground with his cane and declared ‘Here will be the Temple of our God.’ Wilford Woodruff then placed a stake in the ground to mark the spot that would become the center of the Salt Lake Temple.” This is also the the Base and Meridian of Salt Lake City. Every street is named after how far it is from the temple.

-The Salt Lake Temple is the international symbol of the Church, with it’s spires and angel Moroni statue on top.

-During the April 1853 general conference, President Brigham Young said “I have never inquired what kind of a temple we should build. Why? Because it was represented before me. I have never looked upon that ground but the vision of it was there. I see it plainly as if it was reality before me.”

-The Temple is built with granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon. Each granite block is hand-shaped. The walls are nine feet thick at the base and six feet thick at the top.

-The temple interior was completed and ready for dedication on April 5, 1893, only one day before the dedication of the temple. On that day, the church leaders led governments officials through the undedicated Salt Lake Temple and this started the tradition of doing open houses before the dedications of Temples.

-The Salt Lake Temple was the first temple to have a standing Angel Moroni. The original plans had two Angel Moroni statues. On March 18, 2020, a 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the Salt Lake City during the renovation of the Salt Lake Temple, causing the trumpet to be shaken from the grasp of the angel Moroni statue and land on the tower roof.

-The Salt Lake Temple angel Moroni is 12-feet, 5-inches tall with a steel rod going 27 feet down into the building. There is also a 4,000-pound counterweight at the bottom, ensuring that the angel will withstand extreme weather conditions.

-The foundation of the Salt Lake Temple had to be built twice, after covering the foundation from political problems when the foundation was uncovered they found cracks in it. It took fourteen years to build the foundation. Brigham Young said: "I want to see the temple built in a manner that it will endure through the Millennium."