Salt Lake Temple

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Temples are very important to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They are considered sacred and are different from chapels, where weekly church services and activites are held. Anyone is invited to attend an LDS church service, but there are no public tours inside the temple. Because members of the Church consider the temple to be the House of God, it is reserved for special ceremonies such as marriage ceremonies. These marriage ceremonies are called "sealings", and members of the Church believe that a marriage sealed in the temple will last not just "until death do they part", but for all time and eternity.

Temple marriages are performed in a "sealing room", where a bride and groom kneel and join hands across a simple altar to be sealed. They promise to honor and love one another completely, and they commit to follow the example and teachings of Jesus. In return, they are promised that their marriage and their family will endure into the next life. Children born or adopted into these eternal marriages can also be sealed to their families forever.

There are over 150 LDS temples around the world, but this is the world's largest temple. It took 40 years to build, from 1853 to 1893.

The figure on the top is the Angel Moroni, a symbol of spreading the good news of the gospel to all the world with trumpet in hand. You'll see this same figure on almost every LDS temple. He stands 14 feet tall, with a steel rod extending down into the tower about 27 feet to keep it standing strong against the worst storms.