One year before the Salt Lake Temple reopens, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints welcomed media for a first look at its newly renovated Temple Square Visitors’ Center and announced when tickets for the Salt Lake Temple open house will be available.
The visitors’ center — a fresh, 40,000-square-foot experience sitting in the shadow of the Salt Lake Temple — opens to the public May 18, 2026, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Church leaders called the center a milestone ahead of next year’s temple celebration, which will run April 5 through October 1, 2027. Reservations for the Salt Lake Temple open house go on sale September 1, 2026.
“This visitors’ center sits in the shadow of the Salt Lake City temple,” said President Emily Belle Freeman of the Young Women General Presidency. “Now you may think you have been to a visitors’ center experience with us before — I am going to tell you this is not that.” Leaders described Monday’s preview as an unprecedented moment for Temple Square.
The center invites guests to explore how temple teachings connect to everyday life and the Church’s commitment to family and Christ, said Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Art and sculpture play a prominent role: a beloved replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s Christus stands in the west wing, while a new marble work by Swiss sculptor Christian Bolt, titled “Come Unto Me,” anchors the lower level and depicts the Savior extending an invitation of peace and compassion.
“They wanted a seated Christ, turned toward humankind,” Bolt said of the new piece. Outside, landscaped gardens feature bronze statues, including two new works portraying Jesus carrying the cross and Christ in Gethsemane, framing the east and west wings.
Immersive, accessible storytelling is woven throughout. Visitors enter through a dramatic video wall that opens into a replica of a temple lobby and can explore full-scale replicas of sacred temple rooms — baptistry, instruction rooms, a celestial room and sealing rooms — alongside a scale model of the Salt Lake Temple and a display of 11 built-to-scale miniature temples with a nearby temple globe. The center’s narrative begins with Brigham Young’s 1847 declaration, “Here we will build a temple to our God,” and is designed so anyone, inside or outside the Church, can understand the message.
“We truly are in a season of days never to be forgotten,” said Elder Matthew S. Holland of the General Authority Seventy. Uchtdorf added praise for the project’s completion: “It came about much better than we ever thought. It’s on time, on budget, it looks good, and we are looking forward to a wonderful celebration online and in person. Thank you to everyone who has accomplished this process.”
Practical information for visitors: entry to the visitors’ center is free; a reservation time is required for the 30-minute “Inside a Temple” guided tour and can be made through the Temple Square app or online. Free parking with validation is available at the Conference Center; City Creek parking south of Temple Square offers two free hours. The Temple Square TRAX station provides direct access to the center.