The Salt Lake Temple is the biggest and most famous shrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints among the over 130 temples across the globe. It is the focal point of the 10 acre Temple Square which is also a famous tourist attraction. Unfortunately, the general public is not allowed to tour inside the temple since it is considered sacred, but the temple grounds are open to visitors who want to wonder at the architectural mastery that went into its construction from the outside.

As a testament to its significance in the heritage and faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or shortly LDS, it is the venue of the regular meetings of the First Presidency ? the highest governing body of the religion ? and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The meeting of the First Presidency is held at the Holy of Holies where the LDS president act as the high priest and said to engage in direct contact with God. As such, the Holy of Holies is considered as the most sacred place in LDS faith. Another distinguishing factor of the Salt Lake Temple from other LDS churches is its name. In the early years of the 21st century, the LDS leadership released a guide on how to name its temples. For the churches in the United States, it should follow the format: name of city succeeded by the name of the state without comma. However, LDS Church leaders made an exemption for the temple. Without this, this site should have been name The Salt Lake City Utah Temple.

A lot stipulates that the Salt Lake Temple is meant to conjure the Solomon Temple. The church is facing the direction of Jerusalem and the baptismal basin found inside the church is placed on top of the back of twelve oxen similar to brazen sea found in Solomon?s Temple.

The location of the Salt Lake Temple was not chosen out of whim but actually through divine intervention as this was done by an LDS prophet and its second president Brigham Young. The religious site was dedicated in 1853 and its cornerstone was laid down April 6 of the same year. Sandstone was initially utilized for the foundation of the temple, but after the Utah War, it was discovered that most of the foundation has been damaged. A few sandstones were retained, but construction commenced with the use of granite-looking quartz monzonite. The exterior of the temple was fully completed when the capstone and the Angel Moroni statue were laid in 1892 and the church itself was dedicated in 1893.

The edifice of the Salt Lake Temple is not just beautiful; it also provides an overview of the LDS faith. The golden bust of the Angel Moroni represents the angel which will come to hail the second coming of Christ as mention in the Book of Revelations. A representation of the constellation Big Dipper can be found on the west side of the temple. The Big Dipper is used by many travellers to locate the North Star; in the same way that LDS believe that their religions help people discover the path to Heaven. Above each entrance to the church, a ?hand clasp? appears to show the covenants made in the temple?s confines. Scattered all over the church are carved stones representing major heavenly bodies: the sunstones which denote; moonstones which depict the moon in different phases to signify the different stages in people?s lives; and starstones which stand for Jesus Christ.