- The new Temple Square Visitors' Center opens May 18 and adds new exhibits to Temple Square.
- The "Inside a Temple" experience is similar to a temple open house, and showcases interviews with church members and rooms that look just like a temple.
- Swiss artist Christian Bolt created a marble statue of a seated Christ that sits at the center of the center's lower level.
SALT LAKE CITY — In addition to providing a new, beautiful location for the Christus statue, the new Temple Square Visitors' Center, which opens next month, features many new experiences for those visiting the headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The visitors' center has two above-ground wings, both with floor-to-ceiling windows facing the Salt Lake Temple, which is scheduled for a six-month open house in 2027. One features a replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus, the statue featured in church logos, and the other a detailed, modular model of the remodeled Salt Lake Temple. It's so detailed you can see the same artwork and molding designs that will be in the temple.
The lower level of the visitors' center connects both wings underground and provides new experiences and art that are different from what was available in the former visitors' center on Temple Square.
'Come Unto Me'
The center focal point of the lower level is a new statue of Christ created from the finest marble — from the same Carrara, Italy, quarry Michelangelo used for statues like the David.
Swiss artist Christian Bolt said it took years to design the statue; he called the project a "big honor." He was first approached about it in 2019 and began sketches in 2021. It took over a year between 2023 and 2025 to produce the statue from a 10-ton piece of marble. The completed 2-ton statue was installed in the visitors' center last fall.
He said the marble material speaks to him as the sculptor, and he needs to listen. "A reunion" between the material and the spirit, or meaning behind the sculpture, creates something living," Bolt explained.
He hopes those who encounter his statue feel they need to move toward the Savior, and at the same time feel he is moving toward them.
Bolt was commissioned by the church's First Presidency, which requested a seated Christ. He said showing movement with the seated statue was a big challenge — he pointed to Christ opening up his garment with one hand, showing there is space for a viewer, and reaching out with the other, showing he has the power to lift the viewer up.
The Christus statue shows Christ as a king of the universe, he said, and the First Presidency wanted the complimenting statue in the visitors' center to portray a Christ that can connect with an individual. That is why one foot is forward.
"He's like stepping out of his zone and entering into individual worlds," Bolt said.
Christ's clothing, Bolt said, is a symbol of covenants, and Christ is pulling up a corner of his clothing with one hand as if to open up himself and his heart.
When Bolt begins a sculpture, he said it is "personal and individual," but as an artist, eventually, you see you are not needed any more and pass the work on.
"It's like a gift, something you share," he said.
'Inside a Temple'
Temple open houses happen frequently around the world, as each temple is completed, but once temples are dedicated, they are reserved for members of the church whose local leaders find they are worthy of a temple recommend. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose to create a perpetual experience similar to a temple open house within the visitors' center.
The footprint of the temple exhibit is modeled after the Oklahoma City Temple, although it goes straight from one ordinance room to another without hallways, waiting areas or dressing rooms. The flower motifs and stained glass designs were made specifically for this exhibit.
Donna Lawrence, with THG Creative, the company hired to create audio and visual presentations for the exhibit, quipped that she is ready to join the church after learning about temples.
"I would love the experience that these people describe; it's so special … the role of the temple is unique," she said.
While helping interview members about the purpose of the temple, she was "just overwhelmed" with the emotion in their answers.
"We were just asking a question. I didn't realize how really deeply moving the answers would be," she said. "It was really beautiful."
The videos before and after the tour follow members as they talk about why they visit the temple and how their visits help them in their day-to-day lives.
Lawrence said she felt the exhibit created a welcoming place, with "no hint of lack of respect and openness" to the beliefs of anyone who comes to visit the exhibit — which stands out in today's world. That wasn't a goal of the project, she said, but a "natural result of the generous spirit and the real, honest, authentic spirit of sharing" from the project's leaders.
She said exhibits will be updated every few years, but it wouldn't surprise her if this one did not need many updates in the near future. When you get to the heart of the story like this exhibit does, it doesn't become dated as quickly.
"It's hard not to be affected in a very positive way by the sense of peace and love that you get from listening to these interviews," Lawrence said.
This is the only visitors' center planned for Temple Square, although there are multiple church museums in the Temple Square area.
The visitors' center is free and opens to the public on May 18. It will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Reservations are required for the "Inside a Temple" experience, and they filled up quickly after the opening was announced. New reservations will become available every other Monday beginning on June 1.
