Rare Historical Images: The Mormon Salt Lake Temple in Utah

Amazing Photographs From The Distant Past

The original 1854 design of the East side shows the horizontal angel, Sun faces, earth details, and compass and square window details. These elements were later modified or removed.

The Mormon Salt Lake Temple is the most famous Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and is located on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. At 253,015 square feet (23,505.9 m2), it is the largest Mormon Temple by floor area. It was dedicated in 1893. It was the sixth Temple completed by the Mormon church, requiring 40 years to complete, and the fourth Temple built since the Mormons left Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1846. The Temple was closed for approximately four years in December 2019 for remodeling and seismic renovations.

Below are over 50 images showing the exterior and interior of this building. Usually, only a select percentage of the Mormon membership can enter it. Although many would say it is a secret place, the Mormons insist it is sacred. And that is the reason no one from the public can enter.

Photo courtesy of Utah.gov Digital Collections

(Image Source: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 29 №3)

(Image Source: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 29 №3)

(Image Source: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 29 №3)

(Image Source: Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 29 №3)

"The Paris of America" in 1907.

Tub for a literal version of the washing and anointing ceremony used at the time (1911)

Creation Room (1911)

Large painting within the Temple: Idealized Depiction Of Adam-Ondi-Ahman by Alfred Lambourne.

Large painting within the Temple: Hill Cumorah by Alfred Lambourne was painted much larger than the actual hill.

The Main Assembly Room of the Salt Lake Temple.

Original Salt Lake Temple Annex: Savage photo, BYU Digital Archives, MSS P 24 Item 489

Statuary in the Celestial Room (1911)

Taken from the Aaronic (West) pulpits of the Salt Lake Temple Assembly Room, looking to the Melchizedek (West) pulpits. (Found in Hinckley, Gordon B., "Why These Temples?" Ensign, August 1974, 44).

Assembly hall for Mormon Church General Authorities and Leaders. The Assembly Hall is primarily used for solemn assemblies, which are special meetings to address weighty matters of church business and enhance members' spirituality. This includes sustaining new general authorities and church leadership or conducting other priesthood business. The Assembly Hall is also used for unique devotionals called by the First Presidency or Quorum of Twelve Apostles to give counsel, inspiration, and direction to missionaries, general authorities, stake presidents and patriarchs, and ward bishops.

Photograph of the Salt Lake Temple Celestial Room circa 1909

A Sealing room for marriage ceremonies in the Celestial room features a stained glass image of the adolescent Joseph Smith being visited by the angel Moroni.

The Solemn Assembly Room in the Salt Lake Temple circa 1890s.

Massive Granite rocks were used to build the Salt Lake Temple circa 1872.

Dedication Service Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Dedication Service Salt Lake City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Salt Lake Temple Annex by Charles Savage (photo for House of the Lord, 256.)

"Battlements on Latter-day Saint Temples" or "The Castellated Temple Style"

Council Room of the Twelve Apostles on the third-floor view taken looking northwest circa 1911

March 30, 1963, picture of the construction site, showing the sandstone sub-foundation to the granite foundations under the main entrance to the Salt Lake Temple. Photo by Ralph T. Clark, Deseret News archives.

The main floor corridor shows Joseph Smith preaching to the "Lamanites."

High council room of the Salt Lake Temple circa 1911

Photograph of the foundation of the Salt Lake Temple, taken about 1872. Photo by William C. Carter.

March 30, 1963, picture of the construction site, showing the sandstone sub-foundation to the granite foundations under the main entrance to the Salt Lake Temple. Photo by Ralph T. Clark, Deseret News archives.

Quarrying granite for the Mormon Temple, Utah Territory, 1872. The ground is strewn with boulders and detached masses of granite, which have fallen or been hewn from Cottonwood Canyon's walls. The quarrying consists of splitting the stone into blocks that can be transported to the Salt Lake Temple construction site. Source: US Archives American West photographs

The foundations of Salt Lake Temple with the Tabernacle at the rear.

A cutaway model of the Salt Lake Temple showing the ordinance rooms and upper assembly room.

Main Street looking south from First North, Salt Lake City, in the early 1860s. Courtesy: Church History Library.

A view of the terrestrial room veil in the Salt Lake Temple circa 1912

Photo courtesy of Utah.gov Digital Collections

Photo courtesy of Utah.gov Digital Collections

The Garden Room in the Salt Lake Temple circa 1909.

The baptismal font in the Salt Lake Temple circa 1909.

Council Room of the Twelve Apostles on the third-floor view looking northwest circa 1911.

The Holy of Holies of the Temple is situated between the two sealing rooms; It is the most elaborately finished of all the smaller apartments. A flight of six steps leads to the elevated floor of this room, and the portal is guarded by a pair of sliding doors, which is a measure corresponding to the inner veil of the ancient sanctuaries circa 1912.

Moon Stones on the Salt Lake Temple

The Salt Lake Temple includes eight spiral staircases. All have central support. The four corner towers have solid granite staircases.

The Assembly Hall takes up the entire top floor of the Salt Lake Temple. If you were looking at the Temple from the outside, it spans the top two rows of arched and oval windows from the East towers to the West towers. It's a magnificent room with amazing original pioneer-era woodwork and four ornate spiral staircases to the mezzanines.

Salt Lake Temple Sealing Rooms — This sealing room is connected to the Celestial Room. It is one of many various-sized sealing rooms where couples are married. First, the bride and groom, dressed in white, kneeling at the altar facing each other. Holding hands across the altar, the bride and groom then make covenants to each other and with God to be faithful to one another and God and keep His commandments.

The Celestial room in the Temple. The Holy of Holies is behind the middle double doors. There are four significant doors you can see in the photo above. The one on the far left, up the small staircase, used to be an office, but it has since been changed to a beautiful sealing room, flooded with natural light (because it is located in the central east tower). The next one is the sealing room for the living; the one on the far right is the original sealing room for the dead. Finally, the one in the center, with its doors closed, leads up to the Holy of Holies, a particular room reserved for use by the Prophet.

The earliest photos of the interior of the Garden Room were taken by Charles E. Savage and published in James E. Talmage's book The House of the Lord.

Patrons emerge onto this landing and proceed up the staircase. As they do, they pass a stained glass depiction of Adam and Eve being cast out of the garden. The stained glass used to be located near the entrance to the world room, but it was moved when an elevator was placed there.

Stained glass showing Adam and Eve cast out of the garden.

Salt Lake Temple Grand Staircase

Salt Lake Temple exterior in 1893.

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