The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began the tradition of opening its sacred temples for public inspection with a one-evening open house in the Salt Lake Temple in 1893.
This year, the open houses for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan and the Draper Temple lasted two months each and drew a combined 1.25 million visitors.
LDS temples are closed to the public after dedication. But as they did on April 5, 1893, church leaders still lead government officials, businessmen and journalists through temples during an open house.
— Scott Taylor