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Workers are unwrapping the Salt Lake Temple from the top down this December.
Scaffolding has covered the temple from top to bottom for years during its epic renovation. Now it’s disappearing pipe by pipe and joint by joint.
All the temple’s spires are now fully visible. Workers are now removing scaffolding down to the base of the six towers that hold those spires.
The Deseret News held meetings this week at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building with excellent views of the spires, towers and construction workers disassembling the scaffolding on sunny and unseasonably warm December days.
The Roof Restaurant reopened last month in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building on the 10th floor, providing views open to the public.
Early in the renovation, in 2020, workers removed the spires and tower finials, the decorative stone features on the building’s six towers.
They carefully removed, inventoried, crated and stored each stone decoration to protect them from the heaviest work, especially the seismic upgrade.
They of course also removed the Angel Moroni, which was removed and stored in May 2020. After seismic work finished and the statue was refurbished with a fresh layer of 14-carat gold leaf, it returned to the top of the temple in April 2024.
As the scaffolds depart, it’s now clear for all to see that the spires and finials have been unboxed, cleaned and restored to the towers, too.
The church has scheduled a six-month public open house for the temple when it is complete from April to October 2027.
My recent stories
- What the sides told the Utah Supreme Court during oral arguments over the Heber Valley Utah Temple (Dec. 8)
- LJ Martin blasting his way toward top of the list of BYU workhorse legends (Dec. 5)
About the church
- The First Presidency broadcast its annual Christmas Devotional 2025: Read talk summaries and see the photos.
- The First Presidency released the rendering of the first Latter-day Saint temple in Indonesia.
- It also announced the groundbreaking for South America’s easternmost temple.
- The new Presiding Bishopric shared their testimonies and journeys: "God’s hand is in the details."
- The Giving Machines have been rolling out around the country. More than 10,000 students welcomed the charitable vending machines to BYU for the first time. They also debuted in South Jordan, with a warm welcome from the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation. Nine more countries also got the machines this year, and this is how leaders and visitors are reacting.
- A former NFL quarterback keeps defending the Christianity of Latter-day Saints.
- A YouTube sensation is among those called to the church advisory council for young men.
What I’m reading
- I love to watch my favorite teams’ games through thick and thin. My mom has to leave the room when a game is too close. Why do some people react differently? Our Jacob Hess tackled the somewhat Shakespearean question: To watch or not to watch the big game.
- Tim Allen can’t stop talking about the Bible.
- The reality behind the ‘religious revival’ headlines.
- Gen Z grew up with pornography. Now they’re leading the charge against it
What I’m watching
Adding a new section for one week, because I watched one of these in person and the other on TV and because everyone loves a buzzer beater:
Behind the scenes
