The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the Conference Center at Temple Square in Salt Lake City will be fully closed to the public starting next month on March 30 through March 1, 2027.
The temporary closure is to help prepare the Conference Center for the historic Salt Lake Temple’s six month open house next year by facilitating critical construction, upgrades to the infrastructure and exhibit development, according to a news release published on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“This operational pause is essential to allow project teams to execute a significantly expanded scope of work and ensure the facility is fully prepared to support the elevated guest experience planned for 2027,” the church’s news release stated, quoting a communication sent to church employees this week.
What about general conference and other major scheduled events?
Public access to the Conference Center during its 11-month closure will be limited exclusively to the church’s April and October 2026 general conferences, as well as other major scheduled events, such as Luz de las Naciones in November and the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concerts, according to the church’s news release.
Conference Center parking and access to parking elevators will also remain open and operational, while all church departmental use of the building — including meetings, trainings and social functions — will be suspended during the building’s temporary closure.
Other updates, Easter displays at Temple Square
The scaffolding that has covered the Salt Lake Temple from top to bottom for several years is continuing to come down, allowing visitors at Temple Square to see more of the historic structure’s stonework and exterior, according to the church’s release.
It is expected that the scaffolding will continue to be gradually removed through mid-March of this year, as stone walls are also cleaned, according to a previous report by the church.
Inside the temple, finish work in the east and west baptistries located on the second lower level of the temple is progressing with carpet, pews and chandeliers recently added.
“Guests are invited to visit Temple Square to see the Easter displays highlighting the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that will be installed beginning at the end of February,” according to the church’s recent release.
The upcoming Easter displays at Temple Square will focus on Christ’s teachings, miracles, atonement and resurrection.
A “sense of the sacred” is definitely beginning to emerge as renovation or “renewal” work on the Salt Lake Temple and the grounds at Temple Square continues drawing closer to the end of its construction phase, Georges Bonnet — the communications director over the temple’s renovation project — recently told the Deseret News.
Learn more about the scope and purpose of the renovations to the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square from Bonnet here. The renovations are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.
