Groups and individuals can now apply to participate and help welcome the millions of visitors expected to flood the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square during its upcoming open house and celebration, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Monday in a press release.
“We are looking for nearly 30,000 volunteers to come and help us welcome millions of people from all over the world,” Jennifer Allen, senior event manager over the Salt Lake Temple celebration and volunteer applicants, told the Deseret News following the announcement.
“The number one goal of this event is that every single individual person who comes feels welcome.”
The historic Salt Lake Temple’s celebration will take place April 5 through Oct. 1, 2027, and will enable guests to experience the renovated Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square.
Through music, dance, storytelling and personal interaction, volunteers and participants of diverse backgrounds, faiths, talents and experience levels will “help create experiences centered on Jesus Christ, faith and the purpose of temples,” per the church’s press release.
Here’s more information about the various volunteer and paid opportunities available, as well as the application process.
Temple Square volunteers
Individuals ages 16 and older in 2027 can apply to serve as Temple Square volunteers. They may be assigned to welcome guests, answer questions or serve in behind-the-scenes roles that support the Salt Lake Temple celebration, according to the church press release.
Opportunities exist for both guest-facing and non-guest-facing assignments, including some remote roles.
Volunteers will be asked to commit to at least eight weeks of service during the temple celebration, and most volunteer assignments will consist of one shift a week that may require extended periods of standing.
“We’re looking for everybody who works this celebration to have joy in order to joyfully welcome people all over,” Allen told the Deseret News.
“Through that joy, we know that they will feel God’s love for them and again, create that welcoming environment that celebrates the temple … (and) our connection with each other.”
Volunteer performing groups
Music and dance groups — including vocal and instrumental ensembles, folk and cultural groups, school organizations, and other performing groups — may also apply to participate in the Salt Lake Temple celebration.
All performers must be at least 8 years old, the church press release states, and group size may range from four to 100 participants, though smaller groups are preferred.
Selected groups will be invited to deliver a 30-minute performance one or more times during the Salt Lake Temple’s six-month celebration.
Volunteer artisans, museum guides and educators
Additional opportunities are available for individuals interested in participating as volunteer artists, Church History Museum guides and educators.
“These roles will help enrich the guest experience throughout the celebration,” the church press release states.
Paid opportunities
Individuals may also apply to work as professional individual performers or Temple Square guides.
Professional performers — including singers, storytellers, dancers and instrumentalists — ages 18 to 35 may audition for a paid performance troupe that will perform throughout the celebration, according to the church press release.
Selected performers will serve under contract from February through October 2027 and should anticipate a full-time schedule during that period.
Individuals who have concluded their service as Latter-day Saint missionaries within the past three years may also apply to work as professional Temple Square guides, whose work is to assist visitors, provide information and help create a welcoming environment.
How to apply
Links to apply to each of the volunteer and paid opportunities above are available at templesquare.org/eng/volunteer.
The page and individual applications listed in it provide further information regarding qualifications, schedules and other details.
“The application process was really straightforward,” Duncan Watt, a 21-year-old BYU student who has already applied to volunteer, told the Deseret News.
The page “shows you what all the different roles are and what you would do and what the time commitment would be,” he said. It’s “really pretty easy.”
Blake Barnes, a 22-year-old student athlete at Utah State University, has also already applied and told the Deseret News he is most looking forward to connecting with people from all over the world through his volunteer service.
It’s a “really unique opportunity to be able to connect with them through the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
He invited others to apply, saying, “Take the chance, make the sacrifice to come down and be a part of the celebration because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”