Video of the Scale Model of the Salt Lake Temple. (Press play to view)
Today, the Church unveiled an 88-inch scale model of the Salt Lake Temple in the South Visitors’ Center on Temple Square in Salt Lake. You can see an introduction of the model in the video clip above. It is a 1:32 scale replica of the temple, with the walls cut away so visitors can see the rooms inside. Sixteen model makers constructed the model over five months, and went to great lengths to construct the model, using thousands of photographs to make sure every intricate detail was accurate, from the murals, to the wall paintings, chairs, lighting fixtures, etc. You can look into nearly every room.
The community regularly gets to tour new temples in a public open house before they are dedicated, but since it’s been so long since the dedication of the Salt Lake Temple, they hope this model will allow visitors to get the same experience of this temple:
“This replica will show the millions of visitors who come to Temple Square the beauty and majesty of this sacred and historic building,” said Elder Richard G. Hinckley, executive director of the Missionary Department. “Like all temples, once the building is dedicated it is used for sacred Church purposes and not open to the general public, but this exhibit will provide the public with a glimpse of the interior and a feeling of the Spirit that is present there.”
You can read more details, and see a few photos, about the model in the Church’s news release. They also have more details about the project, photos, audio clips, and a fact sheet at this link about the creation process.
I’m going to have to go up to Temple Square to see this fantastic new model.
That is soooo cool. I can’t even imagine the work that went into producing that model. I mean, the real thing is a lot more impressive, but even so. I think this is a great way to let people get a feel for the temple in a way that is more real that some kind of video or interactive video of some kind.
WOW – LOVE THE VIDEO. I saw photos in my local newspaper this morning and was blown away – but the video is especially cool. I can’t wait to take my family down to see this! What a marvelous tool for members and non alike to learn more about the temple, and to get to experience and appreciate the stunning beauty of this historic building. [OK, I know it would never happen, but wouldn’t it be so cool to be able to purchase a “limited edition” miniature of the replica? 🙂 ]
I hope this is just the beginning of scale models being built. How cool would it be if models of other temples were placed in their respective visitors centers around the world? What a powerful tool this is to educate and edify. The next logical choice would be the Washington DC Temple…
Thanks, Bryce, for posting this. That is much cooler than I thought it would be! I didn’t imagine that they were going to show the insides of the temple with so much detail! What they’ve done here is truly amazing. I imagine it will be helpful for those visitors who are not members of the Church as well, so they have the opportunity to see what is inside the temple. I think this was a great idea!
What a great idea! I think that putting the entire temple on display, and letting people see into every room, is very disarming and shows that we mean what we say about the distinction between secret and sacred.
My wife & I went and saw it last week. Its really amazing. Its so cool to get to see where everything is in relation to everything else. We were in that Temple district at one time, so we’ve been through it many times, but its hard to get the layout straight in your head. Plus its very neat to see the other rooms that we don’t get to see as regular attenders, such as the solemn assembly room.
I recommend going during the day on a weekday if you can swing it. We went on a weeknight and there was a small line, plus people lined up behind us, so we didn’t feel we could just stand and look for very long.