Temple Square Renovation Update: August 2025

Renovation work on the Salt Lake Temple is progressing, revealing both beautiful craftsmanship and deep historical connections to faith in Jesus Christ and the sacrifices of early members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Holiness to the Lord” Panel Restored 

Recently restored is the “Holiness to the Lord” (Exodus 28:36) panel, which rests above the east center tower, below the angel Moroni statue. These sacred words, found on the exterior of every temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were regilded.

Anne Domenech, an artist with EverGreene, oversaw the delicate work.  

“The technical process was to clean the plaque because it had been destroyed by the weather,” she said. 

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Domenech had to prepare the surface carefully before applying the gold — a complicated process because the climate changes continually and the sun interferes with the drying process. 

For Domenech, the assignment carried deep personal meaning. 

“I was told about the story of the sculptor, and that moved me to the bottom of my soul,” she said. “I was there, putting gold leaf on what [John Rowe Moyle] had touched and engraved and sculpted in the wall of the temple. From that moment, everything became almost holy.”

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In the 1800s, Moyle, an English convert and accomplished stonecutter, made the long journey to the Salt Lake Valley with a handcart company. On Monday mornings, Moyle would leave his home 22 miles (35 kilometers) away in Alpine to work on the Salt Lake Temple. He would not return until late Friday evening. 

After suffering a severe leg injury, which ultimately required amputation, Moyle carved out his own wooden leg. He later returned to the temple site and engraved the words “Holiness to the Lord,” which still grace the temple today. 

Assembly Room 

The large assembly room on the fifth floor of the temple is now free of scaffolding. The space, designed for large gatherings and special meetings, is where Church leaders come together for counsel and instruction. 

With the scaffolding removed, finish work is underway. 

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North Sealing Wing 

Significant work is also underway in the sealing wing addition, which is connected to the temple’s north wall. The north addition will accommodate additional sealing rooms (where marriages and other family sealing ordinances occur), increasing the capacity of the historic temple. 

Chandeliers have been carefully installed in the north addition sealing rooms, while altars are in the process of being gilded. Stonework and window trim are also being placed. 

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Latter-day Saints affirm that sealings bind families together for eternity, in a bond that neither time nor death can disrupt. Sealings are temple ceremonies or ordinances that are performed by priesthood authority and occur only within a temple.  

As explained in the Church’s “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”: “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”