Secret?

Many people seem to think that the inside of a Mormon Temple is some sort of enormous secret. I have heard all sorts of comments about this, such as “Even most Mormons don’t know what it looks like!” and “They never let anyone who isn’t Mormon inside!” I once read an article from a respected national news service which posted a photo of inside a recently-dedicated Temple (released to the newsmedia by the Church) with the rouge-sounding comment “A rare and exclusive photo of the interior.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or to point out to them that they had probably received an entire collection of photos from the Church to use in their coverage of the story.

The fact of the matter is, what the inside of a Mormon Temple looks like is no secret. It was never meant to be a secret. In fact, when the Salt Lake Temple was built, the Church published an entire book describing it, detailing every corner, from the carpets and furnishings to the type of plumbing used. Photos of each room were included, even those that are only entered by top Church leaders. Every time a new Temple opens, the public is invited to tour the building for free, seeing every room save perhaps bathrooms and storage closets. These tours usually end with an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the building to Church representatives. (I once participated in one of these events, and the questions ranged from “How many crystals are in the chandelier?” to “What exactly goes on in that room?”) Temples are usually opened to the public for tours again if the temple is extensively remodeled or renovated.

The fact that pictures of the interior are available from the Church and are distributed to local and national newsmedia are also proof that what the inside of a temple looks like is no secret. We WANT you to know what it looks like. We WANT you to understand by seeing these photos that the ridiculous rumors you might have heard are not true. Most importantly, we WANT you to feel a sense of that sacredness that the temple contains. Anything good is worth sharing, and that is what we try to do with our Temples.