Draper Utah Temple

Tucked away up near a canyon in Draper, Utah, is a beautiful temple. It is the Draper Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS the members of the church are also known as Mormons). During the day the temple is a dominant edifice on the hillside. From the freeway in the morning you might be able to catch the sunrise complementing the building and the area round about. At night the radiant glow of the building shines like a beacon through the valley. 

There temples of the LDS throughout the world. Utah is unique because it has temple fairly close to each other. From the Draper temple you can see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple and the Jordan River Temple. Both of them are also lit up at night and are beautiful day or night. The Salt Lake Temple is also in the valley but hidden in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. The temples are beautiful inside and out. When a temple is built or renovated the public is invited to tour the temple as see throughout it. 

Following are some photos I took in the fall of 2013.

Jordan River Utah Temple

In South Jordan, Utah, is a notable building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), whose members are also known as Mormons. It is called the Jordan River Temple. It derives its name from The Jordan River which is not too far away. The Jordan River Temple resides in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley. It can be seen from most parts of the valley.

The Jordan River Temple is one of the busiest LDS temples in the world! It is so busy that South Jordan became the first city in the world to have two LDS temples, the other being the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

The Jordan River Temple is a beautiful building and a symbol of a world faith.

South Jordan Utah Temple - 3 photo panorama

South Jordan Utah Temple - 16 photo panorama

Temple Square - Salt Lake Temple, Tabernacle, Conference Center, Downtown Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City is a unique place. It has the Headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It also has one of the biggest and most iconic temples of the LDS church. 

The Salt Lake Temple is made from solid granite which was quarried from the canyon about 20 miles away. It took 40 years to build and it was done all by hand. It is also the central point for the entire road system of the Salt Lake Valley, which is based on a grid system. 

4 photo panorama - Salt Lake Temple, Gray Sky (Taken Oct. 3, 2011)

The Salt Lake Temple is not the only thing to see in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. There is the entire Temple Square (including the Tabernacle, Assembly Hall and well known Christus Statue in one of the Temple Square visitor centers), Conference Center, other LDS buildings, the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the First Presbyterian Church, Saint Marks Episcopal Cathedral, and other churches. There are also malls like the Gateway and the new City Creek Center, theatres, museums, libraries, restaurants, Washington Square (and the Salt Lake City and County Building), and parks... Just to name a few.

LDS Salt Lake Temple after General Conference (October 2, 2011), Salt Lake City, Utah

LDS Conference Center after General Conference (October 2, 2011), Salt Lake City, Utah

Flowers at Temple Square (October 2, 2011), Salt Lake City, Utah

Flowers at Temple Square (October 2, 2011), Salt Lake City, Utah

LDS Conference Center Spire from atop the Conference Center (October 3, 2011), Slat Lake City, Utah

LDS Conference Center Spire from atop the Conference Center (October 3, 2011), Slat Lake City, Utah

The remainder of these photos were taken on April 11, 2012 

Flowers and LDS Church Office Building, Salt Lake City, Utah

Tulip and Flowers, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah

Leaves through window and the Beehive House, Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake City Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah

Utah State Capitol Building - Salt Lake City, Utah

8 photo panorama - Salt Lake City and University of Utah

11 photo panorama - Utah State Capitol Building, Salt Lake City, Utah

13 photo panorama - Temple Square (Salt Lake Temple, Tabernacle, Conference Center) Salt Lake City, Utah

3 photo panorama - Salt Lake Temple and Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Utah

Window and glass fixture indie LDS Conference Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Inside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Conference Center

7 photo panorama - LDS Conference Center interior

8 photo panorama - Salt Lake Temple view from atop Conference Center

8 photo panorama - Salt Lake Temple view from atop Conference Center

The Rexburg Temple Presidency

I had the great opportunity to take photos of the Rexburg Temple Presidency. This temple has special meaning for me because it was where my wife and I were married. This is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all over the world.

There are 134 operating temples, 12 under construction, and 14 that have been announced. Most of the temple has been built in the last 50 years.  Here is a video showing many of them all around the world:

A temple is a sacred place and  a person has to live their life in a way to be worthy of entering. Though that is the case the temples are open to the public right after construction is complete, but before their dedication, so everyone might be able to see what a temple looks like from the inside. These open houses are great opportunities for anyone to learn more about temples. The open house for the San Salvador El Salvador Temple will end Saturday and there are upcoming open houses for the Brigham City Utah Temple,  Calgary Alberta Temple, Cordoba Argentina Temple,  Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple,  Kansas City Missouri Temple, Manaus Brazil Temple,  Phoenix Arizona Temple,  Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple,  Rome Italy Temple, and theTegucigalpa Honduras Temple.

If you have any questions about temples or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints visit http://mormon.org/ and you can see if there is a temple near you at http://lds.org/church/temples/find-a-temple?lang=eng

August - 25 - 2010

This was a big toad!
Here is a photo in the same town where I took the photo above:
(it is right on the Mississippi)

August - 24 - 2010

This is an LDS (Mormon) Temple.

If you are driving along the Belt Way around D.C. this temple just pops out of the trees right in front of you. It is quite breathtaking.

August - 15 - 2010

Photos location hint: This photo is East of the last one. It is a place that has great significance to the LDS (Mormon) faith. Do you know where it is?

For those of you that are not too familiar with photography I would like to point out that you can see the things outside of the window yet you can still see the things that are inside the building. This was also taken without a flash. Try and do that with your camera!

For you people that know photography I want you to know that this photo is not edited. Is it HDR? yes but it is built into my camera. To my knowledge only Sony has a camera that does that. If it is not please let me know. (Cannon and Nikon are not the only brands out there)