Every year, Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, but especially so at Christmas time. It is decorated for Christmas with millions of lights, nativities, and special religious programming designed to help us remember that Christmas is a Christian holiday.

A Temple Square Christmas celebration is one that is taken seriously and prepared for many months in advance. Staff begins putting out the cables and extension cords in August, quickly followed by thousands of strands of lights. Volunteers and workers hang garland and lanterns and set up nativities throughout the grounds in November in order to be ready the Friday after Thanksgiving. For many, decorating the Square is a family tradition.

A lesser known aspect of the celebration is that there is a service project going on at the same time. The Mormons buy young trees, string lights on them, and then “plant” them on the grounds. The trees are taken from State Educational Trust Fund lands. This thins the lands, allowing remaining trees to grow better. The Church purchases the trees and the money goes to benefit schools in Utah. Using these young trees protects the more mature trees on the grounds from damage caused by the lights.

The lights, which are not in traditional Christmas colors, represent a reminder that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. The nativities scattered throughout the grounds help people take a break from the commercial aspects of the holiday and focus instead on the Savior Jesus Christ.

The season also includes performances by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and a Christmas devotional by the First Presidency (the Mormon prophet and his two counselors). A musical production called Savior of the World portrays the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth and his resurrection. This production has been performed for fourteen years on Temple Square.

“The gift of Christmas isn’t wrapped up in presents or parties. The gift of Christmas is Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten of the Father, the Son of God. As you follow Him, you put people first. You may spend less time in lines and more time serving others. You may spend less money on – and more time with – the people you love. You may lose yourself and you may find everything else that matters.”

From Christ: The Real Gift of Christmas

Watch a video of a little girl who helps a family that can’t afford Christmas remember what the point of the holiday is.

Christmas Spirit

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are sometimes called Mormons, has a new that is the result of fifteen years of planning. The building, which is 230,000 square feet, required four years to build, provides employment for 12,000 people, and is already making headlines. It is open to the public at 15 East North Temple Street in Salt Lake City, Utah on land originally owned by Heber C. Kimball, First Counselor to President Brigham Young.

Shortly before the dedication, Pulitzer Prize–winning author David McCullough visited the center and spoke. He said, “history doesn’t stay alive unless it’s looked after.” He also told listeners that they were doing a great work in preserving the history of the church. “You are caring for a national treasure here. The story of the Latter-day Saints, of Joseph Smith, of Brigham Young, and that incredible migration here is a great American story.” (See David McCullough, Award-Winning Historian and Author, Visits Church History Library.)

A symbolic time capsule containing copies of originals found in the library, was created for the dedication. It is designed to show future visitors what the church looked like at the dedication. The capsule included pictures of church leaders, current copies of the scriptures with a list of all the languages they were currently translated into, and a talk given by Marlin K. Jenson on church history.

The move to the building required a year and a half’s work from hundreds of volunteers, who catalogued and tagged each item. The more than one million items were moved over the course of nineteen days.

The building houses many rare artifacts, including an early Book of Mormon written in two different languages on alternating pages. It also performs preservation and repair work. Unlike the previous building, this new building is suitable for, and designed for the public to visit and use.

According to the official website, the building covers 230,000 square feet, the equivalent of four football fields, on five floors. It contains:

270,000 books, pamphlets, magazines, newspapers, etc.

240,000 collections of original, unpublished records (journals, diaries, correspondence, minutes, etc.)

3.5 million patriarchal blessings for Church members

13,000 collections of photographs

23,000 audiovisual items

The building has received a great deal of praise for being a “green” building. In keeping with the church’s interest in environmental issues, they prepared the building to meet the LEED standards (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is expected to receive their Silver Award.

We wanted a building that would preserve the records of the Church, that would be a great place for employees and missionaries to work and for patrons to use records, and that would be a credit to the Church and the community,” said Brent Thompson, director of Records Preservation for the Church History Department. “A more ‘green’ building helps in all four areas.”

“The Church’s commitment to attaining LEED certification for the Church History Library is a reflection of their long-term vision, and it underscores the leadership role the Church plays on so many levels in the community,” said Jim Bradburn, director of Sustainable Services at The RMH Group, a sustainable engineering services firm in Denver. “The forward-looking design and focus on sustainability from the outset made achieving the high professional standards required for certification a fluid part of the process.” (See Church History Library Goes “Green” With LEED Certification.)

These high environmental standards not only help the Church act in its role as a steward over the earth, but it also creates a better work environment, and better protects the records.

The building is part of the church’s commitment to preserving its history. Mormons have always been a “record-keeping people,” with even children being encouraged to keep journals. Pioneer journals help the modern church understand its pioneer heritage. It’s critical for experts to preserve these artifacts while they can do so and the new state-of-the art facility will allow them to do this, while always providing an impressive and extensive resource for historians.