Architecture of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Latter-day saints believe Temples are "the most sacred place of worship on earth" and a literal "house of the Lord".

[6] Because of this importance, temples are much more elaborate and unique than the church's standard meetinghouses, which are used for weekly worship services and social activities.

The walls are quartz monzonite (which has the appearance of granite) from Little Cottonwood Canyon, located twenty miles (thirty-two kilometres) southeast of the temple.

The Cardston temple was the first design to be put out to bid to prominent architects and was the first to be built outside the United States.

The Oakland Temple is an unusual variation on the center spire design as it incorporates four additional spires—one on each corner of the building—for a total of five.

Despite the six spires and sloped-roofs, temples in this style vary widely in design, size, capacity, and floorplan.

This design was deemed inadequate as the Boise Idaho, Dallas Texas, and Chicago Illinois temples all required extensive remodels soon after opening.

These temples were built adjacent to existing chapels to share both office space and parking facilities.

[14] The Copenhagen Denmark Temple was opened in 2004 after converting an old meetinghouse, the Priorvej Chapel, that was built by local church members in 1931.

The interiors of these floors were completely renovated and the walls were soundproofed so traffic noise would not interrupt temple patrons.

The cornerstone containing the year of dedication, commonly found on the outside facade of most temples, is located in the interior lobby next to the elevator which leads to the chapel portion of the building.

Inside the temple, beehives are carved into the molding, and door handles that look like the Statue of Liberty torch are found throughout.

[16][17]Meetinghouses of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are used for weekly worship services as well as various social and community activities and events.

Meetinghouses vary widely in terms of architectural style, but have for the most part been standardized in modern times.

These buildings were almost always built in the center of residential neighborhoods, and often either did not feature parking lots, or had very small lots.In 1980, the Church released its first 3 standardized floorplans for American meetinghouses.

[22] These meetinghouses are uniquely designed by members of the Church Architecture, Engineering & Construction Division (AEC).

Elsewhere in the world, the LDS Church has created standardized floorplans that better fit in with the culture and geography of individual countries and regions.

These building are generally uniform, though in places with very large populations of Mormon students, may be much larger than the average Seminary or Institute.

These buildings tend to small and practical, containing only a foyer, classrooms, necessary offices, and occasionally a cultural hall.