[3] The temple was closed in December 2019 for a general remodelling and seismic renovations, which were initially estimated to take approximately four years.

It is oriented towards Jerusalem[citation needed] and the large basin used as a baptismal font is mounted on the backs of twelve oxen, as was the Molten Sea in Solomon's Temple (see 2 Chronicles 4:2–4).

[17]: 97  Other rituals performed in the temple include the second anointing ordinance for live and deceased persons,[18] and meeting rooms for church leaders.

[19]: 195–197 [20]: 30 The temple's location was first marked by Brigham Young, the church's second president, on July 28, 1847, just four days after he arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.

[21] In 1901, church apostle Anthon H. Lund recorded in his journal that "it is said" that Oliver Cowdery's divining rod was used to locate the temple site.

During the Utah War, the foundation was buried and the lot made to look like a plowed field to prevent unwanted attention from federal troops.

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

Oxen transported the quarried rock initially, but as the Transcontinental Railroad neared completion in 1869 the remaining stones were carried by rail at a much faster rate.

The capstone—the granite sphere that holds the statue of the Angel Moroni—was laid on April 6, 1892, by means of an electric motor and switch operated by Wilford Woodruff, the church's fourth president, thus completing work on the temple's exterior.

John R. Winder was instrumental in overseeing the interior's completion on schedule; he would serve as a member of the temple presidency until his death in 1910.

[26] Prior to 2019, the building had never been decommissioned for renovation and only minor updating of finishes and systems had occurred within the temple proper (although multiple "annex" additions had been added and removed in the past).

[4] Church employees stated that special efforts would be made to highlight and honor the pioneer craftsmanship[26] and indicated the interiors would essentially remain the same.

[29] Various renderings were released showing the instruction rooms used for the endowment ceremony would remain intact, with the original layout, woodwork and murals being preserved.

[26] In March 2021, the church announced significant changes to the renovation plan that affected many elements in the temple's historic interior.

The progressive room-to-room live endowment ceremony would be removed and the layout of the temple would change, with the baptistry being moved to the annex and new instruction rooms constructed in its place.

[27] These changes will allow for greater patron capacity, but the removal of many historic elements was met with criticism, especially the destruction of the temple's murals.

On April 10, 1910, a bomb at the nearby Hotel Utah (now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building) damaged the trumpet of the Moroni statue atop the temple.

[54] The temple suffered damage in 1999 when a tornado rated F2 on the Fujita Scale struck Salt Lake City.

After being pelted with rain and hail, members of the wedding party surveyed the damage to the trees and surrounding buildings before resuming family photographs.