Artist engages in “holy” work of freshening up the iconic building’s signature “House of the Lord” plaque.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Artist Anne Domenech makes restorative work to a panel in the Salt Lake Temple, Aug. 18, 2025.
The phrase “Holiness to the Lord — The House of the Lord” adorns every temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the globe.
And it now will glisten even brighter on the faith’s Salt Lake Temple.
In an update issued Thursday about the ongoing renovation of the iconic building in the heart of Utah’s capital, the church noted that the “Holiness to the Lord” plaque — which rests above the east center tower and below the golden Angel Moroni statue — was recently regilded.
“The technical process was to clean the plaque because it had been destroyed by the weather,” artist Anne Domenech explained in a news release. “I was told about the story of the sculptor, and that moved me to the bottom of my soul.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Artist Anne Domenech makes restorative work to a panel in the Salt Lake Temple, Aug. 18, 2025.
John Rowe Moyle, an English convert, handcart pioneer and accomplished stonecutter, traveled about 20 to 30 miles from Alpine every Monday to work on the Salt Lake Temple before returning to his home on Friday evenings.
After losing a leg to a severe injury, Moyle fashioned himself a wooden leg. He later returned to the temple site and engraved the words “Holiness to the Lord.”
“I was there, putting gold leaf on what [Moyle] had touched and engraved and sculpted in the wall of the temple,” Domenech said. “From that moment, everything became almost holy.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Renovations to the Assembly Room in the Salt Lake Temple, Aug. 6, 2025.
Besides work on the plaque, crews have removed the scaffolding in the Assembly Room on the fifth floor, according to the release. “Finishing work” is now underway.
Chandeliers, meanwhile, have been installed in the extended sealing wing connected to the temple’s north wall. Altars are now being gilded for these 12 additional sealing rooms, where Latter-day Saints believe families can be united for eternity.
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Renovations to a sealing room in the Salt Lake Temple, Aug. 6, 2025.
The retooled and seismically upgraded Salt Lake Temple is scheduled to open for public tours from April to October in 2027.
Note to readers • Dylan Eubank is a Report for America corps member covering faith in Utah County for The Salt Lake Tribune. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories.