A few months ago, I had the opportunity to take a special tour of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ new Temple Square Visitors’ Center in Salt Lake City. It felt great to be back on Temple Square for the first time in years. The area has been mostly closed while the church has undertaken extensive renovations to the Salt Lake Temple, which is scheduled to reopen in 2027.

Before it reopens for church members to perform sacred ordinances, the temple will open to the public. It’s standard procedure in Mormonism to let nonmembers tour new temples for a few weeks before they’re dedicated because afterward, they aren’t permitted inside. But the newly renovated Salt Lake Temple is going to be open for six full months of public tours, from April to October 2027. (Make your reservations now. The tickets are free, but they need to be requested in advance.)

In addition to the coming temple tours, the church is also reaching out to outsiders via the brand-new visitors’ center tour I took in June. These tours, according to the church’s website, aim to “explore the purpose of temples on a guided tour that reveals its sacred spaces.”

I had two main takeaways from my time in the visitors’ center, both largely positive.

First, there’s a noticeable emphasis on Christianity. There’s almost nothing in the displays about founding prophet Joseph Smith or Mormon pioneers in prairie clothes. Instead, art depicting Jesus fills the space, with the Christus statue taking pride of place.

All over the visitors’ center, the art showcases Jesus Christ as the center of the faith. The message is clear that we — and I say we because I’m also a member — are Christians. The carefully planned visitors’ center experience strikes me as an overt declaration of that Christian identity, especially in an era when many evangelical Protestants continue to doubt that Latter-day Saints are real followers of Jesus.

Their challenges aren’t just theoretical, either. In June, the U.S. Department of Defense, led by conservative evangelical Pete Hegseth, initially omitted the church from the government’s official list of Christian denominations. After facing backlash from Utah’s congressional contingent and many other critics, the department later reversed course. Still, for Latter-day Saints, the initial false classification stung.

The art in and outside the visitors’ center was created long before the Pentagon debacle. But it seems to have anticipated exactly those kinds of objections to Latter-day Saint Christianity and takes pains to emphasize over and over: “We’re Christian, darn it!” (Insert stronger language than “darn” if the Spirit so moves.)

The art moves the church closer to traditional Protestant and Catholic artistic and theological traditions. One big surprise for longtime Latter-day Saints is the beautiful sculpture of Christ carrying his cross.

That’s a different look for the church. In the past, church presidents have discouraged members from wearing crosses or using crosses as decoration because the focus of the church was the risen Lord rather than Christ and his suffering. This is an interesting departure.

My second takeaway is that the new visitors’ center goes further than the church ever has in demystifying the temple. When you come inside, you walk through replicas of the main rooms inside the temple that you would experience if you’re a Latter-day Saint going there to do sacred ordinances.

You’ll see copies of the rooms where church members can do proxy baptisms for the dead or marry for all eternity. And while you’re there, a trained guide — mine was a recently returned missionary — can answer questions.

The visitors’ center experience is not just about demystifying the temple for outsiders but also for members themselves. I was interested to see that a cutaway model shows parts of the Salt Lake Temple most members never see, including the upper room where the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles meets weekly.

The church is planning for millions to visit Temple Square in 2027. And if the center is a preview, the message will be all about Jesus.

Note to readers • The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.