In Salt Lake City, the LDS Church’s Only All-Female Mission Is Coming to an End

Temple Square Sisters Learn Their Fate

For three decades, the Temple Square Mission in Salt Lake City was the only LDS mission staffed entirely by sister missionaries.

On January 9, 2026, 128 sisters gathered in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and learned it would be discontinued by July.

The change comes as the church prepares for the Salt Lake Temple’s first public open house since its 1893 dedication, scheduled for April–October 2027.

Sisters will continue serving at Temple Square but will now be assigned to surrounding Utah missions, splitting time between teaching areas and the site.

For many who served there, the dedicated mission’s end still marks a significant loss.

The Mission Dissolves in July 2026

The church announced on January 10, 2026, that the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission will be discontinued by July.

Sister missionaries will continue serving at Temple Square, but they will no longer belong to a dedicated mission.

Instead, they will be assigned to surrounding Utah missions and split their time between the historic site and traditional door-to-door proselytizing in their geographic areas.

The church says this model mirrors how other temple visitor centers operate worldwide.

Elder Rasband Broke the News Himself

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles delivered the announcement at a morning devotional.

The sister missionaries reacted with audible gasps.

Rasband, who chairs the Missionary Executive Council, acknowledged the sisters were feeling a wide range of emotions.

He told them the Lord is hastening His work and that they remain part of it.

Rasband himself once volunteered as a part-time guide at Temple Square decades ago while attending college in the area.

The Mission Became All-Female in 1989

Proselytizing at Temple Square dates back to 1922, when church leaders first stationed part-time and full-time volunteers there.

In the 1980s, full-time missionaries began assisting with tours, primarily senior couples. By 1989, the mission became entirely staffed by full-time sister missionaries.

In 1995, it was officially designated the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission, creating a formal sisterhood of Latter-day Saint women leading in roles typically reserved for men elsewhere.

Women Came From Dozens of Countries

The Temple Square Mission drew sister missionaries from around the world. They came from places like Mexico, Germany, France, Uganda, the Marshall Islands, and Ghana.

The missionaries spoke more than 40 languages to accommodate foreign visitors.

Beginning with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the sisters started wearing tags with the national flags of their home countries alongside their missionary name tags.

For many, serving in this international community was the defining experience of their mission.

They Taught People on Every Continent

Temple Square missionaries did more than give tours.

They staffed online teaching centers where they conducted video chats, phone calls, and text conversations with seekers around the world.

In a single year, missionaries taught more than 140,000 people online, conducted nearly 350,000 chats, and fielded over 90,000 phone calls.

One former missionary recalled teaching entire households in Pakistan over the phone. The church has not specified what will happen to these behind-the-scenes operations.

The Mission Led the Church in Referrals

Each year, Temple Square missionaries gathered thousands of referrals and sent them to missionaries in states and nations around the world.

It was the highest-referring mission in the entire church.

After giving tours, the sisters would ask visitors if they wanted to learn more, then connect interested people with missionaries in their home areas.

With more than 5,000 visitors walking through Temple Square on an average day, the opportunities were constant.

Former Missionaries Mourn the Loss

For women who served at Temple Square, the closure represents more than an administrative change.

One former missionary from Arizona said she served alongside sisters from different countries, cultures, languages, and life experiences, all called specifically to that mission.

Another from California described it as demanding and unlike any other mission, with constant lessons and an average of five new people to teach each week.

They worry the unique sisterhood and diversity will be difficult to replicate.

Some Will Be Hired as Part-Time Guides

Unlike other visitor centers, Temple Square will get extra help during the transition.

The church announced that a limited number of returned missionaries will be hired as part-time guides. This is a departure from the volunteer model used elsewhere.

The paid guides will supplement the sister missionaries who rotate in from surrounding missions, helping maintain the quality of tours as visitor numbers are expected to surge.

The Salt Lake Temple Opens in 2027

The timing of the mission closure is tied to a historic event.

The Salt Lake Temple, which has been closed for renovation since December 2019, will reopen with a public open house from April to October 2027.

It will be the first time the general public can enter the temple since its dedication in 1893.

Church officials told downtown Salt Lake City leaders they expect 3 to 5 million visitors during the six-month open house, which would bring an estimated 22,000 additional daily visitors.

The Renovation Took Seven Years

The Salt Lake Temple renovation began as a four-year project.

Workers retrofitted the 253,015-square-foot building to withstand earthquakes up to magnitude 7.3.

They drilled 46 holes through the granite-like walls, some reaching 150 feet deep, to install seismic reinforcement. The project also restored original features like Tiffany stained glass windows and added a new baptistry.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced the open house dates on February 14, 2025, exactly 172 years after the temple groundbreaking.

Visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City

Temple Square sits at the center of downtown Salt Lake City at 50 West North Temple Street.

The 35-acre complex includes the Salt Lake Tabernacle, the Conference Center, the Church History Museum, and the FamilySearch Library, which holds the world’s largest genealogical collection.

Admission to all sites is free. Guided tours are available in more than 40 languages. Free validated parking is available at the Conference Center.

The Tabernacle Choir holds free public rehearsals on Thursday evenings and broadcasts on Sunday mornings. The Salt Lake Temple open house runs April through October 2027, and free tickets will be available closer to that date.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

Read more from this brand:

• The insane way Mormon pioneers moved 5,600-pound granite blocks to build their temple
• Brigham Young’s house had a surprising second life you never knew about
• The Welsh immigrant who defeated her own husband to become America’s first female senator