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Once a temple has been dedicated, only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who hold a current temple recommend may enter. The temple grounds are open to the public, and during open houses (typically several weeks before a new or renovated temple is dedicated) anyone may tour the interior.

A small card issued by local Church leaders after an interview that confirms the holder is striving to live the standards of the Church. It must be renewed every two years.

Meetinghouses (sometimes called chapels) host weekly Sunday worship services and are open to all visitors. Temples host specific ordinances — baptisms for the dead, the endowment, and sealings — and are not used for Sunday worship.

Latter-day Saints emphasize the living, resurrected Christ rather than the cross of crucifixion. Temple iconography focuses on the Atonement, restoration, and eternal family relationships rather than the instrument of death.

Beginning in the 1980s under President Spencer W. Kimball, and accelerating dramatically since 2018, Church leaders have prioritized building smaller temples closer to where members live, so a temple is within reasonable travel distance of every member.

The St. George Utah Temple, dedicated in 1877, is the oldest LDS temple still in operation. Earlier temples in Kirtland (1836) and Nauvoo (1846) are no longer used by the Church for ordinances — Kirtland is operated by Community of Christ, and the original Nauvoo temple was destroyed and a replica was dedicated in 2002.