In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the LDS or Mormon Church, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord, and they are considered by Church members to be the most sacred structures on earth. Upon completion, temples are usually open to the public for a short period of time (an "Open House"). During the Open House, the church conducts tours of the temple with missionaries and members from the local area serving as tour guides, and all rooms of the temple are open to the public.

The temple is then dedicated as a "House of the Lord," after which only members in good standing are permitted entrance, thus they are not churches but rather places of worship. The church is a prolific builder of temples as temples hold a key place in LDS theology. Currently there are 130 operating temples, 7 under construction, and 9 announced (not yet under construction).

The importance of temples is often emphasized in weekly meetings, and regular participation in temple work is strongly encouraged of all Latter-day Saints (LDS). Within temples, members of the Church make covenants, receive instructions, and perform sacred ordinances, such as: baptism for the dead, washing and anointing (or "initiatory" ordinances), the "endowment," and eternal marriage sealings. Ordinances are a vital part of the theology of the church, which teaches that they were practiced by the Lord's covenant people in all dispensations.

Additionally, members consider the temple a place to commune with God, seek God’s aid, understand the will of God, and receive The first Latter-day Saint temple ceremonies were performed in Kirtland, Ohio, but differed significantly from the endowment performed on the second floor of Joseph Smith’s Red Brick Store in Nauvoo, Illinois and the Nauvoo Temple. Kirtland ordinances included washings and anointings (differing in many ways from the modern portion) and the washing of the feet ordinance. For nearly four years beginning in 1842, the prophet’s modest mercantile functioned as a de facto temple—the site of the first washings, anointings, endowments, and sealings.

In contrast, the grand edifice known as the Nauvoo Temple was in operation for only two months before the Saints left Illinois for the West. Preparations to initiate the first members of Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Anointed, or Holy Order, as it was also known, were made on May 3, 1842. The walls of the second level of the Red Brick Store were painted with garden-themed murals, the rooms fitted with carpets, potted plants, and a veil hung from the ceiling.

All the while, the ground level continued to operate as Joseph Smith’s general mercantile.

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