2010
The North Visitors’ Center
February 2010


“The North Visitors’ Center,” Friend, Feb. 2010, 6–7

A Year on Temple Square

The North Visitors’ Center

Come with us for a look at an important place on Temple Square.

Kaemin and Ikani (“Kolby”) I. already knew a lot about prophets. But visiting the North Visitors’ Center on Temple Square helped them see in a new way how prophets testify of Jesus Christ.

That day Kolby and Kaemin got to see life-size replicas of prophets from the scriptures. They learned that even though prophets live at different times, all prophets testify that Jesus Christ is our Savior and the Son of God.

Isaiah was an Old Testament prophet who lived before Jesus was born. He told about Jesus’s birth and about His role as our Savior. Isaiah wrote, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: … and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Mormon lived about 400 years after Jesus. He put together the writings of many Book of Mormon prophets in the golden plates. He also added some of his own writings. Mormon taught that we should “believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God” (Mormon 7:5). He gave the record to his son Moroni, who buried the golden plates.

After Moroni died, there were no prophets on the earth for hundreds of years. In 1823 the angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith where he could find the golden plates. Joseph translated these plates by the power of God and printed the writings as the Book of Mormon. The Bible is one testament of Jesus Christ; the Book of Mormon is another.

Starting with Joseph Smith, we have had 16 Presidents of the Church. They are prophets who have been called of God to teach us about Jesus Christ. Our prophet today is President Thomas S. Monson.

After learning what prophets taught of Christ, Kolby and Kaemin walked up a spiral ramp to the top of the visitors’ center. There they saw a large statue of Jesus called the Christus. They listened to a recording of Jesus’s teachings. The things that the prophets taught about Jesus are the same things Jesus taught about Himself.

Illustrations of icons and map by Dilleen Marsh; photographs by Christina Smith, except as noted; photographs of golden plates replica and North Visitors’ Center by Jed Clark; inset: photograph of Christus by Robert Casey