Aug 17, 2026 Learn About the Salt Lake Temple Renovation at Marriott Library

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The Salt Lake Temple renovation and seismic retrofit project has been called the most complex project ever undertaken by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Georges A. Bonnet is part of the project management team heading it. At the upcoming William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life, Bonnet will share what has gone into the core work of the renovation of the historic temple, while also giving a history as a whole and sharing progress pictures.  

The renovation project was announced in April 2019 during a press conference by then President Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and started later that year. Construction continued through the years despite COVID-19 setbacks and earthquake damage in 2020. The project reached its halfway point in 2023 and is set to be ready for an open house starting in April 2027. 

“The engineering, technology and planning for this incredible renovation on a beloved and historic building makes Bonnet a great choice for the Gould Lecture,” explained Sarah Shreeves, Alice Sheets Marriott Dean of Libraries. “I think that everyone will be interested in the intricacies of this soon to be finished project, and I’m greatly looking forward to the lecture.“ 

William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life 
The Salt Lake Temple Renovation Project

Wednesday, September 16th, 2026 , 4:00 PM – 5:00 P.M.

University of Utah
J. Willard Marriott Library, Gould Auditorium, Level 1

Free and open to the public

Directions and Parking

Mounted historic photograph labeled “Temple Block.” The black-and-white image shows an early view of downtown Salt Lake City from an elevated vantage point. The partially completed Salt Lake Temple stands on the right, surrounded by scaffolding and construction poles, while the Salt Lake Tabernacle’s distinctive domed roof appears near the center. Other church buildings and trees fill Temple Square, with mountains visible in the distance. In the foreground, brick commercial buildings line a wide unpaved street with utility poles and sparse traffic. The photograph is mounted on a cream-colored board with the handwritten caption “Temple Block” below the image.
Black and white photograph showing a view of Salt Lake Temple Square with the Wasatch Mountains beyond. The Salt Lake Temple is shown still under construction.
Historic black-and-white panoramic photograph of Salt Lake City’s Temple Block. The Salt Lake Temple dominates the right side of the image, rising above a densely landscaped block filled with mature trees and intersecting walkways. On the left, another large Gothic-style church building and a tall smokestack are visible. Streetcar tracks curve around the block in the foreground, where a monument stands at a street intersection and a few early automobiles and pedestrians can be seen. Mountains are faintly visible in the distance under a hazy sky. Text in the lower-left corner reads, “TEMPLE BLOCK, SALT LAKE CITY. C.R. SAVAGE CO., PHOTO.”
Black and white photograph of Temple Square, with the Salt Lake Temple, the Salt Lake Tabernacle and Assembly Hall, early 20th century.

About Georges A. Bonnet

Georges A. Bonnet has been involved in several construction projects all around the world including a liquified natural gas receiving terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Tahiti Temple and their meetinghouse construction program. He has served as the Physical Facilities Manager for the Church in Western and Eastern Europe, the UK and African countries. Since August of 2019, he has been part of the project management team of the Salt Lake Temple renovation project. Bonnet was born in Germany and has a B.S. in Construction Engineering from Arizona State University.  

About the Gould Lecture

The William R. and Erlyn J. Gould Distinguished Lecture on Technology and the Quality of Life was inaugurated October 7, 1992, at the University of Utah Marriott Library. The lecture series is intended to provide a forum for the discussion of problems, issues, experiences and successful case histories of the regeneration and preservation of our communities through the application of modern technology. 

Professional head-and-shoulders portrait of a person wearing glasses, a dark suit jacket, a white dress shirt, and a patterned tie. The subject faces the camera against a neutral beige background. The image is evenly lit and cropped from the chest up, with the person centered in the frame in a formal studio-style photograph.
2 Comments
  • David Michael Belnap
    Posted at 11:59h, 02 September Reply

    Will this be recorded and publicly available afterwards? I have to be out-of-town then but would love to see this lecture.

    • Marriott Library
      Posted at 13:02h, 02 September Reply

      This will not, but we appreciate your interest in this event.

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