Temples, Tabernacles, and Churches

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Though temples come in a variety of designs and sizes, one external element shared by temples is a capstone with the trumpeting angel of Revelation 14:6:  "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Mormons often identify this angel as Moroni, the last writer in the Book of Mormon who later appeared to Joseph Smith as an angel and told him of the Book of Mormon.

If you see a Mormon building with a Moroni on a spire, it's a temple. If the building is Moroni-free, it's probably a chapel.

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As well as the exteriors, pictures of many temple interiors have been published. See here for pictures of the Salt Lake Temple interior, for example.

One last kind of building, called a tabernacle, is quite rare, largely because its function has been taken over by other buildings. In the Bible, the tabernacle was the temporary and portable temple, but also the "tent of meeting" for the Israelites. Tabernacles in early LDS history served the same purposes as Stake Centers today, in allowing larger numbers of LDS to congregate together. The Salt Lake Tabernacle used to be where the worldwide General Conference (held twice-yearly in April and October) was held and broadcast from, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang. A new building has recently replaced the Tabernacle to accommodate larger numbers of people, the Conference Center. Tabernacles are open to anyone. Here, left to right, are the old Salt Lake Tabernacle, and the front of the new Conference Center in Salt Lake.

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In summary, there are far more LDS churches than tabernacles or temples. Church and tabernacles are open to all, visitors welcome.  Temples are open to anyone prior to being dedicated, but are afterward limited in attendance. Many temples, however, do have a Visitors' Center.