April 2, 2025 6:48pm MDT
A few days before the April 2025 general conference, thousands of people gathered to hear the church leaders say a new statue was unveiled at Temple Square in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 2nd.
The five wise virgins depict five women from the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus Christ, found in Matthew 25:1-13. Woman unites on pillars and holds the lamp high as she looks out.
The statue is located within 14, and the church will be installed as part of a major renovation of Temple Square. Each image highlights important moments in the life and history of the Church and serves as a visual message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the premises.
The Relief Society presidency chose this statue from the various possibilities of this place. It is located just north of the reflecting pond outside the Relief Society building.
As the statue was announced to the public and local media on Wednesday, Relief Society President Kamille N. Johnson said it was as great as they wanted.
“These women, five wise virgins, were prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ, our Savior,” she said. “And they didn’t just keep it up. They kept the lamp high.”
President Johnson said everyone who sees the sculpture hopes they will realize how women support each other.
“They help each other, support each other, and the light of conversion to Jesus Christ shines for everyone,” she said.
President Johnson said this is something that women always make naturally beautiful.
“When women shine a light, they make a difference,” she said. “They lift up, they love, and they bring light to conversion to others in Jesus Christ.”
According to President Johnson, the angle of the statue depicts several of the women depicted towards the temple.
“We know that our lamps are filled when we participate in temple ordinances,” she said. “This is the right place for us to be here in the shadow of the temple.”
Artist Ben Hammond said he hopes the statue will inspire it to feel the spirit of the missionary spirit given by women at Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ.
“And their connection to Christ,” he said. “Because that’s what women do. They are heading to the house of the Lord, the temple.”
Sister J. Annette Dennis, the first counselor to the Relief Society presidency, was impressed by how the statue portrays unity.
“We are all alone. We are all daughters of Heavenly Father, and no matter where we are, we are connected,” she said.
Sister Dennis also said it was spectacular how the statue portrays the importance of the temple’s covenant.
“They are all directed towards the covenant relationship between heaven and the Father of Jesus Christ,” she said.
According to Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, the first counselor for the chairman’s bishop, the timing of the statue’s facility was overseen by heaven. Continuing construction at Temple Square means that some areas where new statues will be installed in the coming years are still unfinished.
“It worked well between the artist and the place where we had to be ready,” Bishop Waddell said. “So the fact that this place was ready to place this sculpture now and the timing of the general meeting is perfect.”
Bishop Waddell said the diversity of statues installed in Temple Square means that everyone can find something to say to them.
“If you look at all the different statues in Temple Square, that what is already here and what comes already refers to us, refers to Christ,” he said.
Another statue recently installed, Come, Folor Me was designed by Hammond, the same artist as Five Wise Virgins. It depicts Jesus Christ calling two fishermen to become his disciples.
A statue of Joseph Smith’s first vision was added in November 2024.
Bishop Waddell looks forward to the Salt Lake Temple Open House, announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson between April and October 2027, and hopes that people are planning to take part in the celebration.
“And hopefully we will feel the spirit at the time, approach our Savior and recognize the importance he has in our lives.”
