I have actually been to Temple Square before, but not as a student. It was interesting to revisit it with the goal of learning instead of sightseeing. Staying true to our goal of learning, my group surveyed several random people at the Square and asked whether or not they were members of the LDS church. Much to my surprise, the first six people interviewed weren't Mormon. Rather, they were visiting the site as tourists. By the end of our survey, only a little more than half of those surveyed were Mormons. What I had thought was an almost exclusively religious site turned out to be a major tourist location as well, which was what most surprised me about the area.
The mood of Temple Square created an interesting contrast with the rest of Salt Lake. Walled off from the rest of the city, the Square is clearly intended as a place of spiritual refuge, a place separate from the fast-paced, consumerist feel of a large city. Buildings feature intricate architecture, carefully kept gardens dot the area, and missionaries dressed in church attire are wander around ready to answer questions. Human-to-human interaction is mostly confined to inter-group conversation or tourist-tourguide discussion. There is, however, a lot of interaction between people and their environment. In fact, that seems the primary purpose of the area. As a place of worship, many passerby are there to try to feel some kind of higher wisdom in their contemplation of the secluded temple in the hidden square.
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