Must-see: LDS prophets grave tour at the Salt Lake City Cemetery

Did you know that 12 prophets from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are buried in the Salt Lake City Cemetery? I didn’t. So, I jumped at the chance to get a peek into history with my four boys and take a self-guided LDS prophet grave tour. It was amazing!!

Salt Lake City’s 22-acre cemetery was established in 1851 and contains just over 125,000 individuals buried there currently. It’s a treasure trove of history and includes the graves of many religious leaders, politicians and other prominent individuals. If you want to learn more about the Salt Lake City Cemetery, Salt Lake City Cemetery (Images of America) is a great place to start.

Directions and cemetery etiquette

So, I was starting our LDS prophets grave tour with four kids in tow. So, I wanted to make sure I knew the rules and how to get there. Turns out visiting a cemetery isn’t like playing at the park. Here’s what we learned:

• Located between “N” and “U” streets and 4th Avenue and 11th Avenue in Salt Lake City
• Open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Do not touch, climb or walk on any of the monuments or headstones
• Do not remove any items from headstone or memorials
• Try to stay on the roads as much as possible
• No dogs or pets allowed
• Water stations are only meant for filling water vases, not for drinking
• For a complete list of cemetery etiquette, click here.

Starting our LDS prophets grave tour

The Salt Lake City Cemetery’s website has a free downloadable map of all the locations of the LDS prophets’ graves (see below). It’s super easy to follow. Don’t do this self-guided tour without it!

We parked just inside the cemetery at the end of “N” street right right by Lindsey Gardens Park. This location is super close to the first headstone which is John Taylor.

Identify the graves

The headstones on the map are numbered chronologically however, we just found the graves the were closest to each other. If we did it in order we would be back tracking a little bit.

Fortunately, most of the prophets’ graves are fairly tall and large, so they’re pretty easy to find if you stick to the map. Here’s all the graves that we found:

• John Taylor
• Wilford Woodruff
• Joseph F. Smith
• Heber J. Grant
• George Albert Smith
• David O. McKay
• Joseph Fielding Smith (totally forgot to take a picture of this one)
• Harold B. Lee
• Spencer W. Kimball
• Howard W. Hunter
• Gordon B. Hinckley
• Thomas S. Monson

There’s a sacred feeling to walk among the graves of these great individuals. I was thrilled to share this with my children and allow them to ponder on the lives that these people lived. It’s touching on another level. I would encourage anyone to explore for themselves and notice the feelings this self-guided tour stirs within you.

We believe in living prophets

If you’re unfamiliar with the beliefs of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe God calls living prophets in our day. Click here if you want to know more about the lives of the twelve men that we found during our LDS prophets grave tour.

Related link: FREE LDS poster prints perfect for your home