4 temples among top 20 ‘peaceful’ U.S. tourist spots, according to national survey

By Scott Taylor 

Four temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are among the United States’ 20 most peaceful tourist locations, according to a recent national survey.

As cited in the survey, the four are the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple, the Oakland California Temple, the St. George Utah Temple and the Mesa Arizona Temple. All four have visitors’ centers on the temple grounds, with two of the four—the Idaho Falls and Mesa temple visitors’ centers—specifically mentioned in the lists along with the respective temples. 

For active Latter-day Saints, the Church’s temples worldwide are considered peaceful, sacred locations where temple ordinances for living Church members and their deceased ancestors are performed and covenants are made. The temple grounds and visitors’ centers—all open to the public—help convey that peace from the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to visitors.

The national survey—commissioned by Casago, a vacation rental property management company serving homeowners and guests in Mexico and the United States—selected the 20 most peaceful tourist locations in the U.S. as well as the top peaceful location in each of the 50 states and 20 major cities. It also identified the top 10 peaceful locations in New York City.

The Idaho Falls temple and visitors’ center finished No. 3 in the U.S. rankings, with the Oakland temple, St. George temple and the Mesa temple and visitors’ center in the second 10 locations making the top 20 list.

For the survey, Casago combed through TripAdvisor’s “Things to Do” section of tourist locations and attractions of all 50 states and 20 U.S. cities, looking for instances of “peaceful” mentions in the reviews. Casago then ranked the attractions—by state and city, as well as separate listings for the top 20 across the country and top 10 in New York City—based on the “peaceful” mentions per 1,000 English reviews.

Read more at thechurchnews.com.