New LDS institute building opens on Logan Campus
On Nov. 23, the Logan Institute of Religion building for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially opened with a dedication by Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The original institute building was torn down in 2023, according to the Church Newsroom. The new plans were approved in January 2022 with it being two stories and approximately 100,500 square feet.
The building is located at 600 Darwin Avenue, near the TSC on Utah State University campus. The open house was open to all community members and students who wanted to walk in and tour around the new building. The ushers and instructors were scattered around to help answer questions in church wear with name tags of their callings.
Emily Keele is a religious education instructor for the church. She has been teaching in classrooms on campus and in the church buildings for the past two years.
“We’ve been scattered in different buildings on campus and different church buildings, and now we’re all going to be together,” Keele said. “It’s going to be easy to find your friends and teacher and have a place to meet.”
The building houses multiple classrooms that each accommodate over 100 students, as well as a large gymnasium that can split into three separate chapels.
“We want a place to be together, to connect,” Keele said. “This building is all about relationships and connection.”
There is a council set up for the institute, made up of students that plan and run the activities offered. There are spiritual meetings, dances and “Family Home Evening” activities where students come together to worship and get to know each other. Bryson Newswander, vice president of the council, was called to his position by his church as a way to serve.
“I lead the institute student council and in our efforts to help students have a place they feel like they belong and can gather,” Newswander said. “The building is glorious. It is designed to create spaces where people can come together as a community as students.”
There are study rooms and a cafe where students are able to come together in groups. The building’s capacity is 10,000 people.
“There are a lot of fun opportunities — different things that we can do with activities that we didn’t have the ability to before,” Newswander said. “We’re able to handle a larger capacity and host more people.”
The building had an open house to the public on Nov. 21 where there was a self-guided tour through the rooms with descriptions of what certain paintings represented.
“There are paintings here of Jesus Christ I’ve never seen before,” Newswander said.
Each painting is chosen from a department in Salt Lake City run by the church.
“Coming and seeing the artwork is something we’re encouraging the community to do,” Keele said.
The classes taught in the building range from religious classes — focused on the New Testament, Old Testament and the Book of Mormon — to dating and marriage preparation.
“You don’t have to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to take a class,” Keele said.