Only church officials and their guests are permitted to enter. The CAB has been used for meetings between church leaders and political and community leaders.
Initially, the Church Administration Building housed all administrative offices of the LDS Church, but as membership grew and leadership and staff expanded, the workers were scattered in office buildings throughout downtown Salt Lake City—some as far away as the Granite Mountain Vaults in Little Cottonwood Canyon and at Brigham Young University, 40 miles (64 km) to the south in Provo. With construction of the Church Office Building to the north, the Church Administration Building was freed up for offices exclusively for general authorities,[4] and it continues to serve as the church's headquarters.[5]
The Church Administration Building furnishes offices for the president of the LDS Church, as well as for his counselors in the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other general authorities, along with their staff.[6][7][8] The building is overseen by the Church Security Department;[9] only certain employees, church officers and their guests are permitted to enter.[10]
A variety of events have been held at the CAB, as well as receiving distinguished visitors. As part of the festivities for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the Olympic torch was passed through the hands of members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on the steps of the CAB.[11] It is also a tradition that funeral processions of past LDS Church presidents pass in front of the Church Administration Building.[12] The building has hosted visitors including Michelle Obama and George W. Bush.[13][14][15]
Twenty-four ionic columns form a colonnade around the structure, each weighing eight tons. The building's exterior is constructed from 4,517 granite blocks.[16]
