By Callie Buys
Visitors entering Temple Square during the next few weeks will walk through more than gates laced with colored lights.
Beginning today, visitors must pass through metal detectors to enter Temple Square, said Kim Farah, spokeswoman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
'We walk a really fine line because we want to be as warm and welcoming as possible, but we want everyone to know they''re safe,' Farah said.
Metal detectors will be stationed at each entrance to Temple Square, as well as at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, the Museum of Church History and Art and the Family History Library.
'I don''t think it''s going to be a major problem, really. It''s just walking through a magnetometer,' said senior missionary Sister Kristi Lawrence, secretary for President M. Garfield Cook, president of the Temple Square Mission.
Bags will also be searched before admittance to Temple Square, Farah said.
Guards and hundreds of security volunteers will perform the bag searches and staff the metal detectors, Farah said.
Temple Square missionaries say they understand the need for the new security measures.
'For the time being, I would rather have that and have peace of mind,' said senior missionary Sister Lynette Layton, who serves the sister missionaries in the offices and visitors centers on Temple Square.
'It is not going to be that inconvenient,' Layton said.
Lawrence said she has not heard any visitor complaints about the new procedures.
'It''s not a big deal. We as a people understand the desire to be safe,' Lawrence said. 'I think for our guests, it won''t be as serious as they make it out to be.'
Some BYU students said they feel the precautions may be necessary to protect the temple grounds as well as the visitors at Temple Square.
'I feel very strongly about the security at Temple Square,' said Janae Cannon, 20, a junior from Salt Lake City majoring in chemistry education.
'I want people to go there in order to learn about our church, but at the same time I want it to be a very secure place,' Cannon said.
The church expects thousands of visitors during the next few weeks.