Question: The Temple in Salt Lake has several inverted pentagrams as decorations. *(To see a few, just google "lds temple salt lake inverted pentagrams" and click on images. Or click [here](http://isearch.avg.com/images?s=sideNav&q=lds%20temple%20inverted%20pentagrams%20salt%20lake&sap=dsp&lang=en&mid=8e2de528dcdc47d0ba0fd1681c2200fd-f6cabc1589393c29baf97c23cc761ebfd42eb1c0&cid=%7B6020D23B-7EC3-422C-BE07-73F67E74C58D%7D&v=12.2.0.5&ds=gl011&d=8/20/2012%207:48:41%20AM&pr=sa&snd=hdr))*

According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagram), the inverted pentagram symbol is used in Neo-Paganism, Satanism, and magick, as well as Freemasonry. 

How exactly did it become a symbol of the LDS church? *(It seems like an odd symbol to use, given how it's used by others.)* What does it represent according to LDS teaching?

Answer: 
The symbol has no specific meaning within LDS theology, and there are no teachings regarding it. According to [an article found among the Wikipedia page's sources](http://web.archive.org/web/20080229073604/http://www.fairlds.org/pubs/Stars.pdf), the pentagram symbol actually has a long history in Christian and Jewish art and architecture, and only first began to be associated with Satanism and the occult in the 1850s. By this point, the design for the Salt Lake temple had already been drafted.

The star symbolism in the temple was included, along with carved depictions of other celestial bodies, as symbolic of heavenly glory, which is described in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 76, as being similar to the brightness of the sun, the moon and the stars.
The inverted star represents the second coming of Jesus Christ. This symbol is also on the Nauvoo Temple and this is what I was told when I asked around about it.