How a tiny Utah community fought off an LDS Church housing project and lost a temple
Erda residents balked at plans for a high-density development, and the faith ended up relocating and renaming a planned temple to neighboring Tooele.
(Image courtesy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist s rendering of the exterior of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to-be-constructed Deseret Peak Temple. It was originally going to be built in Erda. It has since been shifted to neighboring Tooele City.
| Feb. 28, 2021, 1:00 p.m.
Erda • It seemed like a fairly typical development dispute between a big-time landowner and existing neighbors over high-density housing in a corner of Utah seeing lots of growing pains these days.
How a tiny Utah community fought off an LDS Church housing project and lost a temple
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
This article was first published in the ChurchBeat newsletter. You can to receive the newsletter in your inbox weekly.
The backstory about the abandoned plans to build a Latter-day Saint temple in the Tooele Valley of Utah is about a decision by senior church leaders to avoid contention and division.
On Tuesday, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it would not build the Tooele Valley Utah Temple in Erda, Utah. The decision stalled a year’s worth of work on the temple design and halted a housing development process.
“The First Presidency expresses gratitude for the faith and prayers of Church members in this area and continues to encourage all people to treat one another with kindness and Christlike love,” the statement read.
What prompted the temple to be relocated? Here’s what we know.
The temple was first announced by President Russell M. Nelson in addition to seven other new temples during April 2019 general conference. In September of that year, the original site was announced at the intersection of Erda Way and Highway 36 in Erda, Utah.
In April 2020, the Church released renderings of the temple. Bill Williams, director of temple design for the Church, noted that the design of the temple featured a cast stone exterior with copper shingles done in a pioneer style. Native flowers to Tooele Valley like cliffrose and silvery lupine will also be featured throughout the temple.
Tooele residents check out new Latter-day Saint temple site
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Tuesday morning it is relocating the Tooele Valley Temple and renaming it the Deseret Peak Utah Temple.
and last updated 2021-01-20 00:40:09-05
TOOELE, Utah â A steady stream of cars, vans, trucks and SUVs drove straight toward a dead-end corner in Tooele Tuesday, some pulling over just before reaching the orange pylons marking the end of the pavement.
Others drove to the very end and turned the corner, slowing down as the driver and passengers pointed toward an empty field.
People jumped out of parked cars and took pictures of the field.
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