Mormon faith pushes ahead with global temple building boom despite cool reception in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A historic building boom of big, bright Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temples — beacons to the faithful with steeples pointing heavenward around the world — is meeting resistance in some parts of the U.S., including one place not really known for moderation.
In Las Vegas, just a 30-minute drive from glittery casinos, homeowners in a rural foothills neighborhood complain the size and lighting of a temple that won city approval will forever change the dark-sky environment. Some say they feel trampled, and that church and city officials rushed to approve the project.
“I feel like it soured people’s taste, to see how they steamrolled the neighborhood,” said Matthew DeLoe, a homeowner who was active against the temple for months.
Most temples built by the faith have been well received, but the Las Vegas fight mirrors objections over construction plans in Texas, Wyoming and even the religion’s home state of Utah. The battles are forcing the faith known widely as the Mormon church to explain to non-members why the lavish temples are so vital to their beliefs.
Temples draw the faithful closer to God, they say. They are places for the most sacred ceremonies, such as weddings that seal couples for eternity and baptisms to bring deceased family members or others into the fold. Officials insist they consult with locals and carefully design temples for each environment.
“Our goal is to give more members access to these very precious places that are sacred to us and our religion,” said Presiding Bishop Gérald Caussé, a high-ranking official whose duties include overseeing worldwide temple building, during an interview with The Associated Press in Utah in June.
Temples are separate from the church’s 20,000 worldwide meetinghouses where anyone is welcome and members gather for Sunday services. At temples, only devout members who follow church rules are allowed inside.
Thousands of supporters and vocal opponents packed planning meetings for months before the Las Vegas City Council unanimously approved a three-story temple in July. Larger in size than the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, it’s set to have a golden steeple soaring nearly 200 feet (61 meters).
Some want to sue to stop the project. They insist their concerns have nothing to do with the religious teachings of a sometimes misunderstood faith, which is known for its belief in eternal families, tight-knit congregations and bans on alcohol, coffee, gambling and same-sex relationships.
“I don’t have a problem with the church being there, and none of the neighbors have a problem with the church being there,” said Sue Kristensen, of the Nevada Rural Preservation Alliance. “The size of the building is the problem. It’s blocking everyone’s views of beautiful Lone Mountain. Monstrosity is the best word that I can think of.”
Church officials have another description for the more than 300 temples built in recent years. “They are clean, and beautiful, and quiet, as are the people who will frequent these sacred spaces,” said church spokesman Doug Andersen.
New temple projects could be announced at this weekend’s twice-a-year church conference, where congregants of the 17.2-million-member faith gather in person in Salt Lake City or watch online for guidance and church news.
What the faithful won’t hear is how much the elaborately built and lavishly furnished temples cost. The church declines to disclose construction figures, but its investment arm has a portfolio worth nearly $55 billion, according to its most recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosures.
The SEC fined the church and its money management arm $5 million in February 2023 for using shell companies to obscure the size of church financial holdings. Scrutiny focused on whether the tax-exempt faith sits atop a treasure trove of wealth. The government noted the church was concerned that disclosure of its portfolio would lead to unspecified “negative consequences.”
The temple-building push went into hyperdrive after President Russell M. Nelson became head of the church in January 2018. About half of new temples have been built since then. Nelson, who turned 100 in September, named 15 new temple locations during a conference last April, to bring the total that are announced, open or under construction to 350.
It is the biggest building boom in the history of the faith, said Matt Martinich, a researcher and church member who tracks the growth of the global religion. Construction accelerated after 1980, from 19 temples worldwide to 122 by 2005. The 150th temple opened in Provo, Utah, in 2016. The church says five are due to open before the end of 2024 in Honduras; Brazil; Tooele, Utah; Casper, Wyoming; and Tallahassee, Florida.
Just north of Pittsburgh, the non-member public had a rare opportunity in August to tour a temple, the 196th to be completed. Crystal chandeliers, woodwork and framed paintings of idealized biblical scenes adorned the interior.
The Las Vegas temple site is a large undeveloped lot surrounded by single-family homes, schools and parks. At sunset, it’s enveloped by the shadow of a rocky natural landmark, Lone Mountain.
Residents note that streetlights and sidewalks are scarce, homes draw water from wells and neighbors ride horses on the dirt shoulders of roads. They worry the temple will bring light pollution, noise and traffic.
It will be Las Vegas’ second temple. The first opened in 1989 about a 30-minute drive across the city.
Bud Stoddard, a regional church leader in the area, said the palatial structure is intended “to be something that when we see it, our minds, our eyes, are immediately drawn heavenward.” He predicted it will be a beacon for the 100,000 church faithful in and around Las Vegas.
“What I believe is that five years from now, this area will be more beautiful, more desirable,” Stoddard said at the site. “This will guarantee a place of quiet, a place of solitude.”
Far from Sin City, a court fight may also loom in the Texas town of Fairview. Mayor Henry Lessner said church representatives promised legal action after the town council last month unanimously rejected plans for a temple that would be among the largest buildings in a community of 11,000 residents. At 154 feet (47 meters), the spire would be taller than the town’s two water towers.
Church officials may argue that not being able to have tall steeples infringes on their right to worship. They point to the federal Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act that since 2000 has banned the use of zoning and landmarking laws to discriminate against “religious assemblies or institutions.”
Lessner predicted that his town on the edge of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area might end up as a test case for religious architectural freedom.
“We want to be good neighbors,” Lessner said. “But our community will not be bullied. ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ includes Fairview.”
In Las Vegas, the temple’s outdoor lighting plan was modified and the steeple height was lowered 20 feet (6 meters), before winning City Council approval.
Caussé said the church is willing to make adjustments that are reasonable and do not change the “spiritual value or nature” of the temple.
“It is so important to us to be considered as good neighbors, because a temple is not about contention,” he said. ”It has to create connection between people and with the community to be well received.”
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Schoenbaum reported from Provo, Utah. Associated Press journalists Peter Smith in Cranberry, Pennsylvania.; Ty O’Neil in Las Vegas; Rick Bowmer in Provo, Utah; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Sam Metz in Rabat, Morocco, contributed to this report.
