At the close of every General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it’s become standard practice for church president Russell M. Nelson to announce locations where the church plans to build new temples.
In Oct 2021, that list included Heber Valley, Utah. It was very welcome news to Heber City resident Kim Clifton.
"I was so excited," she said. "My whole heart just skipped a beat and I just felt like instant peace."
Midway resident Anna Foster had a similar reaction.
"It was elation, just a lot of applause and excitement," she said.
The church describes temples as “a place set apart from the rest of the world where members seek to draw closer to God.” Temples are not chapels where Latter-day Saints attend weekly worship services. Special ceremonies are performed inside temples, and only practicing church members considered worthy by the church are allowed to attend.
Both Foster and Clifton said they regularly go to the temple in Provo, and both said it’s a great source of spiritual strength for them. Clifton said she goes about once a week.
"It just helps me in every part of my life — in being kind, in being a better mom, a better friend, a better daughter, and even a better wife," she said. "It's awesome."
Foster said she goes about once a month with other members of her local congregation. She has a special needs child, so that requires arranging a babysitter or nursing care. But she said the effort is worth it.
"I feel like the more frequently I'm able to attend the temple that I'm able to manage life struggles better," she said. "I feel I'm empowered in my visit to the temple, I get reminders of who I am. And that my own capacity is much greater than I sometimes think it is."
Foster said having a temple in Heber City will make it less difficult to make arrangements that will allow her to go. And it will save her the drive down Provo Canyon.
"The road down to the canyon can be especially dodgy in the winter," she said. "It has limited those who aren't comfortable driving to the canyon. And I would say I'm one of them when it's snowing, for sure."
That drive is one reason Matt Martinich has been expecting a temple to be announced in the Heber Valley for years. He’s the project manager for the Cumorah Foundation, an independent organization that conducts original research on the growth of the church.
"It's not, of course, too far away from Orem and Provo and American Fork and where there's other temples," he said. "But it is far enough away where a temple would make sense."
Martinich said the number of stakes the church has in the area also justified putting a temple there. A stake is sort of the equivalent of a Catholic diocese. According to the church’s handbook, the creation of a new stake requires a minimum of 3,000 church members in that area. Martinich says his data shows there are six stakes in the Heber Valley. Park City and Kamas each have a stake as well.
"That's really enough to support a small temple," he said.
Three of the six stakes in the Heber Valley are less than 20 years old, which indicates strong growth, Martinich said.
"A lot of times, Latter-day Saints like to live in new developments. That's pretty consistent across the United States," he said. "So that seems to be a big driver for that growth. But a lot of it's kind of more like people just moving around."
Both Clifton and Foster are not native to the area. Foster and her family moved from Bountiful about eight years ago so her medically-sensitive children could have better air to breathe. Clifton’s family initially came in 2004 because her husband got a job with a construction company here.
"Absolutely love the people, love the community," she said. "It's just a great place for family and for anybody, really."
A church spokesperson told KPCW they don’t release membership numbers by county. But church attorney Loyal Hulme told the Wasatch County Council on June 21 the temple they plan to build is not as big as it could have been to accommodate demand.
"We intentionally downsized this one, to help with some of the concerns that have been expressed," he said. "But we want to make sure that people understand that it's consistent with the needs."
Those concerns presented by some community members include how the building will be lit, as well as how tall the spires will be. The church’s current plan is to have two spires, one of which would top 200 feet.
Hulme acknowledged the height of the building doesn’t impact what happens inside the temple or the number of people who can attend. But the size of the temple was still of "significant" importance, he said.
"The steeples are designed to be high on purpose," Hulme said. "They're designed to draw eyes towards heaven, because that is a symbol of what this represents to our people."
Foster said her temple experience isn’t based on how it looks on the outside. The design isn’t as important as the fact that it’s there, she said.
"But I do know that when I drive through cities that have temples and I see them there, it's really inspiring for me to see the temple kind of rising up, out from behind trees or other buildings, she said. "It is often really helpful for me to see that."
Clifton said the temple would be a benefit to the community as a whole, and expressed optimism the church would work with the community to allay some of those concerns.
"If people are just patient with the process, the Church of Jesus Christ always does a phenomenal, beautiful job," she said. "There's not one ugly temple out there."
The church’s proposal is currently under review with Wasatch County’s Development Review Committee. It will then go to the planning commission for a public review. That will be in mid-August at the earliest. The planning commission, in turn, will give its recommendation to the county council.
