Church begins work at Heber Valley Utah Temple site as opponents appeal to Utah Supreme Court

Workers began Monday to move dirt and install infrastructure on the site of the future Heber Valley Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The appearance of a backhoe and new fencing marked the start of the temple’s construction phase, even as four neighbors pursue an appeal of a court order that cleared the way for the project.

Wasatch County issued a building permit for the temple in 2023, but the church voluntarily postponed construction to allow a judge to review the lawsuit.

Fourth District Court Judge Jennifer A. Mabey dismissed the lawsuit on July 23.

“Construction work is now underway on the church’s property to grade the site and install necessary infrastructure to support the future temple,” church spokesman Sam Penrod said.

That work soon will turn to removing what a groundwater study said could be as much as 1 million gallons of water or more.

Meanwhile, Bruce Van Dusen, Bruce Quade, Shawn Savarino and Dominic Savarino have appealed the loss of their case in Mabey’s court to Utah’s Supreme Court, which has filed notice that it intends to transfer the case to the Utah State Court of Appeals.

The church held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the temple in 2022.

President Russell M. Nelson dedicated the site for the temple’s construction at the ceremony.

“We pray that the construction of this temple may be completed to accommodate thy divine purposes,” he said.

The Wasatch County Council unanimously approved the temple in November 2023.

When finished, the temple would sit at an elevation of 5,711 feet. The project combines two lots for a site of 18.17 acres. The temple will have a footprint of 26,089 square feet but because it has three floors, it will be a total of 87,626 square feet.

After neighbors expressed concerns about the size and lighting, the church agreed to dim the lights.

“The Heber Valley Utah Temple will be one of the dimmest temples in the world,” the principal architect said during a council hearing.

Now that work has begun, the church has four temples under construction in Utah, in Lindon, Smithfield and Ephraim. They are part of 32 temples in operation, under construction or announced for the state.

The church has 382 temples announced, under construction or in operation worldwide.

The Heber Valley sits on the Wasatch Back, the eastern side of the Wasatch Mountains. Salt Lake City and Provo are on the western side, or Wasatch Front.

Brigham Young called on pioneering Latter-day Saints to build a road from Provo to Heber Valley in 1858 and the first settlers named it after President Heber C. Kimball, first counselor in the First Presidency, President Nelson said, because many of the settlers had been converted by him in England in the 1840s.

The temple site is in unincorporated Wasatch County right next to Heber City.