The company added that it never told Bluffdale officials the temple was headed to their city in southern Salt Lake County.

"No Sorenson representative ever discussed or identified any temple site to Bluffdale officials," said David Parkinson, a spokesman for the company.

The company's response came the day The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a former Bluffdale mayor and a former councilman, along with a city planning commissioner, had been told by developers that the LDS Church was planning a temple for Bluffdale's southwest foothills.

Contacted on Wednesday, the three sources - former Mayor Wayne Mortimer, ex-Councilman Morris Clark and Jeff Daugherty, a member of the planning commission - reaffirmed their statements. They maintain developers told them the temple was planned for Bluffdale.

"Everything reported is correct," Mortimer said. "I'm not backing down. . . . Morris and I were both there. We pushed [Sorenson Development] and they said this is where the temple is."

Daugherty stood by his statement, but noted the exact temple location will not be official until a building application is filed.

"The sources are reliable," said Daugherty, who also is director of planning and development services for Salt Lake County. "It's the worst-kept secret in Bluffdale."

The LDS Church didn't release additional information. When pressed, spokesman Dale Bills said only the ruling First Presidency can announce temple sites.

The Bluffdale land is undeveloped, with no roads, no addresses and no plats. It has been used for decades as sheep pasture.

However, the land is embroiled in a lawsuit and, depending on the outcome, could end up in Herriman or unincorporated Salt Lake County. Sorenson Real Estate and Development Associates has asked a 3rd District judge to de-annex 4,000 acres because Bluffdale blocked higher housing densities planned for the area.

In his statement, Parkinson said it is "possible that the story arose from an attempt by the former Bluffdale officials to influence the outcome of the disconnect lawsuit."

That is not the case, insisted Mortimer, who managed an LDS Church-owned Deseret Industries outlet until his retirement in 2004.

"I can understand why [Sorenson Real Estate] is having trouble," he said. "The First Presidency is supposed to announce where temples will be built."

During last October's General Conference, Hinckley surprised many by revealing that two additional temples would be built in Salt Lake County. One would be in South Jordan's 4,100-acre Daybreak development. The other wasn't given a specific site.

At the time, Hinckley said the church has "two other excellent sites in the west and southwest areas of the valley through the kindness of the developers of these properties."

Claudia Anderson, who succeeded Mortimer as Bluffdale's mayor earlier this month, took issue with Wednesday's story as well.

"We do not know where the temple is going to be," she said.

jsantini@sltrib.com

djensen@sltrib.com