After hearing arguments Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson denied a request by the Salt Lake City-based religion to allow the immediate placement of its monument. He ruled there still are factual issues that must be argued further and resolved.

Brian Barnard, an attorney for Summum, contends the park at 100 North and 100 East is a public forum, meaning that if the city permits one group to place a monument there, it must give equal access to other organizations.

The Ten Commandments monument was put in the park in 1971 by the Utah Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Officials ignored Summun's first request in 2003 to erect the Seven Aphorisms monument, according to Barnard, and later said only displays erected by groups or residents with a longtime relationship with Pleasant Grove or with historical significance to the city were allowed.

A lawyer for Pleasant Grove, Francis Manion, countered that those unwritten rules are fair and denied that they were designed only to keep Summum out.

Summun was founded in 1975 and is based on Egyptian customs, including mummification and winemaking.

Benson encouraged both sides to settle the dispute without a trial. The judge suggested, tongue-in-cheek, "Let them have five commandments."

- Pamela Manson