The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may continue construction on its Heber Valley Temple — despite an ongoing legal battle over the structure, the Utah Supreme Court has ruled.
If construction continues, the court wrote in an opinion issued Thursday, the church assumes the risk that it will be responsible for “restoring the site to its prior condition” if it loses an ongoing lawsuit over whether the project is legal under Wasatch County or state law.
In the opinion, the justices wrote that the church “states that it is willing to take that risk.”
The legal battle over the temple began in November 2023, when people who live near the building site sued Wasatch County for approving the project.
The residents asserted the project would “adversely impact their health, welfare, privacy, and quiet use and enjoyment of their property,” the Utah Supreme Court opinion said.
However, the court wrote that “petitioners have not identified what irreparable harm the construction would cause.”
Church plans call for a two-spired, three-story, 88,000-square-foot temple in the Heber Valley. It is one of 32 existing or planned Latter-day Saint temples in Utah.
This is a developing story.