Latest from Mormon Land: This temple is gone but not forgotten — as a new song attests

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An ode to an old friend

It turns out that the old Provo Temple is the stuff tunes are made of.

Soon after The Tribune published religion reporter Dylan Eubank’s story about the new Provo Rock Canyon Temple taking shape where the former Space Age edifice used to appear, he was steered to a tender “protest” song on YouTube lamenting the historic loss of that distinctive design.

Here are some of the lyrics from “The Pillar,” by Kgordee (i.e., longtime Provo resident Scott Jones):

Why couldn’t they see you for what you are?

You’re not a spaceship flying into a star.

Why couldn’t they see that they were making a mistake?

You’re not a candle on a birthday cake.

…

So, now, what do we get?

Another half-baked cookie-cutter template.

’Cause all that matters, it seems to be,

Is saving the mother ship in Salt Lake City.

Jones, who had viewed the former temple outside his door for more than four decades, told Dylan he started crafting the song when the barricades went up and the crews began tearing the structure down.

“I was very sad to learn of its demise,” he said.

Suffice it to say, though, that his sweet, sorrowful psalm — bemoaning the demolition of the half-century-old temple on Provo’s east bench, compared to the painstaking preservation of the iconic Salt Lake Temple in the heart of Utah’s capital — won’t be in the church’s new hymnbook.

Predicting the next temples

Church President Russell Nelson announced 15 new temples during April’s General Conference. In October 2024, he unveiled plans for 17 new temples and, the previous April, he named 15 new sites.

So it’s unsurprising that independent church tracker Matt Martinich — who blogs at ldschurchgrowth.blogspot.com — has expanded to 20 his list of “most likely” cities to hear their names pronounced at next month’s conference for new temples:

• Angeles or Olongapo, Philippines.

• Bo, Sierra Leone.

• Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

• Rigby, Idaho.

• Lomé, Togo.

• Southeast Salt Lake County (i.e., Cottonwood Heights, Holladay or Sandy).

• Evanston, Wyoming.

• San Pablo City, Philippines.

• Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

• Ibadan, Nigeria.

• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

• Lilongwe, Malawi.

• Santa Maria, Brazil.

• Augusta, Maine.

• Kimbanseke, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

• Tema, Ghana.

• Yopougon, Ivory Coast.

• San Luis Valley, Colorado.

• Longview, Texas.

• Lahore, Pakistan.

Nelson’s next birthday

Russell Nelson, the oldest-ever Latter-day Saint prophet-president, is approaching another milestone: The centenarian leader will turn 101 on Sept. 9.

To mark the occasion, the church is posting messages from Nelson on its social media accounts and inviting members to share lessons they have learned from their prophet by using the hashtag #PresidentNelson101.

The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: ‘An Inconvenient Faith’

A new nine-part docuseries, titled “An Inconvenient Faith,” tackles some of the toughest topics confronting the church, including LGBTQ+ relations, feminism, church history, race, polygamy, Book of Mormon historicity and divine revelation.

Listen to the podcast.

Honoring an LDS Pirate

Latter-day Saint Vern Law may have been known as the “Deacon” when pitching for Pittsburgh in the 1950s and ’60s, but he more accurately ranked as the high priest of the Pirates’ hurlers.

He racked up 162 wins over 16 seasons with the franchise, became its first-ever Cy Young winner in 1960 and led the underdog Bucs to a World Series title that year over the vaunted New York Yankees.

The team honored Law on Aug. 21 by inducting him into the Pirates Hall of Fame.

“It’s the capstone of my career,” Law told MLB.com. “...I thought when I turned 95, all the excitement in my life was over. But, no, this has brought a lot of memories.”

Fighting ‘period poverty’

In another step toward ending “period poverty,” women and girls in Nepal have received menstrual kits and instruction, thanks to donations from the church’s Yuletide Giving Machines in partnership with Days for Girls International.

“Because of menstruation and the lack of pads, some girls have even stopped going to school,” teacher Rekha Budha Kshetri said in a news release. “But here, thanks to this program, it’s become much easier for girls to attend school.”

From The Tribune

• Kristen Oaks recalls her first date with senior apostle Dallin Oaks.

• The newly redesigned lobby of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building is getting mixed reviews.

• A Latter-day Saint podcaster shares her “comeback story,” saying matter-of-factly that the church “saved” her life.

• The church has quietly improved its message to doubters, says Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess. It’s too bad more members don’t know about it.

• Is a first edition Book of Mormon a pearl of great price? We’ll find out at an auction this week.

• New research examines the BYU police force’s complicated history.

• An artist engages in the “holy” work of regilding the Salt Lake Temple’s “House of the Lord” plaque.