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Mormon temple protests target Church's Utah leaders

February 09, 2011
source: Arizona Republic

Photo from AZ Central.
Neighbors of a planned Mormon temple in north Phoenix are protesting at the site, saying Utah's leadership is ignoring their concerns about the building's design, light and traffic.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wants to build a 26,000-square-foot Phoenix Temple at 5200 W. Pinnacle Peak Road. The church is seeking a building permit from Phoenix.

About 70 people, many of them members of the Phoenix Property Rights Coalition, have been protesting to get the attention of the church's main office in Salt Lake City.

The residents say the decisions about the temple are decided there.

During a late January protest, the group placed a 27-foot-tall inflatable gorilla with a message: "Utah: The 800lb Gorilla in our Neighborhood." They have been calling the project the "Temple of ill will" because when the church redesigned the building in August, it came back with an even larger structure, said Scott Anderson, a neighborhood organizer.

Church officials said leaders in Arizona and Utah work closely on all matters related to the temple, including the concerns raised by the neighbors.


Read the rest of this story at azcentral.com

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Comments 7 comments

govzzz said...

11:39 AM
on Feb 10, 2011

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Property Rights Coalition protesting? Funny!! The land that the Church wants to build on is their property AS WELL so they have EVERY RIGHT to build on it...The Church don't tell you guys to move out to make way for them...Stop your HATE and get on to better things!

manaen said...

04:18 PM
on Feb 10, 2011

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"The residents say the decisions about the temple are decided there." If so, the temple would be under construction; the decision now is being made by the local builing-permit authority, which is not in Utah.

yumagirl22 said...

09:50 AM
on Feb 11, 2011

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There is one thing that is important when it comes to having this temple here. The one thing that really matters, is that it comes from God. Not the prophet, and not some other person. God has the final say in what is built, and how, because this is his land. Also, the church does own that land, so it is ridiculous that people are protesting. There have always been protesters when it comes to temples. Some more than others. But I would honestly hope that this wouldn't stop people from building a place where people become better. Because this is the one place where there really is heaven on earth.

thatoneguy said...

08:10 AM
on Feb 13, 2011

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What country are the protesters from? Why are they not more productive in their pursuits? To spend their time protesting others' exercise of their constitutionally "protected" right of freedom of religion is to label yourselves as the hypocrites that the Jews were when they cried out: "Crucify Him" when their Savior came to redeem them from their sins. Please look inside your hearts and answer the question: "If my religion were building a beautiful structure to honor my God, across from my house, would I protest? Why doesn't your bigoted coalition purchase all the available land in Arizona, and the United States for that matter and build whatever you want on it? It would be better for you to look within yourselves to see where your lives could improve, and where you could be a positive influence in the lives of others, toward promoting something productive and uplifting, than to waste your energies in promoting hatred toward people who are just trying to worship freely in this country. Get a life: a building right there isn't going to hurt you at all; live and let live. People who own businesses in that area will be financially supported in that region by the building of a temple there also. Open a business why don't you? People need fuel and food, etc.; make it work for you. Don't continue to make a spectacle of yourselves: people who are actually productive U.S. citizens are creating things not making a joke out of themselves trying to be destructive toward others' religious freedoms. If the People erecting that building weren't Mormons you would be considering organizing a welcoming coalition... Go fishing or something.

mumto12 said...

06:10 PM
on Feb 15, 2011

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Its a Mormon Temple not a night club??? A beautiful QUIET house of prayer. No neon signs no loud music. I really dont see what all the fuss is about. I would LOVE one right next door to me!!!

uvada said...

03:09 PM
on Jul 08, 2011

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I am shocked and apalled that a lovely temple would cause so much consternation. Most find that an LDS temple in their neighborhood causes an increase in property value.

j7n2c9 said...

09:25 PM
on Aug 22, 2011

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Well at least this mob is not burning and killing like in times past, not yet?
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