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See how the design for this disputed LDS temple changed with a shorter steeple

Utah-based church submits plan for a smaller building to Texas town.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering of the originally proposed McKinney Texas Temple, with its taller steeple.

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering of the originally proposed McKinney Texas Temple, with its taller steeple.

  | March 26, 2025, 5:12 p.m.
| Updated: 5:23 p.m.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has submitted a revised design for a proposed temple — complete with a shorter steeple — in hopes of winning approval from a Texas town.

In a statement released Tuesday, church spokesperson Melissa McKneely announced that the Utah-based faith had officially submitted the new plan for a smaller McKinney Temple to Fairview, a suburb of Dallas.

The church, she said, “always seeks to cooperate with communities while exercising its fundamental rights of worship.”

The new design is the result of a November mediation, rare on the part of the church, between the two parties.

Under the new agreement, the Utah-based faith agreed to shave approximately 54 feet off its initially proposed 174-foot-high building (spire included), and shrink its overall footprint from around 45,000 square feet to roughly 30,000 square feet.

Here’s the new design

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) An artist's rendering for the newly proposed McKinney Texas Temple, with its shorter steeple.

The church was previously scheduled to submit the new design in January but instead sent the town a notice of an intent to sue.

Town leadership, the memorandum complained, had repeatedly thrown cold water on the deal in public statements. Before the church submitted the revised plans, it wanted reassurance that the Town Council was ready to approve the redesign.

Church officials apparently got just that.

“Recently, the mayor has again expressed his support and belief that the Town Council will stand by its word,” McKneely said. “The church is grateful for this assurance and today has filed a new application consistent with the agreement. We look forward to continuing our association with the community as good neighbors and friends.”

Here they are side by side

(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) The original rendering of the McKinney Texas Temple, left, and the modified version, featuring a shorter spire.


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