BELMONT, Mass. — In a region settled by Puritans seeking religious freedom and renowned for a countryside decorated with white-steepled churches, the Boston Massachusetts Temple — the 100th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — will be dedicated Sunday by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
But it won't have that traditional steeple.
"It's a gorgeous building," said Bruce Olsen, managing director of the church's Public Affairs Department. "It has an elegant entryway that extends up to a stubby top that's just begging for a steeple."
A legal dispute with a small but vocal coalition of neighbors over the construction of the temple has been mired in state and federal courts for four years. The latest ruling by a state judge banned the construction of a steeple, stating that "while a spire might have inspirational value and may embody the Mormon value of ascendancy toward heaven, that is not a matter of religious doctrine and is not in any way related to the religious use of the temple."
While church attorneys appeal the decision, the 69,000-square-foot temple is left with something of an amputated appearance. Should the courts eventually rule in favor of a steeple, the spire, topped by a statue of the Angel Moroni, will be 139 feet high — about two-thirds the height of the famed monument at the Boston area's Bunker Hill.
While the temple has had its share of controversy, the beautiful building has also generated a good deal of positive interest among the general public and media.
Approximately 72,000 people toured the temple during a monthlong open house that ended Sept. 23.
"Even for a nonmember of the church, it can be a powerful yet peaceful place, a transforming experience," wrote a columnist for The Patriot-Ledger of Quincy, Mass., who toured the temple during media day. "The high ceiling and dome, white marblelike pillars, plush white carpet, green plantings and stained glass windows all create a calming, serene haven. There were a few gentle gasps as we entered (the Celestial Room), and everyone sat or stood quietly."
The new temple is actually located in Belmont, a suburb west of Boston with 25,000 residents. The community is one of upscale homes where a three-bedroom house can cost $600,000. The temple, with its facade of Olympic white granite from Italy, stands in stunning contrast to the verdant green landscape surrounding it. The interior reflects the New England area with maple woodwork.
Dedication of the church's 100th temple has both historical and spiritual significance, said Elder Loren C. Dunn of the Quorums of the Seventy and president of the Boston temple.
"The history of the country and the church comes out of New England," Elder Dunn said.
It was here where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired, marking the beginning of the American Revolution. Here the Puritan ethic of work and religious freedom spread to help shape the American attitude. It was here that one of President Hinckley's early ancestors came to Plymouth from England in 1635, and his son, Thomas Hinckley, was governor of Plymouth Colony from 1681 to 1692.
"Three of the first four presidents of the church came from New England," Elder Dunn said, noting that the majority of leaders in the early days of the LDS Church stemmed from the region. "And not a few members came to Kirtland and Nauvoo from New England. At the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, a concentration of between 300 to 500 headed west from Boston."
Opponents to the new temple say their concerns center on the size of the building and not the LDS faith, according to Marci Hamilton, attorney for the group Action for Neighborhood Zoning. They fear the three-story temple will threaten the quality of their residential community.
"In this era of megachurches and the exponential expansion of use of religious buildings, these are neighbors (who are) worried about the negative secondary effects of any large building in their residential neighborhood, not the religious quality of the use," Hamilton said.
She defines "secondary effects" as the draining of water on neighbors' land, shining lights in windows late at night, traffic congestion on nonworship days and noise exceeding decibel limits.
Hamilton described the neighbors as people who "desire to live in a residential neighborhood, where they have invested their money in the most important investment of their lifetime and want to raise their families in a healthy, quiet environment."
Charles Counselman of the neighbor group said in a recent Los Angeles Times article that "the opposition that the neighbors have to this temple is exactly the same kind of opposition you'd have if someone wanted to build a shopping mall on that location."
Counselman, an astronomy professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes a 50-year-old provision to Massachusetts law that permitted the temple to be built in a residential area — a provision known as the Dover Amendment that allows religious buildings to be exempt from zoning laws — is unconstitutional and discriminates in favor of religious groups.
When opposition mounted five years ago following the announcement of the proposed temple, LDS Church leaders scaled down plans in an attempt to appease concerns. Instead of a 94,000-square-foot edifice, they redrew plans for a 69,000-square-foot building. And instead of six spires, they settled upon one New England-like spire.
Counselman's group remains unimpressed and actually wants the temple torn down and the area returned to its former condition.
On the other hand, "It's a beautiful edifice." said William Monahan, chairman of the Belmont Board of Selectmen in the Times article. "They've taken a piece of ledge, total rock, and made it into a striking garden, with 20,000 shrubs and I don't know how many flowering bushes. Twenty years ago, if someone said they were going to build there, you would have said it was impossible."
"From my perspective," said Paul Killeen, attorney for the church in Boston, the neighbors' opposition is "totally nuts," the article states in conclusion.
The Boston temple will not be the first dedicated without a spire; a few have no steeples at all. The Sydney Australia Temple was dedicated in 1984 without a spire, though one has since been built.
E-MAIL: shaun@desnews.com