__IMAGE1__PHILADELPHIA — Plans to build the first Mormon temple in
Pennsylvania are moving forward.A Philadelphia City Council
committee on Wednesday, May 12, approved a height variance for the $70 million
project slated for downtown.Other city approvals are still
needed. But a regional spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints says they hope to break ground by the end of the year.Spokesman
Ahmad Corbitt says the church has about 40,000 members in
the area. Members attend weekly worship services at smaller chapels but
will use the temple for special rites and sacraments.The closest
temples now are in New York and suburban Washington, D.C.Corbitt
says the church hopes to open the Philadelphia temple by 2013.
More on the proposed temple in Philadelphia:Philadelphia Business Journal: Mormon temple hops hurdleKSCG Television: Plans to build the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple move ahead