By STEVE JENSE
Building a temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not an easy task. And when the desired spot cannot be built upon, it's even harder.
The inability for the LDS Church to get a permit to build their proposed temple in an upscale suburb of Nashville, Tenn., prompted church leaders to file suit Tuesday in the Tennessee state court.
After an 18-month battle to change the zoning of a piece of land from residential to religious/educational in Forrest Hills, one of the wealthiest communities in Tennessee, LDS Church leaders ran out of patience Tuesday and took their case to the state judicial system.
'We feel (the city council of Forrest Hills) are involved in a First Amendment violation because they are refusing to rezone a site that we feel is the best site for our temple,' said Alan Erb, counselor in the Nashville stake presidency and the LDS Church's head scout in obtaining a Tennessee temple site. 'We did anything and everything they asked us to do and they still denied us the rezoning.'
In last week's monthly Forrest Hills city council meeting, the vote was 2-1 against the rezoning to allow construction of an LDS temple on the desired spot. Erb cited three main objections raised by members of the city: inconsistency with the suburban-estates character of Forrest Hills, potential traffic problems caused by a temple and the failure of the temple to be available to members of the community.
'Members of the church have a tendency to believe that anytime something bad happens, it's from religious bigotry and discrimination,' Erb said, 'but there have been many supporters of the church here who have spoke in our behalf.
Included among the supporters was a local Presbyterian church, Erb said.
'They came strongly to our aid,' he said.
Erb, who has a master's in public administration and a law degree from BYU, was asked by LDS Church Manager of Governmental and External Relations Rod Pulley to begin looking for a temple site in October 1994.
After a 6-month unsuccessful bid to obtain a permit to build the temple at a certain site in Forrest Hills, Erb found the even better current spot in a heavily wooded area between two major streets and away from the $400,000-$500,000 houses that make up most of the community.
'The Lord has revealed to us that nothing but the best is good for us,' Pulley said. 'We would never build a temple in a slum because that's the cheapest.'
The Nashville temple would serve members currently in the district of the Atlanta temple and the under-construction St. Louis temple, Pulley said.