Difference between revisions of "McKinney Texas Temple"

Revision as of 17:14, 25 April 2025

McKinney Texas Temple new rendering © Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

In his closing remarks at the 192nd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct a temple in Prosper, Texas.

In December 2023, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the location and name change for this temple to be built in the North Dallas, Texas area. The name has been changed to the McKinney Texas Temple.

The city is located within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area in North Texas. Texas is home to more than 385,000 Latter-day Saints in 750 congregations. Missionary work in Texas began in 1843 during the early history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The McKinney Texas Temple will be the state’s eighth temple.[1]

It will be the third temple in Texas’ Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, joining the Dallas and Fort Worth temples, the former operating since its 1984 dedication and the latter having its groundbreaking on October 28, 2023.

Location

The McKinney Texas Temple is currently in the planning stages. This temple will be built on an 8.16-acre site located along Stacy Road adjacent to and east of an existing meetinghouse at 651 East Stacy Road, in Fairview, Texas. Fairview is a suburban area north of Dallas and south of McKinney. Original plans called for a multi-story temple of approximately 44,000 square feet. This will be the city’s first temple.[2]

McKinney Texas Temple initial rendering © Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

However, the Fairview Town Council unanimously denied a conditional use permit for the temple after a four-hour meeting on August 6, 2024. Fairview and McKinney are neighboring suburbs within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and the proposed temple site is in Fairview.[3] The church’s spokesperson for the temple project said the church is considering its next step.

It was announced on November 27, 2024, that the leaders of Fairview and representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had reached a tentative agreement for construction of a smaller temple, after working together in non-binding mediation over the size of a proposed temple.

If approved in a series of public meetings that will begin the first week of December, the McKinney Texas Temple now would be a single-story building of approximately 30,000 square feet with a main height of 45 feet and a steeple height of 120 feet. As stated, original plans called for a two-story temple of 44,000 square feet with a main height of 65 feet and a steeple height of 173 feet.

However, the Deseret News reported that "The settlement that cleared the way for the construction of a temple in a Texas town by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints appears to be unraveling, according to statements by both sides.

"Now, the future of the McKinney Texas Temple may be headed to the courts if the agreement the town and the church reached in mediation in November doesn’t hold, a local church spokeswoman said in a new statement released Monday. . . .

"Church officials planned to file their new application for the smaller temple on Jan. 13, but they became uncertain it would be accepted because of statements by the mayor and other town officials, according to the church attorney’s letter.

“In light of the foregoing circumstances, the church has no confidence that the town will make good on its commitments as set forth in the memorandum,” the church attorney stated. “The church is further concerned that proceeding as though the town will make good on its commitments will simply prejudice the church’s legal rights. Accordingly, the church will not submit an amended or new conditional use permit application today.”

McKneely, the temple spokeswoman, said the church had attempted to negotiate in good faith to find common ground while protecting the rights of religious freedom for local members of the church.

Attorneys representing the church asked Fairview officials to allow the church representatives to meet with each town councilmember individually. According to the church attorney, town officials said they would share the invitation with the councilmembers but did not expect all to agree.

“If town officials continue to be unwilling to discuss the status of the agreement made in mediation,” McKneely stated, “the next step is to ask a court to review local, state and federal laws regarding the town’s process of denying the church’s original proposal in August 2024 to build a temple in Fairview, Texas.”

"Temples are sacred, holy places for Latter-day Saints, who consider them to be houses of the Lord. Church officials have said from the beginning that federal and state religious liberty laws and Fairview zoning laws give the church the right to build the temple at the size proposed in its original application.[4]

• Read the full Deseret News article here.

• Deseret News update, "Latter-day Saint leader’s letter requests ‘positive outcome’ for Texas temple as key date looms"

In a Deseret News article on March 25, 2025:

“Recently, the mayor has again expressed his support and belief that the Town Council will stand by its word,” local church spokeswoman Melissa McKneely said in a statement released Tuesday.

“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.”

The Fairview Town Planning and Zoning Commission will review the application and vote on it in a future meeting. The date of that meeting has not been set, said Karin Anderson, the town’s communications and marketing manager.

The town council will review the application after the planning and zoning commission, she said.

The new application seeks a conditional use permit to build the temple in a residential area. Conditional use permits are the normal tool used by churches and governments to provide space for houses of worship in residential areas.[5]

A Deseret News article published on April 25, 2025, indicated that the Fairview, Texas, planning and zoning commission unanimously voted to approve the Church concessions for a smaller temple, but set new conditions that would be discussed by the town council the following week. Those include making the temple steeple the same height as the meetinghouse next door (68 feet 3 inches), shut off the exterior lighting whenever the temple is closed, and change the name to the Fairview Texas Temple.

At one stage, the church had proposed turning off the temple’s lights at night, but that offer was withdrawn in the new application due to the other concessions the town required in the non-binding settlement reached in November, said Paul McCracken of Kinley-Horne, an engineering and design consulting firm representing the church.

McCracken said reducing the size of the temple and the height of the steeple created a substantial burden for the church, which needs a temple with four instruction rooms to serve a growing Latter-day Saint population in the region. The church agreed to accept that burden in its new application, which calls for two instruction rooms. He also said the church was not open to changing the name of the temple. The church has one congregation in Fairview and about 10 in McKinney.

McCracken argued that there are no provisions for churches in Fairview’s zoning ordinances, so any conditional use permit for a church or temple requires the commission and council to customize a new, site-specific district.[6]

• Deseret News update, "Church submits application for a smaller temple in Fairview, Texas"

• Deseret News update, "Texas planning commission OKs Latter-day Saint temple, but only if spire shrinks and lights turn off"

Temples in Texas

• Austin Texas Temple
• Dallas Texas Temple
• El Paso Texas Temple
• Fort Worth Texas Temple
• Houston Texas Temple
• Houston Texas South Temple
• Lubbock Texas Temple
• McAllen Texas Temple
• McKinney Texas Temple
• San Antonio Texas Temple

Videos

External Links

• Official McKinney Texas Temple page
• McKinney Texas Temple page
• What Is the Purpose of the Temple?
• What Are Temples?
• Church News, “Inside Church Headquarters: The location, design and construction of Latter-day Saint temples