Utah City to Cease Free Outdoor Lights for Mormon Temple

The city says it will no longer provide free outdoor lighting for a historic Mormon temple, a 44-year-old practice that had been challenged in two lawsuits as unconstitutional.

The lights will continue to shine at night, but the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will pay its own bills, city Utilities Director Wayne McArthur said.

Since 1942, the city had provided free lighting for the 109-year-old temple after 10 p.m., a practice that officials said cost about $175 a month in recent years.

Last year, attorney Phillip Foremaster sued in U.S. District Court, claiming the subsidy violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of separation of church and state. Earlier this month, a group of local clergymen also sued.

City Atty. T. W. Shumway has filed a motion to dismiss the claims, saying the city ceased its subsidy this month.

City officials “saw the writing on the wall and acknowledged their untenable position,” said Brian Barnard, who represented Foremaster and the clergymen.

Mormon Church spokesman Don LeFevre said Saturday the church was not upset by the decision.

“We had never asked for the subsidy in the first place,” he said. “It was offered by the city. We have always been able and willing to pay our own bills.”