“We’re very grateful for the Perry family, to donate this site, 17 acres right in the middle of a housing development that they could have sold by now,” Droubay said. “They’ve donated the property and we’re extremely thankful for that.” Perry Homes’ Bill Perry Jr. did not return requests for comment, but he attended the groundbreaking ceremony with his wife on May 15. They heard Elder Brook P. Hales, a General Authority Seventy who lives in the valley, mention their company in the prayer dedicating the ground for construction: “We acknowledge with gratitude the Perry Homes Corporation, which has so generously donated this ground for the construction of the temple.” Droubay said that was not the only donation made for the temple. “One morning I came down here we had five major contractors with equipment, personnel and men that they’d hired that they were paying out of their own pocket, working on this, donating their time and effort just to make this site beautiful for the groundbreaking,” he said. Elder Hales confirmed that President Nelson visited Tooele Valley sites in November “to personally select where the temple would be built, and he settled on this one. And I’m grateful for that. I think it’s an inspired choice. It’s a stunning sight,” with Deseret Peak looming nearly 12,000 feet high to the west in the Stansbury Mountains. And this may not be the last time a prophet of the church visits potential temple sites in the Tooele Valley. During the broadcast of the groundbreaking ceremony, Elder Hales said, “I heard someone say in a meeting I attended — I’ll let you guess which meeting it was — ‘Well, if we need to we’ll build another temple in Tooele.’ “Now that should be our goal. That’s not an announcement; that should be our goal,” he added. “So let’s fill the temple, brothers and sisters, so that the workers and the presidency are overwhelmed with work, and that will be a great thing.” |