George and Mary Glass moved to Utah looking for a place to slow down and contribute to their religious community upon the conclusion of his four-year stint as the U.S. ambassador to Portugal.
Despite being devout Catholics, the Glasses were excited when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced last year that the Heber Valley Utah Temple would be built nearby.
"We were absolutely delighted," George Glass said. "It shows the strength and the viability of your spirituality. And it shows the strength of that spirituality in a community to go out and build a (temple)."
The couple was surprised when other residents didn't feel the same joy. Those residents tried to get George Glass to join "their side."
"I said ‘There isn’t a side.’ If the Mormon Church wants to build a church in this community, and especially a temple, then they have every right to do so."
The former ambassador has become a proponent for the temple's construction on the basis of religious freedom, which is something he saw under attack while in Portugal.
“There’s a lot of emotion that goes on with this. And we’re trying to temper this down, but ultimately, both sides need to compromise and are compromising,” he said. “I hope that it gets to the point that we can have a big beautiful temple built that everybody can celebrate.”