How the Gospel Returned to Supai, Arizona After a 19-year Absence

 

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                A red rock skyline surrounds Supia, Arizona                     Photo by Ravell Call

 

  SUPAI, Arizona is perhaps the most isolated village in the lower 48 states. One either hikes, rides on horseback, or helicopters into this village, that lacks paved roads or automobiles – and it is an 8-mile haul into the Grand Canyon.

  Lynn Arave, this blog Author, led a group of nine people (including three of his children) into Supai on a trip back on April 6-7, 2004.

  From his first look at the village of about 500 people, the Author was fascinated with the remote town. Even after he had seen the roaring waterfalls, located about two miles extra from Supai, the resident Native Americans were his biggest fascination.

  The Author spent 15 minutes talking to the minister of the Bible Church, the lone church in town.

                                                          The Bible Church in Supai.          Ravall Call photo.

  The Author eventually co-wrote a long travel/outdoor story about the group’s trip to Supai and it was published in the Deseret News on May 9, 2004, under the headline: “Havasupai Canyon and the Village of Supai.”

  (Ray Boren, co-wrote the story and another Deseret News colleague, photographer Ravell Call, took pictures of the trip.)

 About two weeks after the publication of the story in the Deseret News, Arave got a telephone call from the Kingman, Arizona Stake President, Scott H. Charon. He said that the LDS Church had basically abandoned dozens of Church members in Supai, shortly after President Spencer W. Kimball died, on November 5, 1985.

  (In fact, many Native American programs in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dried up and quit altogether soon after President Kimball's passing, as one of his accents had been such programs.) 

  Surprisingly, President Charon said that it was the story in the Deseret News that had reminded area Church leaders about Supai – and the lack of an LDS presence there for more than 19 years.

  He said that the Church had now rented a building in Supai and were now holding Sunday services there. Also, it was a coveted High Council assignment to be the member each month who gets to hike the eight miles (and 2,135-foot elevation drop) down to speak at the church service.

 

       Part of the hiking group to Supai on April 6-7, 2004.                Photo by Ravell Call.

   During the next three years, the Church was able to secure a building and add a white steeple to its top. (That small church chapel is one of the first structures travelers see today as they enter Supai.)

  The First Counselor in the Bishopric of the Peach Springs Branch, Doug Angle, also became very interested in the Church members living in Supai. From 2004-2007, he identified about 60 church members there; organized numerous service projects; and was instrumental in the branch organization there. By 2007, Supai had its first full-time missionary couple in town, and they lived in the rear of the meetinghouse.

  While it is sad that the Church abandoned members for almost 20 years in Supai, it was equally strange that the Deseret News story was the spark that put the church back in town.

  AND, that is not the end of the story, at least for the Author of this blog, as he received a "reward," of sorts:

Greg Witt, a Salt Lake author and hiking enthusiast, also became intently interested in Supai after reading the Deseret News story. He not only went there often, but wrote several hiking guides for the area and even assisted in service projects for the village (as it suffered periodic flooding damage).

In 2011, Wilderness Press was looking to expand its extensive “Walking” city book series to Salt Lake City. They contacted Witt about doing a “Walking Salt Lake City” book, but he said he thought Lynn Arave and Ray Boren were better suited for that endeavor.

In 2012, that book was published and it launched the book writing career for Arave and Boren. The pair would co-write two more books together and Arave would separately write another 7 books, as of 2026, with a contract for two additional books in the future (12 books total).

  Today, Supai and its waterfalls are an extremely popular outdoor mecca and reservations to visit have to be made in advance and sell out quickly.

 

            Havasupai Falls and Lynn Arave's hiking group, in 2004.  Photo by Ravell Call.

 

 

 

Jesus Christ is physically NOT in the Spirit World

                 Jesus Christ will appear in all-red attire when he returns for his "Second Coming."

    

  THE Spirit World seems to a confusing doctrine for many Latter-day Saints.

 Latest example: A High Council member speaks in my ward and he is not 30 seconds into his talk when he states that Jesus Christ will look very familiar to us when we see him in the Spirit World.

What?

  Although there's little doubt Christ's spirit and influence can be felt in the Spirit World, he is NOT there physically.

Why?

  After all, the Spirit World is a realm created just for spirits. Jesus Christ himself spent just three days there after his death, but could only be there because he was in spirit form there, before his resurrection.

   Spirit World residents still have to live by faith there, as we do on Earth. Prayer is also likely our communication tool in the Spirit World, as it is here.

  It just seems strange that members can't seem to grasp this doctrine.

  Other church members hold to the inaccurate "he was called home" idea too, regarding the Spirit World. How can it be "home," when one has never been there before and it is certainly not a permanent place of residence in the afterlife. Other than deceased friends and family are in the Spirit World, the "called home" idea is not correct either.

 

Wards used to have more young people, than they do now?

 

CHECK out this vintage, 1965 photograph ....I

It is a picture of the entire young men of the Aaronic priesthood (and some leaders), of the Hooper, Utah First Ward, taken in front of the chapel to commemorate a span of perfect attendance.

That alone is a worthy accomplishment.

However, what stands out a lot in the year 2025 is just how large this group of young men, age 12-18, is back then. Here are 40 young men in a single ward.

Were wards larger in total members back then? Perhaps.

But families were also larger back then too.

Contrast that 40 young men, with the 14 young men who are in my current ward, in 2025, with only about half of them active. (My ward is an "older" congregation, but still...)

The LDS Church’s Evolution to Smaller Temples

                                                    The Star Valley, Wyoming Temple.

   ACCORDING to Fred Baker, former head of Church Physical Facilities, it was President Spencer W. Kimball who first started the idea of the Church having small temples, not President Gordon B. Hinckley. Yes, President Hinckley may have announced publicly the smaller temples, but it all started with President Kimball. President Kimball and Emil Fetzer (Church Architect, 1964-1984) had designs made for as many as 20 small temples, of all different sizes. (And, Brother Baker said Brother Fetzer had also made a plan for stake centers to have an annex added on for a limited temple, as another possible small temple possibility, though that plan was apparently never utilized…) 

  Brother Baker also recalled this: “President Kimball said in my presence one day, ‘We’re totally spoiled about temples. You think you can take your suitcase, go down to the Salt Lake Temple at anytime, and do whatever. That’s not going to happen forever. One day the temples will operate twenty-four hours a day, and you will have to call and say, ‘I would like to come on Thursday.’ And they’ll say, ‘Let’s see. We have an opening at 4:00.’ ‘I’ll take it.’ ‘Okay. You’re in seat fifty-two in room six. Be there.’” That was his conception of what is going to come when we finally get to that point.’”

   (It is worth noting that President Brigham Young never allowed the sealings for deceased people in the Endowment House – he believed that ordinance should only be done in full-sized temples.) Yes, Brother Baker said there was never any concern like that in more modern times. 

  Brother Baker also stressed that it was always decided by the First Presidency ultimately on every temple design and action – and Church Building employees had to be careful not to reveal future temple plans, BEFORE a First Presidency announcement was made. 

  Brother Baker recalled this: “Now that put us in an interesting situation, because the Presidency would give us instructions, ‘We want to build a temple here, but it’s confidential until we make a public announcement.’ We were told, ‘Not even the General Authorities can know.’ So if a Seventy or a member of the Twelve called up and said, ‘Do you have anything planned for Arizona?’ We’d say, ‘Not to our knowledge,’ because we were told it was confidential. But the decisions of when, where, size, and public announcement came from the First Presidency’s office directly to us.”

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend. 

   -The above photograph is of the Star Valley, Wyoming Temple, from Wikipedia Commons. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Why do Modern Latter-Day Saint Temples Lack Outside Symbols?

                                           The Ogden, Utah Temple.

  THE Salt Lake Temple is loaded with religious symbols on its exterior. Some other early LDS Temples also have some outside symbolism, but modern temples lack that feature (Angel Moroni statues excluded). The question is why?

 -Here’s one possible answer: Fred Baker, for the former head of Church Physical Facilities in the late 20th Century said this about constructing the original Ogden and Provo temples:

   “No, we didn’t have any symbolism in mind. In fact, that’s a really interesting question, because after several other temples were opened, someone stopped by my office one day and said, ‘You people have totally missed the boat on temple design, because you don’t have symbols on the exteriors of the temple. Every temple should have those symbols.’ And they gave me a copy of a DVD that takes you through the symbols and everything. “The truth is that we were so focused on what happened inside the temple, it never entered our mind if there was supposed to be a star or a big dipper or something on the outside. What happened on the inside was so magnificent, it overcame everything. But we may have been completely wrong, and people who love the symbols may be right. I don’t know. I’m not enough of a buff of those kinds of things that I would care one way or the other. It doesn’t matter. But what’s going on inside . . . That’s important. I guess Emil (Fetzer, Church Architect) and I forgot the outside. So we’re guilty.” 

   Is the answer that simple? 

  The Church left symbols off the outside of temples, saving funds, for the inside of temples (and for more total temples), because that’s where the real important work happens – inside a 

   The Salt Lake is perhaps an exception, as the flagship temples, with enough exterior symbolism to fill a book.

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Tokyo Temple: The Church’s First “Quake Proof” Temple?

                                                     The Tokyo Japan Temple.

  THE Temple in Tokyo Japan opened in 1980. It was perhaps the Church’s first “earthquake proof” temple, with reinforced concrete. It was considered a special temple, built stronger than usual.

  (That layman’s architectural term was later renamed to “earthquake resistant.”) 

  Fred Baker, former head the physical facilities in the Church during the late 20th Century said the Tokyo Temple was designed to withstand a Richter 7 quake and a Force 5 typhoon. He said some steel had to be taken out of the temple’s exterior, to allow for more concrete. 

  He also said this: “Do you understand what earthquake proof means in terms of construction?” People would say, “Well, it means that the building would just stay there.” And I’d say, “Well, not quite. It means that the building wouldn’t fall in on the people working in it. But outside it would be really deadly especially on the street where the cars were driving.” And depending on the strength of the earthquake, the building would likely be a total loss. But it wouldn’t fall in on the people inside.” 

  Almost 25 years after opening, the Temple was tested with a significant quake, on July 23, 2005, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Tokyo. The shaking caused the trumpet in the hand of Moroni to be knocked to the ground. 

  However, the temple itself had no major damage And, in September of 2017, the Tokyo Japan Temple closed for renovation for almost five years – and it received both seismic and mechanical upgrades.     Furthermore, the Salt Lake Temple reopens in 2027 with an even greater emphasis on being earthquake resistant, with its special shock absorbers and shifting ability.

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend.

  -The Tokyo Temple photograph is from Wikipedia Commons. 

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Why the Jordan River Utah Temple is the Most Unique Temple of All

                                      The Jordan River Utah Temple.

  THE Jordan River Utah Temple in South Jordan, Utah, was the Church’s 20th Temple. It opened in 1981 and was remodeled from 2016-2018. 

  What follows is the little known, miraculous backstory on how this temple came to be; how it defied standard church policy; and how it is the only temple that was financed entirely outside of Church resources.

   All material comes from interviews made with Fred Baker, former head of Church Physical Facilities, in the late 20th Century. Church members in the South Jordan area desperately wanted their own temple. 

  The Salt Lake Temple was 17 miles distant and that equaled almost a 30-minute drive in ideal conditions.

   It was Church policy in the 20th Century that you could donate land to the Church, but never with conditions set and what could go there. The Jordan River Temple story was a lone exception to that policy. 

  “Not one penny of church money went into the Jordan River. Not one penny,” Brother Baker said, in a 2014 interview. 

  Brother Baker continued: “The (temple) lot was given by my dear friend Alma Holt. That story is absolutely unbelievable, how Alma and his family kept that belief all those years that somehow there'd be a temple on that property out there. They were out there when that was nothing but weeds and radishes. And they kept that thing alive in their family that "there's going to be a temple. I know it." 

   (That 30 acres of land was still, at the time, three or more miles from any subdivision. The Holt Family had owned the land for about a century and to sell it to developers in the 1970s had a worth of several hundred thousand dollars. Family members over the decades had periodically talked about their property one day being the site of a temple, so that was their dream. Even when the Holts divided the land to their children, their kids all wanted to contribute enough land so the temple dream could still happen.)

  Brother Baker continued: “I went out and I met with them and said, ‘I'm sorry, Alma. You can't offer it as a temple site. You can offer it to the church, but ....’ And, so, they finally decided to offer it anyway, but asked if I'd tell the story when I presented it on the Tuesday (meeting with the First Presidency). So, I did, I presented the site and told them the story of Alma Holt. “So, we concluded the meeting, got up to leave, and President Kimball says, ‘Fred, come here just a second.’ He walked over into the corner, because I guess he didn’t want anybody to hear, and he said, ‘Will you arrange a time for the First Presidency to go see that property?’ For twelve years I had presented hundreds and hundreds of items to the First Presidency, and I never had that kind of request. I said, ‘I’d be happy to.’”

   That was just unheard of – the First Presidency wanting to see land like this so urgently. Soon after, the First Presidency gets a look at the property, though it required a drive through an irrigated farm field, complete with furrows, bumps and slow going

  Several weeks after that tour, Brother Baker and Church Architect, Emil Fetzer are summoned early one morning to meet with President Spencer W. Kimball, who basically said (by Brother Baker’s recollection):

   “We’ve decided to build a temple on the Holt property. All of our confidentiality rules are in place, but you need to start work on the plans now. Do the whole thing like Ogden and Provo as far as the interior is concerned, but this needs to be a much bigger temple.”     President Kimball wanted 120 seats in each of six endowment rooms and a beautiful steeple on top. Later, a meeting was held for Church leaders in the Salt Lake Valley and the Jordan River Temple was announced.

   All were excited, though some were shocked that it would be on WEST side of the valley, and not the east side.

   Brother Baker estimated that if he polled church members on where the second temple in the Salt Lake Valley would be, that 95 percent would have said the east side of the valley!

  He also said:  “Anyway, the Salt Lake temple district finance committee ... I mean everybody finances, puts twenty - thirty percent into their temple...they sat down and decided, ‘How much do you think it's going to be?’ And I said, ‘Well, the estimate is 15 million. I don't know, because we haven't bid.’ “They (the church members in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley) decided to raise 15 million. Everybody did! And not a penny went into that building! And for years they ran that building with extra money! And nobody knows! Sad! That should be a beacon! Wow!"

    How did the church members in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley raise so munch money? 

  Brother Baker said: “Some would give up their Christmas. The families said, ‘Let’s give our money to the temple this year.’ Some said, ‘We were going to Disneyland. How about next year for Disneyland? Let’s put that vacation money toward the temple.’ Some put off that nice refrigerator or remodeling the kitchen until the next year. Now I don’t know, I’m sure there were some sizeable contributions, but normally fundraising like this starts with five millionaires who want this project, so they each put up two and a half million dollars and then expect everybody else to cough up what they can. This was just the opposite. This was the ordinary member, his wife, and two children coughing up the whole thing. Now I’m sure some wealthy people made some marvelous contributions, but it wasn’t the basis. The basis was the member of the Salt Lake Temple district raising the money, and they did. I can’t believe it. I was flabbergasted. That was just incredible.” 

  Brother Baker said even the First Presidency was flabbergasted at how much money the Saints in the area had raised for the temple. Still, they promised to make up any shortfall. The next surprise came at the groundbreaking for the temple.

   Brother Baker recalled: “It was just hilarious. I don’t know where they got it, but it was the most gigantic earth-moving machine you have ever seen. They must have borrowed it from Kennecott Copper or something. And when the time came, President Kimball, who comes about to here on me [pointing to his shoulders], had a big hard hat on. They helped him up on this great big, mammoth machine. He started it up, lowered that big front-end loader, gave it the gas, Rrrrrrr, and broke the ground for this temple. It was just so funny. “Then President N. Eldon Tanner said, ‘From all our hearts, we want to thank all of you. The stake presidents and bishops who are here, please go back and tell your people of our gratitude for their generosity. Then he said [voice filling with emotion] . . . Let’s see . . . I’m trying to think of the exact words, ‘Please tell your people that we have all of the money that is necessary for the temple. We don’t need any further contributions.’ And, about two weeks later, another $700,000 came in … You know, you just couldn’t stop the darn thing. It was like turning on the fire hose!” 

   Brother Baker concluded his memories: “Anyway, the Lord opened the hearts of these people. So the biggest temple in the Church as to vicarious work, and most active temple ends up sitting on this site, and the Church didn’t have a penny of headquarters money in it. “     And, he said President Tanner made sure that any extra money for that temple, went to that temple, and none to the general fund.   Finally, Brother Baker said, “We had more parking out there than we had at any other temple, and they filled the parking lot and parked on the streets. The city finally came to the temple president and said, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ We had to go buy another fifteen acres and put in more parking, just so we could get the cars off the street. “Is that a remarkable story? Is that a story about the faith of the Saints in this dispensation? Well, it just hurts me that Alma Holt didn’t get any notoriety, that he had no credit that he deserved. I know he received thanks from the Presidency, and that’s probably all that mattered to him. But I just thought, ‘Gee, that’s a tremendous story.’ And all these people walking around here, they don’t know a thing about it …”

  -Fred Baker, of Ogden, was the director of Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991. He passed away in 2015 at age 89. He was the author’s stake president at one time, as well as a family friend. 

  -The Jordan River Temple photo is from Wikipedia Commons.   

  

 NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.