# Why Utah is Digging Up a $2.4BN Mega-Temple ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple.webp]] **Creator:** The B1M · **Published:** 2026-01-22 · **Length:** 15:38 · [Watch on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrpUwhNOACI) > Caption source: YouTube **manual English (UK)** captions (`en-GB`), downloaded with **yt-dlp** on the first attempt. The manual track covers the whole video, including the **Straight Arrow News** sponsor read (about 3:41–5:20), so the auto track was not needed. TubeAlfred was not used (0 credits). The manual track is the script and may differ slightly from what is spoken in places. **Companion article:** [Why a Mormon Mega-Temple is Being Dug-Up](https://www.theb1m.com/video/why-a-mormon-mega-temple-is-being-dug-up) on theb1m.com, by **Tim Gibson** (22 January 2026; "Video hosted by Fred Mills"). It follows the script almost word for word, with its own section headings ("Future-proof", "This Temple is a declaration") and image captions. Its opening gives the cost as an "estimated **$2.4BN**", matching the title, while the narration says "$2BN" (0:27, 0:49, 14:29). Both the captions and the article leave a blank in the list of temple symbols at 11:04 ("stars, suns, the ' ,' and the now-famous statue of the angel Moroni"). Names and figures were also cross-checked against the Church's own [Temple Square renovation update (June 2026)](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-square-renovation-update-june-2026) and [Engineering News-Record](https://www.enr.com/articles/63133-engineering-feat-provides-seismic-stabilization-for-historic-salt-lake-temple). They confirm the **98 base isolators**, general contractor **Jacobsen Construction**, construction starting in **2020**, and up to **5 ft** (about 1.5 m) of sideways movement. ENR says the Church has **not disclosed the cost**; industry estimates put it at around **$2 billion**. ENR says each isolator can carry up to **8 million lb**; the video's "about 8,000 kilos" is the weight of an isolator itself. YouTube chapters are used as section headings and line up with the captions. Screenshots come from the 720p stream (format 136). Host: **Fred Mills**. Paid promotion: **Straight Arrow News** (news app; download via the description link). The description also plugs Fred's book ***Mega Builds*** (pre-order), **Get Construction Talking** and *The World's Best Construction Podcast*. Additional footage and images: **Church News Room**, **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints**, **NBC Universal**, **Channel 4 News**, **Daniel Lademan**, **The Telegram** and the **Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project**. ## Outline ### 0:00 Intro - **0:02** "This building is the **largest Mormon temple in the world**." You may also recognise it from "a few… **notorious reality shows**". - **0:17** This is the **Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints**, and it is being dug up. Well, its **foundations** are, "all in a bid to stop it from **falling over**." - **0:27** The **retrofitting project** will cost an estimated **$2BN** (the title says $2.4BN). - **0:33** The temple also shows the **hidden architecture** of "one of America's strangest and most fascinating cities". The plan to keep it standing is a **u-turn** for a city that has usually **shrugged off its historic buildings**. - **0:49** "This is the $2BN operation to save the world's largest Mormon church… and the **secret urban history** that allowed it to exist in the first place." ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0002.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0017.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0031.webp]] ### 1:03 A hefty building - **1:04** The **Salt Lake City Temple** is "very old and very big", and it "utterly dominates" the skyline, which is no accident. - **1:16** It took **over 40 years** to build and was finished **over 130 years ago**, from **granite and quartz monzonite** mined in **Little Cottonwood Canyon**. - **1:26** It has walls up to **nine feet thick** and **170 rooms**, and sits on an **11.4-acre** site. "It is a… hefty building." - **1:37** It was built for **weddings and ordinances**, among many other things, but **not to withstand earthquakes**. - **1:48** The **Wasatch Fault** runs right along the **Salt Lake Valley**. Geologists estimate a major quake (about **magnitude 7**) happens **once a millennium**, but there is a **57% probability** of at least one **magnitude 6+** quake in the **next 50 years**. - **2:09** That would be the same size as the **1994 LA earthquake** that "forever changed building codes in the US", or the **2003 Iran earthquake** (Bam) that **killed 26,000 people**. - **2:25** Smaller quakes of **magnitude 4 and above** happen about **4 to 5 times a year** within **300 km** of Salt Lake City. - **2:36** A **6.0** quake would likely cause **significant damage** to the temple, with a **multi-month or longer recovery** and a serious stabilisation effort. ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0076.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0091.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0111.webp]] ### 2:26 Lessons from New Zealand - **2:51** To picture the damage, look to **New Zealand**. On **22 February 2011**, **Christchurch** was hit by a **magnitude 6.3** quake. - **3:04** The iconic **Christchurch Cathedral** was structurally damaged: its **spire and upper tower collapsed**, and the rest was marked **unsafe**. - **3:13** Authorities decided it needed **deconstruction** and partial or full **demolition**. **Heritage groups** pushed back, arguing it could be saved. - **3:27** "The church was then **rebuilt and seismically strengthened**." (In fact the reinstatement is still unfinished: work paused in 2024 over funding, and the [project](https://christchurchcathedral.org.nz/) now aims to reopen by the end of 2030.) - **3:31** "In many ways, the Church of Latter-day Saints is doing exactly this **before disaster strikes**." - **3:41** Sponsor segment (**Straight Arrow News**, about 3:41–5:20). The app shows stories "from across the political spectrum" without "bias, filters or spin", and most articles come with a **history lesson** for context. Mills says he needed one here, because the temple makes no sense without the **history of Salt Lake City**. ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0186.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0196.webp]] ### 5:20 How to dig up a Temple - **5:21** The aim is to **"decouple"** the structure from ground motion. That is **base isolation**: the building moves independently, or semi-independently, of the ground, which **reduces the forces** it feels in a quake. - **5:37** The system allows up to **1.5 metres** of **horizontal movement in any direction**. That protects the **ornate stonework and masonry**, the historic interior "and any people that would happen to be inside". - **5:55** Crews **excavated** around the original foundations to about **10.6 metres**, creating a **new lower level** for the isolators. - **6:04** To hold the building up while digging, they used **underpinning**: **micropiles**, **secant piles**, **tie-back anchors**, **tensioned tie-rods**, **hand-built underpinning piers** and **consolidation grouting**. This stops the heavy stone walls **shifting or settling** while the old footings are removed or changed. - **6:25** Next came a **new concrete foundation** designed for quakes. **Reinforced-concrete transfer beams and girders** run around the perimeter and through the inside to **spread the weight**. - **6:41** More than **423 km** of **post-tensioned cables** run through the foundation, **tying the temple** into the new system and controlling how the load moves, especially during shaking. - **6:57** From top to bottom: **old footings**, **transfer beams**, **isolators**, then the **new footings**. - **7:08** In all, **98 base isolators**, each weighing about **8,000 kg**, act as **bearings** between the new footing and the transfer structure. In a quake they **slide and move** so the temple does not take the brunt. - **7:29** "Try to think of it like a **raft** made of **concrete-filled steel pipes** that are bored under the building." - **7:37** Once the weight is on the isolators, crews **back-excavate the soil** beneath them so the structure can **"float"** in a quake instead of being held by the ground. - **7:48** The bearings are **vertically stiff** but **horizontally flexible**, "exactly what you want for base isolation". - **8:00** Retrofitting a **19th-century stone building** is "much harder than building a new one": nothing can damage the stonework. - **8:10** The Church hoped to finish by **2025** but has pushed into **2026**. Crews are also **reinforcing walls and spires**, because isolation alone "doesn't guarantee zero damage". - **8:33** The renovation adds **more space for baptisms**, **more seating** in instruction rooms and a **north addition** with a **sealing wing**, "which is where Mormons get married". ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0322.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0332.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0342.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0367.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0407.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0416.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0436.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0482.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0512.webp]] ### 8:50 This building is a declaration - **8:51** "This isn't simply a church. This building is a **declaration**. In its time it was **radical**." - **9:00** Led by **Brigham Young**, the future first governor of Utah, **148 Mormons** came to the **Salt Lake Valley** in **1847**, hoping to build a **secluded town safe from persecution**. - **9:13** Mormonism was then a **new and controversial religion**, facing backlash from other Christians. The church's founder, **Joseph Smith**, had been **murdered** a few years earlier. - **9:27** They found a **harsh, isolated landscape**. Young knew the value of a **symbol** and anchored his plans around an **enormous temple**. "There were no railways. No quarries. No infrastructure." - **9:44** Work formally began in **1853**, with footings and early foundations in **sandstone**. - **9:59** By the late **1850s**, with **US troops marching toward Utah**, workers **buried the foundation under dirt** to keep it from being destroyed, and construction stopped. - **10:12** When work restarted, the temple was to be built in **granite**, but the nearest usable granite was **32 km** away in **Little Cottonwood Canyon**. - **10:28** With no heavy machinery, workers **blasted blocks loose**, **shaped them by hand** and loaded them onto **wagons**. **Ox teams** hauled them over rough ground, taking up to **four days per trip**. - **10:43** Every block needed great **precision**, and the walls would be **3 metres thick** in places. - **10:56** Architect **Truman O. Angell** combined **Gothic and Romanesque** elements, and "everything had a **symbolic value**": stars, suns (one word blank in the captions) and the now-famous statue of the angel **Moroni**. - **11:10** "It was **storytelling**", like Renaissance churches or **Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família** today: "using architecture to **illustrate God**." - **11:23** Through the **1870s and 1880s** the towers climbed. **Steam-powered tools** arrived, but stone was still shaped by hand, timber cut locally and metal forged in small workshops, while the settlement grew "from a remote outpost into a city". ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0544.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0551.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0566.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0612.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0664.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0671.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0677.webp]] ### 11:44 The birth of Salt Lake City - **11:45** The temple became the **anchor of Salt Lake City's urban plan**, with streets, squares and civic institutions aligned on the **temple block**. It is "one of the most **deliberately planned** urban layouts in the world." - **12:02** Brigham Young carried out the **"Plat of Zion"**, a template drafted years earlier for an **ideal settlement**: a perfect grid of **square blocks and wide streets**. "While other frontier towns evolved messily, Salt Lake City was **engineered**." - **12:20** Within days of arriving, surveyors marked out a grid aligned almost perfectly with the **cardinal directions**, with an **11-acre** central block reserved for the temple. - **12:40** A typical **New York City block** is about **80 × 200 m**. Salt Lake City's are **200 × 200 m**, "the largest of any American city by far". - **12:56** New York's streets were about **18 m** wide (**30 m** at most). Every Salt Lake City street was **more than 40 m** wide, enough for a **team of oxen to turn around** without stopping traffic. "We'll take their word on it." - **13:19** Each **10-acre** block held just **eight enormous lots**, effectively **micro-farms**. The city worked as a **hybrid of rural and urban life**: families grew crops, the streets acted as **irrigation channels** in droughts, and the blocks reflected a **self-sustaining** community model. - **13:40** The blocks also acted as **firebreaks** and gave straight **utility corridors**. In the long run they hurt **walkability and downtown density** but let the city adapt easily to **the car**. ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0712.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0727.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0766.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0812.webp]] ### 14:00 The past is present - **14:00** Salt Lake City grew far beyond the grid in the **20th century**, but its "basic DNA" of wide streets, generous rights-of-way and regular blocks made room for **interstate highways** and **TRAX light rail**. - **14:17** The city has struggled to **preserve historic buildings**. **Rising land values** and **developer pressure** have destroyed many of them. - **14:29** Spending **more than $2BN** on one of its oldest, most iconic buildings will show why **preservation matters**, and "the hope is this project will have a **ripple effect**." - **14:46** Works were due to finish in **2026**, with the temple **reopening in 2027**. - **14:52** The temple will go from **danger of collapse** in an earthquake to "one of the most **seismically resilient historic structures** in the world. That's well worth the effort." ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0846.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0882.webp]] ![[images/Why-Utah-is-Digging-Up-a-24BN-Mega-Temple-t0887.webp]] ## Things mentioned ### Buildings and projects - **Salt Lake Temple** (Salt Lake City, Utah): the largest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Work began in **1853** and it was finished over 130 years ago (dedicated **6 April 1893**). It is built of **granite and quartz monzonite** from Little Cottonwood Canyon, with walls up to 9 ft (about 3 m) thick, **170 rooms** and an **11.4-acre** site. - **Salt Lake Temple seismic retrofit and renovation**: the video says about **$2BN** (title and companion say $2.4BN; the Church has not disclosed the cost, according to ENR). It uses **98 base isolators** and allows up to **1.5 m** of movement. Planned for 2025, it was pushed into **2026**, with reopening in **2027**. It adds a north **sealing wing**, more **baptism** space and more seating. - **Christ Church Cathedral**, Christchurch, New Zealand: spire and upper tower collapsed in the **22 February 2011** magnitude 6.3 quake. Heritage groups fought demolition. The video says it was rebuilt; in fact the reinstatement paused in 2024 and now targets reopening by the end of 2030 ([project site](https://christchurchcathedral.org.nz/)). - **Sagrada Família** (Barcelona) by **Antoni Gaudí**: the comparison for architecture as storytelling - **TRAX** light rail and the **interstate highways**, made easier by the wide street grid - **Since the video** ([Church Newsroom](https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/temple-square-renovation-update-june-2026)): on **25 June 2026** crews removed **392 plates** and more than **1,500 bolts**, freeing the 98 isolators about **20 ft below the temple**, which completed the seismic work. The **Salt Lake Temple Celebration** open house runs from **5 April to 1 October 2027**, and rededication dates are to be announced. ### Places - **Salt Lake City**, the **Salt Lake Valley**, **Utah**, **Little Cottonwood Canyon** (32 km from the site) - **Christchurch**, New Zealand; **Los Angeles** (1994 quake); **Iran** (2003 quake); **New York City** (block and street comparison) ### Engineering - **Base isolation**: "decoupling" the building from ground motion, with bearings that are vertically stiff and horizontally flexible - **Underpinning**: micropiles, secant piles, tie-back anchors, tensioned tie-rods, hand-built underpinning piers and consolidation grouting - **Excavation** to about 10.6 m for a new lower level; **back-excavation** under the isolators so the temple can "float" - **Reinforced-concrete transfer beams and girders**; more than **423 km of post-tensioned cables**; a "raft" of **concrete-filled steel pipes** bored under the building - Stack order: **old footings → transfer beams → isolators → new footings** - **Reinforcement of walls and spires**, since isolation alone does not guarantee zero damage ### Earthquakes and risk - **Wasatch Fault**: a magnitude 7 roughly once a millennium; **57%** chance of a magnitude 6+ in the next 50 years; magnitude 4+ quakes 4–5 times a year within 300 km - **1994 LA earthquake** (Northridge), which changed US building codes; **2003 Iran earthquake** (Bam, shown on screen), which killed 26,000 people; **2011 Christchurch earthquake** (magnitude 6.3) - Not in the video: the magnitude 5.7 **Magna earthquake** of 18 March 2020 knocked the trumpet from the temple's Angel Moroni statue, shortly after the renovation began ### History and urban planning - **1847** arrival of **148 Mormons** led by **Brigham Young**; the murder of **Joseph Smith**; the persecution of early Mormonism - The **late-1850s conflict** with US troops (the Utah War), when the sandstone foundations were **buried** - Granite hauled by **ox teams**, up to **four days per trip**; steam-powered tools by the 1870s–1880s - **Truman O. Angell's** Gothic–Romanesque design and its symbols: stars, suns and the **angel Moroni** statue - **Plat of Zion**: 200 × 200 m (10-acre) blocks of **eight lots** each, streets more than **40 m** wide and a grid aligned to the cardinal directions, compared with New York's 80 × 200 m blocks and 18–30 m streets ### People and organisations - **Fred Mills** (host); **Tim Gibson** (companion article author) - **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints**; **Jacobsen Construction** (general contractor according to the Church and ENR; not named in the video) - Historical figures: **Brigham Young**, **Joseph Smith**, **Truman O. Angell**, **Antoni Gaudí** - Footage credits: Church News Room, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, NBC Universal, Channel 4 News, Daniel Lademan, The Telegram, Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Project - "Notorious reality shows" featuring the temple are mentioned at 0:06 but not named ### Sponsor and The B1M - **Straight Arrow News**: sponsor (news app that shows coverage from across the political spectrum, with history-lesson context on most articles) - ***Mega Builds*** (Fred's book, pre-order); **Get Construction Talking**; *The World's Best Construction Podcast* ### Figures and facts - Over 40 years to build; finished over 130 years ago; walls up to 9 ft (3 m) thick; 170 rooms; 11.4-acre site (11-acre temple block) - Excavation about 10.6 m; more than 423 km of post-tensioned cable; 98 isolators of about 8,000 kg each; up to 1.5 m of sideways movement - 148 pioneers in 1847; work begun in 1853; granite 32 km away; up to four days per trip - Blocks of 200 × 200 m (10 acres, eight lots); streets more than 40 m wide - Cost about $2BN in the narration and $2.4BN in the title and companion intro ## Biographies ### Fred Mills Co-founder and on-camera host of **The B1M**. Here he pairs a modern **base-isolation retrofit** with the pioneer history of the **Salt Lake Temple** and the **Plat of Zion** grid. He argues that saving the building could push a city that has lost many heritage buildings toward **preservation**. His book ***Mega Builds*** is plugged in the description. ### Tim Gibson Writer at **The B1M** and author of the companion article *[Why a Mormon Mega-Temple is Being Dug-Up](https://www.theb1m.com/video/why-a-mormon-mega-temple-is-being-dug-up)* (22 January 2026). It follows the video's script, adds section headings and image captions, and gives the $2.4BN figure used in the title. ### Brigham Young Leader of the Latter-day Saints after Joseph Smith's death (1801–1877). In **1847** he led the pioneer company of **148 Mormons** into the Salt Lake Valley and became the **first governor of Utah Territory**. He laid out Salt Lake City on the **Plat of Zion** and anchored it on the temple block, where work began in 1853. ### Joseph Smith Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (1805–1844). He devised the original **Plat of Zion** city plan and was **killed by a mob** at Carthage Jail, Illinois, in 1844. The video cites his murder to show the persecution that drove the Mormons west. ### Truman O. Angell **Architect of the Church** (1810–1887) and designer of the **Salt Lake Temple**. His design mixes **Gothic and Romanesque** forms with symbols such as stars, suns and the statue of the **angel Moroni**. ### Antoni Gaudí Catalan architect (1852–1926) whose still-unfinished **Sagrada Família** in Barcelona is the video's comparison for using architecture to "illustrate God".