The Mesa Arizona Temple is the seventh operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Located in the city of Mesa, Arizona, it is the first of two LDS temples built in the state.

The LDS temple in Mesa is one of the first to be constructed by the church. Announced in 1919, only a few short years after Arizona had achieved its statehood, it was one of 3 temples announced and constructed to serve outlying Mormon settlements in the early part of the century, the others being constructed in Laie, Hawaii and Cardston, Alberta. While neither of the three settlements were particularly large in their own right, they were considered thriving centers of largely Mormon populations. The long and arduous trip to existing temples located in the state of Utah would prove costly and even dangerous for the faithful of the era, and temple attendance was (and is) an important part of the faith, and as such it was seen as necessary to construct temples in their communities.

Following the earlier traditions set forth in the building of temples such as the Salt Lake Temple, the new structure in Mesa was a centerpiece of an organized and planned community for the faithful that lived nearby. Upon its completion in 1927 it was the third largest temple in use by the church and the largest outside of Utah, and remains among the largest temples constructed to this day. In a departure from the style of temples constructed prior, the Mesa temple (along with the temples in Laie and Cardston ) was built in a style suggestive of the Temple_in_Jerusalem, lacking the spires that have become a mainstay of temples built since then, and was in fact the last LDS temple constructed without a spire.

Originally dedicated on October 26, 1927, by then church President Heber_J._Grant, the temple was renovated and re-dedicated on April 16, 1975 by Spencer_W._Kimball. In 1945, the temple was distinguished by becoming the first to offer temple ordinances in Spanish, the first in a language other than English.

External Links

• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Official Site
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Visitors Site
• Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Temples Site