Mormon church announces closure date of Mesa Temple for renovation
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a date that a temple in Mesa, Arizona, will close for "major renovations."
PHOENIX — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a date that a temple in Mesa, Arizona, will close for “major renovations.”
The Mesa Arizona Temple will close on May 19 and will not reopen until 2020, the Phoenix Business Journal reported.
The renovations were expected to include upgrades to its HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, improved garden areas and reflecting pool and cleaned and restored terracotta tiles and murals.
A visitors center will also be torn down in front of the church. It will be replaced with a new center and ancestry research center at the corner of Main and LeSuer streets.
The closure means that major events that the temple holds each year, including Christmas lights and Easter pageants, will not go on this year.
Roc Arnett, Phoenix director of public affairs for the LDS Church, told the publication that more than 500,000 people attend the Christmas lights and 75,000 come to Easter events outside the temple each year.
The church originally announced the closure in June 2017, saying it was for “needed repairs and upgrades.”
“Public open house and re-dedication information will be provided for the three temples as the renovations near completion,” a release said.
Two other temples — in Raleigh, North Carolina and Baton Rouge, Louisiana — will also be closed for renovations.
According to an article about the Mesa Temple, this will be the second time the 90-year-old temple undergoes renovation. It was first dedicated in 1927 and rededicated in 1975.
Other Mormon temples in Arizona include those in Phoenix, Gila Valley, Snowflake, Gilbert and Tucson.
Editor’s note: This story was originally posted on June 28, 2017, and has since been updated with a set closing date for the Mesa Arizona Temple.
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Comments
7 Comments
That's cool. I think it's important to know your family history. maybe people would be more tolerant and nicer to each other if they understood their own history a little more. Besides, I find it genealogy fun.
Latter-day Saints believe that the eternal joining of families is
possible through sacred sealing ceremonies that take place in temples.
These temple rites may also be performed by proxy for those who have
died. Consequently, for Mormons, genealogical research or family history is the essential forerunner for temple work for the dead. In Latter-day Saint belief, the dead have the choice to accept or reject the services performed for them.
Since 1894, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has
dedicated time and resources to collecting and sharing records of
genealogical importance. Due to cooperation from government archives, churches, and libraries, the Church has created the largest collection of family records in the world, with information on more than 3 billion deceased people.
ref. mormonnewsroom.o r g
I saw some really cool photos of the building of the temple and it's early years. It was surrounded by farms and a handful of houses. Reminds you how Mesa was a looooong time ago. Historical photos of the valley in general are pretty awesome to look at.