News Release

Mesa Arizona Temple to Be Rededicated

Fall open house scheduled following renovation to temple and surrounding area

The Mesa Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be rededicated Sunday, December 12, 2021. The announcement was made today by the First Presidency. President Dallin H. Oaks of the First Presidency will preside at the temple’s rededication. The temple will be rededicated in three sessions: 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m.

The historic temple has been closed since May 2018 for major renovation. This is the second refurbishment for the 94-year-old temple. It was rededicated in 1975 by President Spencer W. Kimball, who was raised in Arizona, following expansion and remodeling. It was originally dedicated by President Heber J. Grant in 1927.

The public open house for the Mesa Arizona Temple will be held from Saturday, October 16 through Saturday, November 20, except for Sundays, including October 17, 24, and 31, and November 7 and 14.

A youth devotional for the Mesa temple is scheduled for Saturday, December 11. The rededicatory sessions and youth devotional will be broadcast to congregations in the Mesa Arizona Temple district.

Additional details of the temple rededication will be announced later. In addition to the temple renovation, the area immediately around the temple has undergone redevelopment. A new temple visitors’ center, which includes a family history center and housing, has revitalized the downtown.

The Mesa Visitors’ Center will be dedicated on August 12 at 7 p.m. PDT in a broadcast to Church meetinghouses throughout Arizona.

The Mesa Arizona Temple is the Church’s seventh operating temple and the first temple in the state of Arizona.

In addition to the temple in Mesa, there are five other operating temples in Arizona. They are the Gila Valley, Gilbert, Phoenix, Snowflake and Tucson temples.

Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord,” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity.

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