Dates announced for The Gila Valley Arizona Temple dedication
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The First Presidency has announced dates for a public open house prior to the dedication of The Gila Valley Arizona Temple.
The public will be invited to visit the temple beginning on Friday, April 23, 2010, and continuing through Saturday, May 15, 2010, excluding Sundays.
The temple will be dedicated on Sunday, May 23, 2010, in three sessions. The temple will serve some 20,000 Latter-day Saints living in stakes in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico.
In conjunction with the temple dedication, there will be a cultural celebration of music and dance by youth throughout the temple district. This event is scheduled for May 22, at Mickelson Stadium at Eastern Arizona College.
"It is my personal priority to make sure members of the Church have access to the blessings of the temple," said President Thomas S. Monson after announcing the temple on April 26, 2008. "It is here where members learn of their divine origin and destiny; where they are strengthened spiritually as individuals and as families. Temples are sanctuaries from the storms of life."
The Gila Valley Arizona Temple will be the 132nd operating temple in the world, and the third in Arizona. This temple follows closely behind the Vancouver British Columbia Temple, which is scheduled for dedication on May 2, 2010.
There are two temples in Arizona: one in Mesa and another in Snowflake. Other temples have been announced for Gilbert and Phoenix, Ariz.
Latter-day Saint history in Arizona dates back to the earliest days of the western migration of the Church. The Mormon Battalion marched through the area now known as Arizona in 1846 on its way to California.
Various efforts to colonize the area followed with the first large-scale effort coming in March of 1873. Eventually, more than 30 colonies were started. President Spencer W. Kimball was reared in the Gila Valley community of Thatcher.
