Tucson Arizona Mormon Temple
Om 6 October 2012, during the Saturday morning session of the 182nd Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson announced plans for a temple to be built in Tucson, Arizona - Arizona's second largest city.
The Tucson Arizona Temple will be the sixth Mormon temple in Arizona (known as the Grand Canyon State), the home of approximately 416,000 Latter-day Saints, meeting in over 800 congregations. The other temples in Arizona are the Mesa Arizona Temple (1927), Snowflake Arizona Temple (2002), Gila Valley Arizona Temple (2010), Phoenix Arizona Temple (2014), and the Gilbert Arizona Temple (2014). The Mesa Arizona Temple presents an Easter pageant every year that attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Cactus plants at the Tucson Arizona Temple site were transplanted to an on-site nursery and reintegrated into the final landscaping.
The Tucson Arizona Temple is larger than the Gila Valley Temple and smaller than the Phoenix Temple. The two-story, 34,000-square-foot mission-style building includes a dome-shaped cupola - a rare element since nearly all other LDS temples have one or more towers, steeples or spires. The dome is constructed of imported tile from Germany topped with an angel Moroni statue.The dome design — elongated, octagonal and ribbed— is similar to Italy’s Il Duomo de Firenze (The Dome of Florence) of that city’s Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. The cupola has a taste of Tucson’s own domes as well. The dome design gives nods to the nearby historic San Xavier del Bac Mission — the state’s oldest intact European-style building — as well as the city’s old Pima County Courthouse.
According to Mormon Newsroom:
- The design and colors inside the new 38,000-square-foot temple are influenced by the Art Deco style and reflect the green desert landscape of the American Southwest, including native plants, red cactus flowers and orange hues that represent the desert sun. Designers used the native ocotillo plant and the flower of the paddle cactus or prickly pear as inspiration for the décor, such as the art glass. Paintings feature stories of the ministry of Jesus Christ from the scriptures and desert scenery.
Local Latter-day Saint, Lucinda Contreras, commented, "The structure itself is totally Southwestern and just is the feel of Tucson. It's the old pueblo. Its unique dome [with] the beautiful blue … is representative of the sky and the beautiful colors that we have here in Tucson." Her 15-year-old daughter, Candace Contreras, said, "Now people are wondering what it [the temple] is, and even my friends at school are like, 'Hey, what's that big building with the statue on top? Like what does that mean?' And it gives me an opportunity to share with them what I know to be true and what it means to me."
The temple will serve approximately 33,000 members who make up the eight stakes in the Tucson area - from Sierra Vista, Wilcox, Avra Valley, Marana, Oro Valley to Nogales. Once dedicated, it will be the LDS Church’s 157th operating temple worldwide.
The site for the Tucson Arizona Temple is located in the Catalina Foothills where East Ina Road curves into Skyline Drive. The physical address is 7281 North Skyline Drive.
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History of the Church in Tucson, Arizona
Latter-day Saints first entered the area that is now Tucson in the winter of 1846 as part of the Mormon Battalion which was organized to help in the Mexican-American War. The trails they blazed across Arizona had started in Iowa and ended in California and ultimately became the “highways” for people headed west throughout the 1800s. Thirty-three members of the Battalion returned and settled in what is now Arizona. More members of the Church arrived in 1873, having been sent from Utah to establish settlements in Arizona. In 1899, Nephi and Jacob Bingham settled in the Tuscon area near the Rillito River, and they named the colony Binghampton. Gradually, more members of the Church settled in the area, and the first branch in Tucson was formed in 1910. The first stake in the area was formed in 1956.
In 1912, Latter-day Saints who had settled in Mexico also relocated to Arizona, and 15 years later, Arizona’s first temple was dedicated in Mesa. In 1973, Arizona native Spencer W. Kimball became the 12th President of the Church and served until his death in 1985.
Temple District
The Tucson Arizona Temple is anticipated to serve members from the following ten stakes: Marana Arizona Stake, Sahuarita Arizona Stake, Sierra Vista Arizona Stake, St David Arizona Stake, Tucson Arizona Stake, Tucson Arizona East Stake, Tucson Arizona North Stake, Tucson Arizona Rincon Stake, Tucson Arizona South Stake, and Tucson Arizona West Stake. A final determination will be made before the temple is dedicated.
Groundbreaking Ceremony
On Saturday, 17 October 2015, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tucson Arizona Temple. Services were broadcast live to area meetinghouses in English and in Spanish. Attendance at the ceremonies was by invitation only, however, the general public was invited to view the proceedings live from local meetinghouses.
Open House Announced
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that a free public open house for the Tucson Arizona Temple will begin on Saturday, 3 June 2017, and continue through Saturday, 24 June 2017, except for the Sundays of 4, 11, and 18 June 2017.
Daniel Post, a member of the Church, said, "I believe that when people come to visit the temple, they will feel something special as they visit the House of the Lord, as they come here and view the insides of this beautiful structure." Calvin Caldwell, project manager for the temple, explained that going to the temple is like finding an oasis in the desert. "They have that opportunity to take a deep breath and relax and all their worries kind of go away,” said Caldwell.
A Picturesque Tour of the Tucson Arizona Temple
The following pictures ©Intellectual Reserve, Inc., are from Deseret News of the inside of the Tucson Arizona Temple have been published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tucson Arizona Temple
Rendering of Tucson Arizona Temple
Baptismal Font
Twelve Oxen Support Baptismal Font
Recommend Desk
Tucson Arizona Temple
Sealing Room
Art Glass
Ordinance Room
Celestial Room
Celestial Room
Stained Glass Window
Tucson Arizona Temple
Bride's Room
Bride's Room
Details
Waiting Room
Waiting Room
Decor
Window and Building Detail
Angel Moroni Atop Tucson Arizona Temple
Cultural Celebration and Temple Dedication
The cultural celebration will be held Saturday, 12 August 2017.
The temple will be dedicated the following day on Sunday, 13 August 2017, in three sessions at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The dedication will be broadcast to members of the Church in Arizona. The three-hour block of meetings will be canceled for that Sunday for those congregations to enable members of the Church to participate and focus on this sacred event.
