Dedication for Mormon Gila Valley Arizona Temple set for May 2010

Dedication and open-house dates for the Gila Valley Arizona Temple have been announced by the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The temple — which will be the church's third in the state and 132nd worldwide — will be dedicated during three sessions on May 23, 2010. The public open house is scheduled to run from April 23 through May 15, excluding Sundays.

The temple is located between Pima and the Thatcher-Safford area, in an unincorporated part of southeastern Arizona. The temple will serve an estimated 20,000 Mormons who live in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

The Gila Valley Arizona Temple was one of two announced — along with the Gilbert Arizona Temple — on April 26, 2008, by President Thomas S. Monson. The two were the first temples announced during his tenure as LDS Church president, with the Phoenix Arizona Temple announced a month later.

The two existing LDS temples in the state are the Mesa Arizona Temple, completed and dedicated in 1927, and the Snowflake Arizona Temple, dedicated in 2002.

Ground was broken for the Gila Valley Arizona Temple this past Feb. 14. The property was previously used as a multi-field LDS stake baseball complex.

Nearby Safford was one of the several Arizona communities — along with the likes of Mesa, Snowflake and Heber — that were established in the mid- to late 1800s under the direction of Brigham Young.

The Gila Valley area is also known for its ties to President Spencer W. Kimball, who led the LDS Church from December 1973 until his death on Nov. 5, 1985.

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