Public Invited to Gilbert Arizona Temple Open House

Date January 18, 2014–February 15, 2014 Location Gilbert, Arizona, USA

Article Highlights The Gilbert Arizona Temple open house will be January 18 through February 15, 2014. The dedication will be March 2.

Related Links Learn more about LDS temples at temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The First Presidency has announced open house and dedication dates for the Gilbert Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The public is invited to visit the temple during an open house from Saturday, January 18, 2014, through Saturday, February 15, 2014, excluding Sundays. Free reservations for the open house can be made through the www.gilbertmormontemple.org website in the coming weeks.

The temple will be formally dedicated on Sunday, March 2, 2014, in three sessions. In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there will also be a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on Saturday, March 1, 2014.

Ground was broken for the Gilbert Arizona Temple on November 13, 2010. Soon after, a viewing and display area was created at the construction site for visitors to learn more about the temple and its purpose. Over 60,000 people have taken advantage of this opportunity. While the Church’s 18,000-plus meetinghouses are open to all people who wish to attend religious services, only to faithful Latter-day Saints can enter temples after they are formally dedicated. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism, and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make promises to serve Jesus Christ and their fellowman.

Once dedicated, the Gilbert Temple will be the 142nd operating temple of the Church worldwide. It is one of four temples in Arizona, with others in Mesa, Snowflake, and The Gila Valley. A fifth temple in Phoenix is under construction and a sixth, in Tucson, has been announced.

At 85,000 square feet, the Gilbert Temple is the largest temple the Church has constructed in 17 years. The five-level temple is 82½ feet tall with a spire reaching 195 feet, making it the tallest building in Gilbert and one of the tallest in the entire East Valley. The highly detailed ivory exterior features high quality precast concrete and stone accentuated with fine rustications and beautifully crafted art glass windows.