Mesa Arizona Temple, the Lord Gathering His Saints

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The Mesa Arizona Temple has a rich history of gathering the Lords people, and continues with that beautiful mission today. The Mesa Arizona Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the seventh temple in operation, dedicated in 1927. One of the most notable changes Mesa Arizona Temple contributed was the Temple Ceremonies being done in a different language, other than English. This is a landmark moment for members of the Church throughout the world. The gathering of the Lord children from around the world, required these children to hear these blessings in their own native language. The Mesa Temple was the trailblazer for this change starting with Spanish, currently in 2025 Temples throughout the world offer the endowment in 88 language, with plans to expand to more as more temple throughout the world are built.

It was in the year 1945 when the first endowment was given in the Mesa Temple in Spanish. This was monumental for Spanish-speaking members from around the world. The Mesa Arizona Temple led the way to translating the temple ceremonies into different languages. Spanish-speaking members from all over made efforts to attend the Mesa Temple.

There were great efforts to get the membership of the Church their temple blessings, but temples were slow to be built compared to the membership growth. The Mesa Temple bridged some of the gap between those two, with the temple being closer to the Mexico border, and translating the temple endowments into Spanish, many members were able to come, with great sacrifice, to the receive their endowments in the Mesa Temple.

From California, to Guatemala members came in large groups for these temple blessings. Each time the wards would come they would return to their home wards and branches with renewed strength and endowed with the power of God. Robert H. Burton of the Spanish-American Mission described the return of the Saints after their temple trips saying: "As additional members of the Spanish-American Mission make the journey to the House of the Lord, there appears a new animation in the branches to which they return." A noticeable difference to strengthen their wards and branches.

In 1949, more than 200 members traveled from Mexico to the Mesa Arizona Temple to do temple work. They had two large buses from the city of Mexico and trucks for the members from Monterrey and Piedras Negras. In one branch, the entire membership picked cotton to earn enough money to send a widow and her small children with the group.

In 1975 the Temple President of the Mesa Temple was Junius E. Driggs and his wife Bernice C. Driggs, they served from 1975 to 1980. President Driggs recalled this wonderful experience with a Spanish-speaking group from Mexico.

President Driggs recorded:

"We had a group of Spanish-speaking Saints from Mexico for their endowments and sealings. The sister assigned to the Celestial Room saw one of the young Mexican sisters come through the veil, look around the room and begin to weep. Concerned, the sister went toward her but by then the husband had joined her. He too was weeping but he managed to say through his tears 'no sister, we don't need any help. We have just had a most glorious experience. My wife told me she had a dream of being in the temple and described a room. When we came into the Celestial Room, we both realized it was the room my wife had seen in her dream and were overcome with emotion.'"

In 1933, the Mesa newspaper told of an a journey of sixty-nine boys and their leaders who came from Colonia Dublan, Chihuahua, Mexico to the Mesa Temple to do baptisms for the dead. The article stated "These boys, who are all of the Aaronic priesthood, experienced the thrill of the lives in attending their first Temple service. To them it was a great privilege and one that will remain in their minds for many years." The reporter said that 30 of the boys had ridden ninety miles on horseback from the heart of the mountains in order to join the truck excursion to Mesa. It took two days to make the trip because of some truck problems. The boys were amazed to see passenger buses, swift moving cars on paved roads, trains and railroads.

Thomas S. Monson:

"Some degree of sacrifice has ever been associated with temple building and with temple attendance. Countless are those who have labored and struggled in order to obtain for themselves and for their families the blessings which are found in the temples of God.

Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple? Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings. There are never too many miles to travel, too many obstacles to overcome, or too much discomfort to endure. They understand that the saving ordinances received in the temple that permit us to someday return to our Heavenly Father in an eternal family relationship and to be endowed with blessings and power from on high are worth every sacrifice and every effort."

References:

"The Ninth temple a light in the desert, Mesa Arizona 1927-2002" by Evan Tye Peterson p 276-277, 334,

https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/mesa-arizona-temple

"The Holy Temple-A Beacon to the World" Thomas S. Monson April 2011