Page "Mesa Arizona Temple" Paragraph 1

The LDS temple in Mesa was one of the first to be constructed by the church.

Similar to the Cardston, Alberta temple, the church decided to hold a competition for the design of the temple with the exception of only inviting three Salt Lake firms to participate.

The winning design was proposed by Don Carlos Young, Jr. and Ramm Hansen.

Announced in 1919, only a few short years after Arizona had achieved statehood, it was one of 3 temples announced and constructed to serve outlying Mormon settlements in the early part of the century, the others being constructed in Laie, Hawaii and Cardston, Alberta.

While neither of the three settlements were particularly large in their own right, they were considered thriving centers of largely Mormon populations.

The long and arduous trip to existing temples located in the state of Utah would prove costly and even dangerous for the faithful of the era, and temple attendance was ( and is ) an important part of the faith.

As such, it was seen as necessary to construct temples in these communities.