Elder Ulisses Soares dedicated a new and relocated temple visitors’ center in Arizona. The Mesa center is completely new. It is a new building which is in a new location. It also has a new look. The objective of this new visitors’ center is to provide guests with an experience that immerses them in Mesa’s abundance spiritual heritage as well as learning more about Jesus Christ.
Elder Soares presided over the Thursday evening on August 12, dedication ceremony for the Mesa facility. This is one of a dozen temple visitors’ centers across the world for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“The idea,” Elder Soares said, “is to integrate the messages of Jesus Christ, the temple, eternal families and history in a way that helps guests understand how they are part of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and provide them an inspired opportunity to take a new step in their spiritual journey.”
The center’s exhibits and features explain many key doctrines of Latter-day Saint beliefs, which includes the sacredness and importance of temples, Elder Soares noted. The entire interactive experience of the center relates in many ways to faith. The new visitors’ center besides being a learning experience is also a gathering space to enjoy with friends and family, regardless of beliefs to help them understand key doctrines in the church.
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Ulisses Soares restated the center’s multiple purposes, dedicating it as a place of gathering, spiritual strength, inspiration, and spiritual learning.
“Most importantly as we do those things, we come to connect with ourselves [ with ancestors and the past, faith, God, friends and neighbors], we begin to find out who we really are and what our purposes are in this time and what strengths we can bring in a world that is disconnecting and dividing,” he said. “We need connection, we need to be together, and this is a place to do that, Elder Paul B. Piper, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s North America Southwest Area commented.
The visitors’ center was designed with young adults, youth and children in mind. It provides a self-guided experience through many interactive displays and features. All visitors there can learn about Mesa’s diverse history and spiritual heritage as well as learn about the Savior, the temple and their own family history.
It’s public opening was on Saturday, August 14, and the new visitors’ center will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, including Sundays. Admission is free, with many experiences available in both English and Spanish. For more information please visit MesaTemple.org.
The dedication of the new center leads up to the upcoming open house and rededication of the Mesa Temple. The visitors’ center is near the 94 year old temple which has been closed since May 2018, for its second major renovation. The Temple public open house is scheduled from Saturday, Oct. 16, through Saturday, Nov. 20.
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