Thousands of festive lights on the grounds of the Arizona Temple and visitors center in Mesa are a gift from the Church to the people in this area, said Elder Glen L. Rudd of the Seventy during a lighting ceremony.
Speaking Dec. 1, Elder Rudd, second counselor in the North America Southwest Area presidency, emphasized that this gift is for members and non-members alike."There are many temples and many visitors centers. The Church now has lights at some of these visitors centers," he noted. "The lights are a symbol of the birth and life of the Savior."
After Elder Rudd's remarks, Jerry Boyd, a Mesa City Council member, turned on the lights.
Last year, more than 900,000 people visited the temple grounds and visitors center to see the lights, said Allen Bunker. He and his wife, Merle, are coordinators of Christmas activities at the Arizona Temple.
This year, Brother Bunker said it is "hoped that more than 1 million people will visit the temple garden grounds and the visitors center."
More than 100 volunteers from various stakes in the greater Phoenix area, which includes Mesa, began decorating the grounds on Sept. 1, after months of preliminary work.
More than 275,000 lights decorate about 150 trees, including palm trees, Brother Bunker described. Bushes are lighted, ground covers are placed and lights are attached to the reflection pool between the temple and the visitors center, he added.
Concerts are planned on the visitors center grounds for the first 23 days of December, he noted, and include local choirs.
Brother Bunker described the reaction of the community to the festive decorations as "very positive. Five years ago, we were mentioned on ABC's `Good Morning America,' a television show out of New York, as one of the three outstanding Christmas light displays in the nation.
"We even have people who are non-members volunteer because of the beauty of the lights," he said. He added that an average of 10 tour buses stop by each evening during the holiday season.
Raymond A. Kimball, director of the visitors center, said, "It is a Church effort to communicate and demonstrate to the community of Mesa and all of Arizona that Christ lives, and that His gospel can bring us back to the presence of our Heavenly Father."
Lights first blazed on the grounds of the temple and the visitors center in December 1979, Brother Bunker recalled. He added that about 5,000 lights were used that first year. Murry and Nordessa Coates, artistic coordinators of the Christmas lights, directed the design of the first display and are still directing the decorations today. - Julie A. Dockstader
