Phoenix Temple

[Grunt]

Has anyone been?  I'm heading to Phoenix in a few weeks and I'll probably go check it out while everyone is boozing it up.

[Guest]

I have.  It was nice.  But it was not really memorable.  It's been about 30 years and I've forgotten most of it.  I basically remember that I thought it was nice.  Of course, I went to the SLC temple that same year and I barely remember that either.

[zil]

9 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

....  Of course, I went to the SLC temple that same year and I barely remember that either.

Of course, that may be because it was in late 1890s....

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, zil said:

Of course, that may be because it was in late 1890s....

A-hem.  EARLY 1890s. 

[Grunt]

Most things are memorable to me.  I'm a noob.

[Iggy]

Haven't been to the Phoenix one [5220 W Pinnacle Rd]  which was opened/dedicated on 16 Nov 2014. It is one of the smaller ones [no clothing rental, no cafeteria, have to make appointments for Live Ordinances.] Be sure to check online for the days/hours opened. Have been to the Mesa one [101 S Le Sueur] Full *Service* Temple. I am 5'4" and weighed around 200 lbs the times I went, and I found the dressing stalls extremely confining. Also the seats in the chapels and endowment rooms were for peoples with rather small bodies and rather short legs. My husband is 6'2" and weighed over 350 lbs and he had to use the Grooms dressing room because he couldn't fit in any of the *normal* dressing stalls.

I have been to the Seattle & Portland temples, and they were lovely. Plenty of room to move in the dressing stalls, as well as the seats. PLUS they had full cafeterias, clothing rentals.

Word to the wise ~ always check online, or call ahead to make sure of their hours and if appointments need to be made. Also, I always call to get the address, directions to the Beehive Clothing//Deseret Book.

[Grunt]

20 minutes ago, Iggy said:

Haven't been to the Phoenix one [5220 W Pinnacle Rd]  which was opened/dedicated on 16 Nov 2014. It is one of the smaller ones [no clothing rental, no cafeteria, have to make appointments for Live Ordinances.] Be sure to check online for the days/hours opened. Have been to the Mesa one [101 S Le Sueur] Full *Service* Temple. I am 5'4" and weighed around 200 lbs the times I went, and I found the dressing stalls extremely confining. Also the seats in the chapels and endowment rooms were for peoples with rather small bodies and rather short legs. My husband is 6'2" and weighed over 350 lbs and he had to use the Grooms dressing room because he couldn't fit in any of the *normal* dressing stalls.

I have been to the Seattle & Portland temples, and they were lovely. Plenty of room to move in the dressing stalls, as well as the seats. PLUS they had full cafeterias, clothing rentals.

Word to the wise ~ always check online, or call ahead to make sure of their hours and if appointments need to be made. Also, I always call to get the address, directions to the Beehive Clothing//Deseret Book.

I can't go in, I can just visit the grounds.  Well, maybe I can go in and see the foyer.

[person0]

2 minutes ago, Grunt said:

I can't go in, I can just visit the grounds.  Well, maybe I can go in and see the foyer.

If you have the Aaronic Priesthood you can get a limited use recommend and go in to the baptismal font area, and even perform baptisms if there is a group there to do it.  I once did this when visiting New York City at age 17.  There was a group from Harlem at the temple doing baptisms, and I joined in with them.  Now, even those with the office of Priest can both baptize and be baptized.

[bytebear]

It's a newer smaller one, but looks nice.  I went to the St. Paul Minnesota temple when visiting family out there.  It was in a suburban neighborhood and one of the standard later designs.  The chapel next door was larger and the grounds were very small. 

Now, if you want to do an AWESOME temple road trip, do what we did about 4 years ago.  Start in Los Angeles. Then Newport Beach to San Diego, then up the I-15 hitting every temple on the way all the way to Logan, Utah.  You'll hit about 20 temples, including all four Pioneer temples.  There are two new ones since we did that trip (Cedar City and Payson).  I should map the route.  You can also hit a few historic sites on the way.

Edited March 20, 2018 by bytebear

[Grunt]

5 hours ago, person0 said:

If you have the Aaronic Priesthood you can get a limited use recommend and go in to the baptismal font area, and even perform baptisms if there is a group there to do it.  I once did this when visiting New York City at age 17.  There was a group from Harlem at the temple doing baptisms, and I joined in with them.  Now, even those with the office of Priest can both baptize and be baptized.

I have a limited use recommend.

[seashmore]

If you know what time you'll be available, call ahead and see if they have a baptistry group you can join.  Otherwise, definitely visit the grounds.  If you have time, go inside and enjoy the waiting room.  Most have scriptures, church magazines and really comfy couches.  It's incredible how much of the Spirit you can feel just being close to the temple. 

[e-eye]

16 hours ago, Grunt said:

Has anyone been?  I'm heading to Phoenix in a few weeks and I'll probably go check it out while everyone is boozing it up.

I live about two miles from it- just got home from cleaning it in fact. Check the schedule and you can do baptisms about any time it’s open but Saturday mornings are busy with wards but they usually still squeeze you in. If you need someone to go with let me know and i will go with you if our schedules can make it work I’m pretty flexible.   

They have all the baptism clothes so you don’t need to worry about clothes - they usually don’t let adults do baptisms unless you bring your own names- if you don’t have names i do.  

[e-eye]

14 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I have.  It was nice.  But it was not really memorable.  It's been about 30 years and I've forgotten most of it.  I basically remember that I thought it was nice.  Of course, I went to the SLC temple that same year and I barely remember that either.

Haha - maybe you were there in spirit 30 years ago before it was physically built as it was just completed a few years back.  The Phoenix temple is beautiful and the baptistery is one of the best you will see. 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, e-eye said:

Haha - maybe you were there in spirit 30 years ago before it was physically built as it was just completed a few years back.  The Phoenix temple is beautiful and the baptistery is one of the best you will see. 

I'm sorry.  You're right.  I was thinking of the one in Mesa.  It was forever known as the Arizona Temple.  So, easy to get mixed up with Phoenix.  And, yes, Mesa is not too far away from Phoenix.

Funny, one of the places I stayed in Phoenix was closer to the Mesa temple than the Phoenix temple.  Two temples outside of Utah only about 1 hour away from each other.  Are there any others in Arizona?  Snowflake, Gilbert, Tuscon, Gila Valley.

Heck, Gila Valley?  Why not Flagstaff or Prescott?  LOTS of Mormons in Prescott.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Guest

[e-eye]

3 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I'm sorry.  You're right.  I was thinking of the one in Mesa.  It was forever known as the Arizona Temple.  So, easy to get mixed up with Phoenix.  And, yes, Mesa is not too far away from Phoenix.

Funny, one of the places I stayed in Phoenix was closer to the Mesa temple than the Phoenix temple.  Two temples outside of Utah only about 1 hour away from each other.  Are there any others in Arizona?  Snowflake, Gilbert, Tuscon, Gila Valley.

Heck, Gila Valley?  Why not Flagstaff or Prescott?  LOTS of Mormons in Prescott.

Yeah - Prescott goes to the Phoenix temple and I believe Flagstaff goes to Snowflake.  There are a lot of members but I don't think enough for a temple in prescott and it's only an hour drive.  Flagstaff I don't think has that many members, as it's a pretty liberal area.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, e-eye said:

Yeah - Prescott goes to the Phoenix temple and I believe Flagstaff goes to Snowflake.  There are a lot of members but I don't think enough for a temple in prescott and it's only an hour drive.  Flagstaff I don't think has that many members, as it's a pretty liberal area.

Flagstaff has a full stake.  And the student ward is bigger than any I've seen outside of Utah.  I'm thinking that if they built one on the north end of Prescott, the Flagstaff folks would go to it.  Snowflake has fewer than Flagstaff.  And Gila Bend?  Is there even a stake there?

EDIT:  Sorry, I was thinking Gila Bend.  It was the Gila Valley temple.  I'd bet there are fewer people there than Gila Bend.  What the???

Edited March 21, 2018 by Guest

[e-eye]

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Flagstaff has a full stake.  And the student ward is bigger than any I've seen outside of Utah.  I'm thinking that if they built one on the north end of Prescott, the Flagstaff folks would go to it.  Snowflake has fewer than Flagstaff.  And Gila Bend?  Is there even a stake there?

EDIT:  Sorry, I was thinking Gila Bend.  It was the Gila Valley temple.  I'd bet there are fewer people there than Gila Bend.  What the???

Good question but my guess is for Flagstaff and Prescott it's just not enough people.  There are 2 stakes in Prescott and Flagstaff (1 per your numbers) so that gives you 3 and it's not like there are a lot of other places.  Phoenix temple serves 20 stakes and although it's open most of the time it shuts down in the afternoon for a few hours on week days.  

Gila Valley though is only 5 stakes - Not sure on the amount of time it's open but it's probably significantly less than Phoenix.  I think Thatcher is Where President Kimball grew up and I actually think that probably played a part in it going there but also at the time that area was looking at 3-4 hour drive to the mesa temple. 

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, e-eye said:

Good question but my guess is for Flagstaff and Prescott it's just not enough people.  There are 2 stakes in Prescott and Flagstaff (1 per your numbers) so that gives you 3 and it's not like there are a lot of other places.  Phoenix temple serves 20 stakes and although it's open most of the time it shuts down in the afternoon for a few hours on week days.  

Gila Valley though is only 5 stakes - Not sure on the amount of time it's open but it's probably significantly less than Phoenix.  I think Thatcher is Where President Kimball grew up and I actually think that probably played a part in it going there but also at the time that area was looking at 3-4 hour drive to the mesa temple. 

That is interesting.  I've been thinking about it and I believe there are other factors here.

Prescott, Flagstaff, Kingman, Williams, All other surrounding areas of people who would rather not go into the city.  It could easily add up to the same number of units and so forth to equal the same numbers in Gila Valley.

But a couple of factors are required to build a temple: Temple attendance (they keep track of people from each stake who sign in) and number of recommend holders.  It could be that the Prescott, Flagstaff and outlying regions are not that active, or have few current temple recommend holders.  If they're not holding current temple recommends, then why should a temple be built there?  If those who do hold recommends are not currently making an effort to go into Phoenix once a year, then why build a temple to go each month or week?

Houston has one temple.  But I'm told by the missionaries (who heard it from the mission president) that there are approximately 100,000 members of the Church in the Houston mission boundaries.  All of these would go to the Houston Temple (opening at the end of next month -- YEY!)  And the fact is that we see a fairly high activity rate in outlying regions.  (Downtown Houston has very low activity rates).  Not only that, but MANY of these individuals are current temple recommend holders.  Yet most temple recommend holders don't actually go to the temple even once a year.

I was told that if each temple recommend holder went to the temple just one more time per year, they would have to build a new temple in the Houston area.  Do the math.  if we all went one more time per month, we'd have to build 12 new temples. 

Another factor is that land is scarce around Houston.  There are many open fields.  But they are all owned by someone.  And the Church has been having a very tough time getting permission from zoning boards as well as HOAs to build anything by the Church.  Some of it is purely economic.  Zoning boards would rather it be residential land so they can have a higher tax base (for example).  But others are solely voting against the Church. 

But the Lord will have his way.  I've seen an interesting pattern of geography of where new buildings are going.  What the haters and zoners don't realize is that this is forcing the Lord's hand to be in an even more powerful position.  You can't cheat the Lord.

EDIT: Man! I had quite the tangent, didn't I?

Edited March 21, 2018 by Guest