BYU NewsNet - Ground broken for Gila Valley Temple

Valentine's Day took on a special significance this year for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the groundbreaking ceremony was conducted for the Gila Valley Temple in Arizona.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presided at the meeting, and Elder William R. Walker, executive director of the Church's Temple Department, and also a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, followed his remarks. According to a press release, Elder Anderson then proceeded to pronounce the dedicatory prayer on the temple site, and then join other church officials and local stake dignitaries in turning over the first bits of earth.

One 6th generation Arizonia native, Lexa Montierth, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

"During the groundbreaking I was very moved by the spirit because I know that my ancestors were all rejoicing in the knowledge that all the sacrifice and hard work they had to endure while on this earth was finally paying off," Montierth said. "For years we have heard of revelation given that one day the Gila Valley would be blessed with a temple, through our faithfulness, and to see that prophecy come to pass has been an added strength to my testimony."

The Gila Valley Temple will be the third operating temple in Arizona, and the 130th in the world. It will serve approximately 32,000 members of the church, and will make attending the temple more of a reality for many Arizona residents.

Dawn-Marie Norton, a resident of Duncan, Ariz. is looking forward to attending the temple more often once construction on the Gila Valley Temple is complete.

"I have lived in the upper part of the Gila Valley for 15 years," she said. " A trip to the Mesa temple, which is the closest, takes nearly 8 hours round trip, and is basically an all day event. While many members around the world have much more challenging circumstances than mine, I feel that these challenges are a preparation for strengthening me for the blessings that will soon be felt in this area because we will have a temple. I feel so blessed, and I know I stand among many others who want to shout, Hosanna to God and the Highest."