Gilbert Arizona Temple Cultural Celebration

Gilbert Arizona Temple

On March 1, 2014 there was a cultural celebration across the street from the temple in Discovery Park.  12,000 youth practiced for months for this night. It was very exciting. It was even more exciting for us because Sarah and Thomas were in the program. 

An unscripted part that added a bit of drama to the program was the weather that affected the outdoor event. Gilbert had been without rain for months. That couldn’t be said for the evening of the celebration. Leading news reports from mid-week through Saturday led with updates on forecasts for heavy rain. Forecasters were accurate. It rained Saturday morning. Skies were cloudy during Saturday  afternoon’s performance—a dress rehearsal—with just a few sprinkles coming as it ended. However, within an hour before the evening performance a light drizzle began. The drizzle soon turned into a downpour. With just minutes to go before President Thomas S. Monson and others were scheduled to arrive, rain drenched the performers and audience. Then, as he arrived on the podium, the rain slowed to a light drizzle. But that didn’t last. Much of the performance took place during heavy rain. That presented potential problems since the venue in Discovery Park near the temple serves as a retention basin. An inch of rain there quickly can turn into pools of water. By the time the program ended, water was standing in many parts of the venue.

 The program’s organizers said that the youth, upon hearing forecasts earlier in the week, made a plea that the show would go on despite the weather. It went on. Other than having wet hair and drenched clothing, the young people carried out their roles seemingly without missing a beat. Water streamed down their beaming faces. They performed as if the added moisture didn’t bother them.

President Monson waved, applauded, and cheered them on.


Our beloved Prophet, Thomas S. Monson

Our Thomas was named after him.

Before the program began President Eyring blessed

the young men and young women that they would feel

the love of their Heavenly Father “tonight

and always,” that their desire to be true to

their covenants with God will increase, and

that their determination to follow Jesus Christ

will grow and remain with them.

“And I bless you that this experience tonight

will stay in your memory like a light and

will draw you back to the temple

time and time again,” 

Thomas and Sarah
 

Wet and cold but they came home happy and
thankful for their experiences.

 

Below is the performance in its entirety.  Sarah and

Thomas performed throughout the evening but the
performance that begins at 36:17 on the video, was the 
the big one for them. Check it out!
 

 

Gilbert AZ Temple

We are really excited to have a new temple that is so close to us!  The Gilbert AZ Temple is only a 20 minute drive away instead of a 45 minute drive that we normally travel to get to the Mesa AZ Temple. 

 Before the temple was dedicated on March 2, 2014, it was open to the public.  During the month-long public open house of the Gilbert Arizona Temple, 407,020 guests toured the facility. Local media covered the event including a 30-minute prime-time special produced by one news station.