The Church in Arizona
Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona continues to grow from small beginnings in 1877. Presently, with nearly 400,000 members in Arizona, Latter-day Saints, most commonly known as Mormons, represent nearly one in every 17 citizens of the state.
Throughout the state there are more than 700 local congregations, called wards or branches, and 88 stakes, the equivalent of a diocese. Members of the Church in Arizona have a rich heritage of community and public service. They are active in the PTA, community councils, the Boy Scouts and state and local government. They are teachers, dentists, construction workers, mothers, fathers and your neighbors.
|
Total Church Membership
|
395,296 |
|
Missions
|
4 |
|
Congregations
|
805 |
|
Temples
|
3 - (plus two under construction - Phoenix, Gilbert) |
|
Family History Centers
|
60 |
Brief History of the Church in Gilbert
In the early 1900s, members of the Church in the Gilbert area were traveling to worship in either a Mesa congregation or a Chandler congregation. Then, in 1915, they began to feel the need to have their own ward or branch, so the Saints began holding their meetings in the Gilbert Elementary schoolhouse, which is now the Gilbert Historical Museum. In 1918, Arthur S. Haymore Sr. was called to be the bishop of the Gilbert Ward and was given the challenge of finding and buying land and building a building. After much sacrifice and work on the members’ part, in November 1918 they moved into their own building. The new building was constructed of adobe block with cement plastering, so many called it the Adobe Ward. It took eight long years before the building was paid for and dedicated in 1926. The Gilbert Ward had 250 members in December of 1930, including 75 children. The total population of the Gilbert Precinct in 1926 was 1,896. Early Church members were dedicated and willing to build up the Church in Gilbert, Arizona.
By 1927 the membership of the Church had grown in the Salt River Valley to the point where a beautiful temple was constructed in Mesa. Church Presidents Heber J. Grant, David O. McKay, Harold B. Lee and Spencer W. Kimball were all frequent visitors to this temple.
In 1950 the seams of the old Adobe Ward were about to burst, so a new addition was started.
By the late 1990s, the original Gilbert Ward building became too old and outdated, and lead paint and asbestos were found in the structure, so the town had to demolish the building for future use of the site.
By 1986 there were 1,800 members of the Church in Gilbert. Today there are seven stakes in the area, serving more than 40,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
To learn more about Mormons in your area, follow this link to www.mormon.org.
