Improvement Era, December 1927

Improvement Era Vol. XXXI DECEMBER, 1927 No. 2 Dedication of the Arizona Temple Mesa, Arizona, October 23-26, 1927 By Elder Richard R. Lyman, of the Council of the Twelve ANOTHER temple dedicated! This makes nine, eight of which still stand. Built, completed, dedicated, by Latter- day Saints, seven of these are used in sacred ordinance work, for both the living and the dead. The official visitors, fifty-two in number, spent a day in Los Angeles, the forenoon with officials of the Los Angeles stake, the noon hour with the California mission, and the afternoon under the direction of the Hollywood stake. The day came to a perfect close, when, as guests of Mr. Sid Grauman, all were thrilled with the impressive presentation of "The King of Kings." Visions made realities in the new "Chinese Theatre," pictures highly religious and with a most stirring appeal, the "Hallelujah Chorus," rendered as only a great orchestra and an immense choir can present it — all these combined to make an ideal preparation for the dedication of the temple. We still hear those great words, "King of kings and Lord of lords, and he shall reign forever and ever!" After a few hours of rest, in the day time, and one night of dreams in Mesa, we arose with the throngs of people in the midst of a scene of unrivaled beauty, the center of which was the temple. Says one Arizona paper: "Perhaps the greatest multitude ever assembled in Arizona for a religious program, gathered at sunrise yesterday in Mesa." There were acres of people, estimated at from five to eight thousand; within the temple there were twelve or fifteen hundred, while in the ward chapels, and in the Mezona Rec- reation Hall were from three to six thousand more, all of whom heard the program through amplifiers. As the eyes of these thousands turned toward the temple and