<div>A new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple is under development in Queen Creek. No location or groundbreaking date has been announced.Church President Russell M. Nelson said 17 additional temples are slated worldwide.“My dear brothers and sisters, do you see what is happening right before our eyes?” Nelson said, addressing the congregation at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ October general conference. “I pray that we will not miss the majesty of this moment.”This will be the eighth temple in Arizona, with others in Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Snowflake, Gila Valley, Tucson and Yuma. According to the Church of Jesus Chris Latter-day Saints’ website, there are nearly 443,000 members and 925 congregations in the state — worldwide church membership is approximately 17.2 million.“The announcement of this temple was very exciting for the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this area,” said Melissa Bowcutt, church member and resident of Queen Creek.“The church made this announcement during our general conference that happens twice a year, and there were dozens of temples that were announced worldwide. It was very exciting to have one announced for our city on a worldwide stage. Each temple is a beautiful architectural building that will spare no expense on the building materials and the construction process. Queen Creek being chosen brings out such an amazing feeling and spirit.“With every temple, the church makes it unique to the area. For example, the inside and outside of the Gilbert Temple have beautiful stained glass windows representing a blooming cactus flower. With details like that, there are a lot of little touches that make it unique.”Bowcutt moved to Arizona from Texas seven years ago, and she’s lived in multiple states before that. She holds a special connection with temples because of the marriages of three of her five children, including her first son, Jeff, who was married at the temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.“Last a year and a half ago, my son, Adam, was married in the Gilbert temple,” Bowcutt said. “This last summer, my daughter, Emily, was also married in a temple, but up in Orem, Utah. Those are two big events involving temples that happened within my family in the last year and a half.”She said a new temple is warranted, considering the population growth in Queen Creek and within the faith.“It will be very exciting to see what kind of architectural plans come for our area to make it unique for Queen Creek,” Bowcutt said. “After the groundbreaking, the construction takes anywhere from two to three years, and then there’ll be an open house period where anybody can go in for free to tour inside the temple. That process is always very exciting for any town that is near a temple.“It will be a pinnacle building here in Queen Creek. Even if you’re not a member of this church, that should make anyone here in this town very excited about it. I think it will be a beautiful house of the Lord.”</div>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

New LDS temple under development

A new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple is under development in Queen Creek. No location or groundbreaking date has been announced. Church President Russell M. Nelson said 17 additional temples are slated worldwide. “My dear brothers and sisters, do you see what is happening right before our...