Tucson, Arizona, USA Temple

History

The Latter-day Saints were first introduced to Tucson when the Mormon Battalion entered the area in the winter of 1846. They served their country by helping create the trails that later became the “highways” for people headed west. The Tucson temple features a blue, dome-shaped cupola, setting it apart from the many other temples topped with spires. The dome reflects the history of the area, including the nearby San Xavier del Bac Mission, Arizona’s oldest intact European-style building; as well as Tucson’s Pima County Courthouse. Further allowing it to blend into the area, one third of the seven-acre site has been left in its natural, dry, rocky and sandy state, smoothing the transition into the Saguaro National Park found on the east and west sides of the city. The ocotillo cactus is featured in the window panels on the exterior and in many places within, including the rugs in the entry, patron waiting and brides’ rooms. In Spanish, ocotillo means “little torch” a fitting addition to the light a temple brings. To President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, who presided at the groundbreaking in October 2015 and returned to dedicate the Tucson temple on August 13, 2017, it was something of a homecoming. In Tucson in 1965, he received his type rating as a commercial airline pilot with Lufthansa in a Boeing 727 aircraft. Earlier, in Phoenix, he received his qualification as a fighter pilot and in the Mesa Arizona temple he received his endowment. Referring to the beauty of the desert landscape he said some find it difficult to see it as beautiful because it is so different from what they are used to. “Yes, it is beautiful, it is wonderful, and it is a diversity which we should cherish, because it’s the Lord’s work,” he said. “And that is how life is, how individuals are. We’re so different.” By accepting our diversity, we will be more happy and then, President Uchtdorf said, “We will be a greater blessing to our neighbors, to our friends, to those around us, and they will see the light which comes from the temple.”* If you let it, the Tucson temple will light a “little torch” within you that embraces the diversity which is the Lord’s work, bringing you happiness and blessing all around you.

How Temple Coins are Made

Dave started creating jewelry using metals in 1992, ten years later he had worked with nearly every metal in the jewelry industry! Moving to Thailand, he spent the next nine years perfecting his skills with various metals, 3D models and 3D printers. He dreamed of producing something that would bring delight to purchasers and carry with it positive feelings that would touch the souls of those who owned them. In 2014 he was able to realize his dream. Returning to the US, he uses Lost-wax casting to create a metal master from brass alloy for each temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, depicting, in the highest degree of definition possible, a coin with a 3D image of a temple. The reverse of each coin is cast with the words “Stand ye in holy places.”

Purchase one or two of the temples that hold special meaning to you. Commemorate your visit to a temple by picking up the corresponding coin. Celebrate a milestone in a loved one’s life by gifting them a temple coin to inspire them. Collect them all or just a few. Some are cast in precious metals, making each coin an investment that will be a treasure in every sense of the word.

Additional Information

• Free Shipping on orders over $35.
• All coins are 1 1/4 in.
• Pewter Coins are cast from lead free alloys.
• Brass Coins cast from a silicone, brass alloy.  Giving our brass coins a rich yellow gold color for a fraction of the cost of gold coins.
• Silver Coins are cast from an alloy of silver containing 92.5% by weight of silver and 7.5% by weight of other metals, usually copper.
• Gold Coins cast in 14K Gold are 58.5% pure gold.  The remaining alloy consists of a copper and silver mix.
• All of our coins are developed, cast, and finished locally in our facility in Logan, UT, U.S.A.

*Source note: Church news, August 14, 2017