Dreaming of Christmas on August 31st?

It is a joy for the Visitors' Center sisters and elders from their districts to join the hundreds of Mesa saints who volunteer each year to make "Christmas Lights" a reality on the Mesa Temple grounds

August 31st in 106 degree heat may not seem like a logical day to think about Christmas, but these missionaries show that it was

Listening to Christmas music while wrapping lights made for a fun morning of service.  Among the hundreds of thousands drawn to see the Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple grounds this year, thousands will hear the testimonies of the sisters and remember the importance of the Savior's birth

Roughly 20 percent of the yearly total of visitors to the center come between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve.  In addition to the spiritual preparation for their arrival, the sisters have helped with the physical preparations -- the lights which will delight and draw children of all ages to the grounds.  With the completion of the "light rail" to Mesa Drive -- adjacent to the Temple grounds, even earlier preparation and planning must go into this year's celebration.

Have you ever wondered how to light a 60 foot palm tree without individually wrapping lights around each palm frond?  No problem is too great for the Mesa volunteers.  In these photos you can see how they use "rebar", and chicken wire and chain links to weave the lights around.  Their creations simulate palm fronds and add grace and beauty to the Christmas lights

Christmas Lights volunteers even built these trailers specifically to store and haul the Palm tree fronds to and from the Temple grounds

Elder and Sister Bowers help create the "flower lights" that will be in front of the Visitors' Center

Elder Ullrich demonstrates patience and endurance in finishing the task

Elder Rippstein's persistence is inspiring