Through several expansions and demolitions, the Mesa Temple Visitor Center has been an integral part of the Mesa religious community.
The first visitors' center for the Mesa Temple consisted of a small table and literature racks set up at the temple's west entrance in the late 1940s. This set-up was soon found to be inadequate, and a permanent structure, the Bureau of Information and Genealogical Library, was built across the street at 464 E 1st Ave. This site, shared with the genealogical library, also proved inadequate to meet demand - and it was difficult to locate from the major streets of Mesa Drive and Main Street.
Thus, plans were made to build another center - and this one would face Main Street. The existing citrus grove was removed, and the ground was excavated to ensure the new structure would not obscure views of the temple behind the new building. Concrete walls were prefabricated in Utah and shipped to Arizona, where they were assembled. The Mesa Visitor Center was the first in the Church to be prefabricated. Church president David O. McKay dedicated the new building on December 30, 1956.
By the 1970s, the building was once again too small to meet the needs of the community. In 1979, the center was enlarged by three and a half times. The newly enlarged structure would be able to house new exhibits and theaters and was completed in 1981. In 2015, the center was remodeled again to update the existing exhibit space.
However, the second iteration of the visitors' center was demolished in 2018 as part of the Church's more extensive plans for renovating the Mesa Temple. A new visitors' center will be located on Main Street adjacent to the Mesa Dr/Main St light rail station.
Perhaps the most striking feature inside the building is the ten-foot Christus statue. This 1,200-pound statue is a replica of the larger original by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768-1844).
The visitors center hosts special holiday events twice each year: lights at Christmas and the Pageant at Easter. Beginning the evening after Thanksgiving and continuing each night until New Year's Eve, from dusk until 10 pm, visitors are invited to tour the Christmas light display on the temple grounds, a choral performance in front of the visitors' center, and a nativity display inside.
The Mesa Easter Pageant, entitled "Jesus the Christ," is performed for two weeks before Easter each year (excluding Sundays and Mondays) on a large stage constructed on the front lawn of the visitors' center. Between 5,000 and 13,000 guests, each evening view the outdoor performance that boasts 475 cast members. Visitors often arrive several hours before the 8 pm starting time to reserve seats.
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