Mesa 2nd Ward: Interior

I visited the Mesa 2nd Ward two years ago, but at that time couldn't get inside. This time when I visited Mesa I was able to document the interior.

And what a beautiful interior it is! A barreled ceiling descends to beautifully carved columns on the sides. At the front, the pulpit is off-center to the right while the sacrament table mirrors it on the right; behind, a beautiful vestry has organ pipes behind the grills.

Small stained glass windows are at the back and sides of the chapel. Other windows are above the columns, although some are blocked off from extensions to the building.

The cultural hall is perpendicular to the chapel on one side, so that's where the overflow is located.

 

I've got some more pictures I'll post soon.

Preservation Update: A Review of Lost Chapels

First, as has been noted on this blog by commentators, the Church has decided to keep the recently renovated Mesa Temple as a stationary presentation of the endowment. I have confirmed this with multiple people (although there is an altar in the creation room which makes it obvious). It seems that this decision was last-minute and boiled down to two reasons:

• Some leaders (who? the temple presidency? area presidency? First Presidency?) felt the wheelchair ramps took too long to operate. The front of the rooms all have an elevated rostrum with a step, and one of the steps can convert to a ramp. (The Salt Lake Temple did this in the terrestrial room.) I can't imagine it really took that long.
• Some leaders (again, who?) felt that having a session every hour was not often enough, and keeping a stationary presentation allows sessions every 45 minutes. 

While this development was discouraging, especially since the Church clearly put a lot of time and effort into making it so it could be progressive again--I'm just glad the renovation was done in such a way that progression could be restored very easily, if leaders become more sympathetic to the idea again. In the past year, the pendulum in terms of restoring original temple architecture and presentations has swung from hopeful to trying to limit the damage.

Second, there have been a few significant instances of chapels being razed or sold in the news recently that I wanted to review:

The Murray First Ward, which was no longer owned by the Church, was recently demolished.

The Payson First/Third Ward Chapel was sold this year, and the Church put a note in the contract saying that whoever bought the property was required to demolish the building. It was demolished in September. 

The Payson Second Ward, which is the oldest continuously used building in Payson and has some beautiful stained glass, was recently sold, and will likely be demolished soon.

The Ivans Ward (in Salt Lake City--1860 S, 300E), built in 1948, is being sold by the Church.

The Wells Ward, which apparently suffered some damage in the 2020 earthquake, recently had a farewell and will be sold by the Church. Some are worried the Church will insist that it be demolished as well.

The Logan Second Ward (which wasn't owned by the Church) was demolished.

The Farmington New Mexico Building, which has stained glass of Christ, was burned by arson and is still closed for renovation and repairs. Hopefully the stained glass is preserved. 

It's always disheartening to see how much historic architecture is still being demolished or sold. I anticipated that this trend will only continue, especially in areas of Salt Lake City and California where the presence of Church members continues to decline.