An estimated 68,000 people are expected to flock to State Farm Stadium in Glendale today  to attend a visit from President Russell Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in what is believed to be the largest LDS gathering in Arizona history.

The Glendale devotional, which begins at 6 p.m., comes one month after Nelson’s trip to Chico, California, which sought to offer hope to victims of last year’s Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Over the past year, Nelson also has spread his message abroad, with events in places including England, Zimbabwe, China, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

A little more than 6 percent of Arizona’s population identifies as Mormon, according to 2017 U.S. Census figures, ranking it behind only Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada for population percentage. In terms of actual numbers, there are more than 428,000 church members in 895 congregations throughout Arizona, church spokeswoman Jennifer Wheeler said last week. That places it fourth, behind only Utah, California and Idaho.

Arizona is home to six Temples. Five of those currently are operating, while one, Arizona’s original Tempe in downtown in Mesa, is temporarily closed for renovations.

The Mesa Temple opened in 1927. It was the only one in the state until 2002, when a Temple was dedicated in Snowflake. Since then, Temples have opened in Graham County near Thatcher (2010); Gilbert and Phoenix (2014), and Tucson (2017).

In a statement last week, Nelson said that his message in Glendale would focus on spreading the Lord’s love everywhere.

“Our doctrine is not complicated or convoluted or complex,” he said. “It’s so simple – love God and love your neighbor.”

Nelson, 94, became president of the Salt Lake City-based Church in January 2018.

Last year, Nelson urged members to stop describing themselves as “Mormons,” saying that it is offensive to God to use anything other than the faith’s full name.

Traffic is expected to begin crowding into areas around the stadium several hours before the event, which is expected to conclude at 7:30 p.m.

 

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