Christmas lights display begins at LDS temple in Mesa

MESA, Ariz. - The Christmas lights are on at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple in Mesa.

The backstory:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started putting lights up for the Christmas season at the Mesa Temple in 1979. What started as a few strings of lights has now turned into a massive display.

What they're saying:

"We do know that the star on our house has about 23,000 lights, and the palm trees out north of the fence have 43,200 lights on them," said Suzette Tyler, Director of the Mesa Arizona Temple Christmas Lights. "Besides the lights, we have 10 displays on the grounds, and they are all about the life and teachings of our savior, Jesus Christ. Then, across the street, there's a visitor center and there's a room full of nativities this year. We have 150 nativities from all over the world."

By the numbers:

Members of the church start setting up the display in September.

"It's divided into 63 areas," Tyler explained. "We have different congregations or stakes from around the community that each send 10 to 30 people to help out with their area, so it's a lot of people on the grounds and it's really fun to see."

What you can do:

The lights are on from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every night. The display runs through December 30th, and it is completely free and open to the public.

Where the LDS Temple is located