TUCSON, ARIZ.
Duane Bingham's great-grandfather was searching for warmer weather when he moved his family from Ogden, Utah, to the Arizona desert in 1894.
Almost 12 decades later, Brother Bingham walked through Binghampton Cemetery, established in 1899, and talked about his ancestors and others who struggled to build this community.
"They came and existed and they farmed," said Brother Bingham, a fourth-generation Church member in Tucson.
From those early pioneers, the Church in this area has grown to include 25,000 Latter-day Saints in six stakes.
Just like those early days, Tucson is still "a place to come for opportunity," said Tucson Arizona Stake President Gary D. Rasmussen.
Nephi Bingham, Brother Bingham's great-uncle, certainly capitalized on the opportunity found in the Arizona desert.
In 1899, Nephi purchased land along the Rillito River on what is now the north side of Tucson. He and several other families lived in tents while they built adobe homes and a school, explained Brother Bingham.
"As the Binghams began scratching out a living in this hot desert, they were mostly alone in their efforts," wrote Bingham in a history of his ancestors. "They understood, as did thousands of other Mormon pioneers who began small farming communities throughout the West, that water was the key to their existence."
They dug wells — 10 to 20 feet deep — and irrigation ditches, planted crops and raised families.
Ten years later, more families — driven from the Mormon Colonies of Mexico by political unrest and revolution — joined them.
On May 22, 1910, the first branch of the Church was organized in the community by George Albert Smith and Joseph Robinson, president of the California Mission.
"Church in this area was organized under the shade of a large tree and named Binghampton Branch," said Brother Bingham.
For the next several years families continued to move from Mexico to the now-thriving community, he added. The schoolhouse/meetinghouse was expanded several times to accommodate the growing group.
"At one remodeling a local community member donated lumber and materials to build a wooden floor because he was tired of dancing on the dirt floor at the weekly dances," said Brother Bingham. "This was a social community, with plays, musical productions, and dances on Friday night at the school, and picnics and corn roasts along the riverside under the cottonwood trees."
In 1927, Church members began construction on the Fort Lowell Building, which is still in use today.
A large well was dug by hand, and in 1935 an Olympic-size pool was added behind the building, which became the only public pool in the area for many years, according to Brother Bingham.
"When I was young there used to be stained glass down both sides of the chapel," he recalled.
The building was expanded in 1960 and a cultural hall was constructed.
And the number of Church members continued to increase. "We have had a fairly large growth spirt in the last 10 to 12 years," said David Hoefferle, public affairs director.
A tribute to that growth, and the respect the community of Tucson has for the Church and its history in the area, is a Mormon Battalion monument that stands in downtown Tucson.
A large component of Latter-day Saint growth in Tucson has come from Spanish-speaking members. In recent years, one Spanish-speaking ward — the Sonora ward — in the area was divided into five branches.
"I was in one of the branches on Sunday," said President Rasmussen recently. "It felt like a ward."
Branch President Ray Contreras said because the branch is small, many youth have callings. In his ward, for example, Celeste Contreras, a Mia Maid, and Kimberly Quintero, a Laurel, serve as the branch pianist and music director. "The young women serve willingly and with enthusiasm."
President Rasmussen said another reason for growth in the area is the University of Arizona, which attracts many Latter-day Saint students from across the country. "It is a real magnet for all different kinds of students who are LDS," he said.
Still Brother Bingham said as things have changed in the area, much in the Binghampton Ward has remained the same. Today, Latter-day Saints still gather each month for a ward dinner.
"We are the next generation,"he said.
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