In 1920 Mormon Church President Heber J. Grant invited the leading architectural firms of Salt Lake City to submit designs. Don Carlos Young, Jr. and Ramm Hansen were the winning architects. Brothers Young and Hansen designed a modern structure which reflected the desert horizon.

The same care in selecting the architects was shown in choosing the artists to plan the interior of the temple. Mormon artists Torlief Knaphus, A.B. Wright, LeConte Stewart, J. Leo Fairbanks, and Fritzoff Weber contributed to the design of the furniture and decorations. With the exception of Fritzoff Weber, a Norwegian artist, all of these artists had also worked on the Alberta, Canada or Hawaii temples.

Lee Green Richards painted a mural of Joseph Smith preaching to Native Americans, since many Native American members of the Church would attend the Arizona Temple. Navajo sisters wove a rug for the foyer in grays, reds, and natural black and white wools. They used the trunks of living trees for loom supports. Indian artifacts were incorporated in the garden landscaping. President Grant dedicated the Arizona Temple on October 23, 1927.