Temples in Mexico Articles
On October 2, 2010, at the commencement of the 180th general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of a new temple in Tijuana, Mexico. There are six stakes in Tijuana with several stakes in nearby Sonora and Baja California. This will be the 13th temple in Mexico. Until now, Latter-day Saints in Tijuana have had to cross the U.S. border to get to the San Diego California Temple.
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With the dedication of the Guadalajara Mexico temple, Mexico now has twelve operating temples. The first temple in Mexico City was dedicated in 1983. Since that time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has grown considerably in Mexico. The Guadalajara temple, located in Mexico’s second largest city, will serve more than 60,000 members in southwestern Mexico.
During the groundbreaking ceremony Elder Eran A. Call of the Seventy remarked, “What a blessing it is that I was a mission president here just 29 years ago,” he said. “We had four little branches here then. Now there are eight stakes [a group of congregations]. This is a great time to have a temple in Guadalajara.”1
The new Mormon temple is small but completely functional. President Hinckley said, “Every ordinance which is given in the Salt Lake Temple, the largest in the Church, is also given in every other temple, including these smaller structures. The fact is that they are not so small. They are commodious,... Read the rest of this article »
The first Mormon temple in Mexico was built in Mexico City in 1983. By 2005, just twenty-two years later, the number increased to ten temples. The Tampico Tamaulipas Mexico temple was the 6th temple to be dedicated in Mexico.
The Tampico area has seen rapid growth with the number of Mormons in the area going from one stake (a group of congregations) to four stakes in just twenty-five years. Tampico itself has a population of about 212,000 and is located on the Gulf of Mexico. There are over 18,000 members in the city.
The new temple will make the members’ journey to the temple much easier. Previously the Saints had to cross the Sierra Madre mountain range to reach the temple in Mexico City, a difficult endeavor. Now they will have their own Mormon temple.
Elder Call presided over the groundbreaking ceremony, which about 930 people attended on 28 November 1998. During the ceremony Elder Call said, “Having a temple near will open doors to growth, and as we attend we will receive blessings... Read the rest of this article »
“Members of the [Mormon] Church have been commanded to stand in holy places, such as this Temple, in order to withstand the evils of the latter days. This Temple will serve as a remembrance to Mexican members that families are to be eternal. God has not left man alone in this world…”1 spoke President Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve at the dedication of the Mexico City Mexico Mormon Temple.
The announcement to build a Mormon Temple in Mexico came in April 1976 with the dedication taking place eight years later in 1983.
The plan to build the temple in the Republic of Mexico was not to be an easy one; insurmountable obstacles seemed to thwart the plans from every which way.
In 1976 foreign missionaries were not officially recognized in Mexico, and mandatory laws required all buildings to be open to the public. (Mormons believe that Mormon Temples are houses of the Lord, and only those who prove themselves worthy through an interview with their local bishop and stake president... Read the rest of this article »
On Easter Sunday, April 4, 1999, during General Conference, Mormon Church President Gordon B. Hinckley made the announcement that the historic Nauvoo Temple would be rebuilt. During his closing remarks, President Hinckley stated, “I feel impressed to announce that among all of the temples we are constructing, we plan to rebuild the Nauvoo Temple…The new building will stand as a memorial to those who built the first structure there on the banks of the Mississippi.”
The original Nauvoo Temple was the second temple the Mormon Church built in its early days. Nauvoo was the last haven of safety for the Mormons before their move west to Utah. Mormons moved to Illinois in 1839, after having been driven from the state of Missouri. Undeterred, the members turned the swampy area into the thriving city of Nauvoo. Work on the temple began in 1841 and construction was originally overseen by the Prophet Joseph Smith.
Joseph Smith, however, did not live to see the Nauvoo Temple finished. ... Read the rest of this article »
Today members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are seeing the fulfillment of the prophecy of Brigham Young “that the Salt Lake Temple would not be the only temple built, but there would be hundreds of temples on the earth.”1
The Church builds temples in order to administer the higher ordinances of God. “The ordinances of the house of God are for the salvation of the human family. We … hold the keys of salvation committed to the children of men from the heavens by the Lord Almighty; and inasmuch as there are those who hold these keys, it is important that they should be acted upon for the salvation of the human family.” 2
These keys were given to Joseph Smith, who in turn passed them to his apostles; they include the sealing power, which enables those with priesthood authority to bind families together for eternity. Endowment ceremonies are also performed in Mormon temples. According to Brigham Young the purpose of the endowment is “to receive all those ordinances... Read the rest of this article »
The Ciudad Juárez temple spans borders and unites members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “This is an historic day for our community,” said El Paso Texas Stake president William Scott Johns. “But when I speak of community, I am not speaking of the cities that have borders and restrictions; I am speaking of the community of the Latter-day Saints.” 1 The Mormon temple will serve about 12,000 members in Texas and Mexico and will unite the members in the area together in a common purpose.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, which 1,700 members attended, Elder Eran A. Call of the Seventy reminded members that the location for the temple was inspired and selected by the prophet of the church. Whenever the fullness of the gospel has been on the earth temples have existed. “They are sacred buildings dedicated to a sacred work.” He testified that temples “are evidence of Church members’ belief in life beyond the grave.” 2
Because of that belief members do temple... Read the rest of this article »
Tuxtla Gutiérrez is the capital of Mexico’s southernmost state. The area is famous for its many ruins. The city is nestled in a valley among the mountains. In 1957 Howard W. Hunter, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, standing on a mountain overlooking the city, dedicated the area for the preaching of the gospel. Since that time The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has seen phenomenal growth.
In April 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley, recognizing the need to bring temples to the people, announced that thirty-two smaller Mormon temples would be built around the world before the end of 2000. He said, ” As I have previously indicated, in recent months we have traveled far out among the membership of the Church… They love the Church. They love the gospel. They love the Lord and want to do His will… They make tremendous sacrifices to visit the temples. They need nearby temples—small, beautiful, serviceable temples.”1
The Tuxtla Gutiérrez Temple is one... Read the rest of this article »
The Veracruz Mexico Mormon temple was announced on April 14, 1999. The Veracruz temple is the 93rd operating Mormon temple worldwide. Many members in the area rejoiced at learning that a temple would be so close, especially those who were among the first members in the area. These members had sacrificed greatly to travel to the Mesa Arizona temple to be sealed to their families.
The Mormon Church is very strong in Veracruz, even though it is young. The first Mormon missionaries didn’t arrive in Veracruz until 1955. Maria Romero was the first person to join the Church in Veracruz. She was so determined to be baptized that even though she was 87 years old, she waded out into the Jamapa River. The first meetinghouse was built in 1961. 674 people attended the dedication of the meetinghouse; only 379 were members. This shows how many were interested in learning more about the gospel. After the dedication of the meetinghouse the missionary work in the area grew rapidly.
A groundbreaking ceremony... Read the rest of this article »
Hermosillo was one of the first areas in Mexico to have Mormon missionaries. In 1877, Brigham Young sent a pair of missionaries to the area. When the prophet died, the missionaries returned to Utah. It was seventy-nine years before missionaries returned to the area. Finally, mainly due to the perseverance of Franciso Villa Alvarez, who had maintained contact with mission presidents in the area, missionaries returned on 26 June 1956. Since that time the Mormon Church has grown considerably with about 9,000 members in 2000.
Because of the considerable growth in the area, President Gordon B. Hinckley promised the Saints during a visit in March of 1998 that a Mormon temple would be built. The Church officially announced the building of the Hermosillo temple on 20 July 1998.
Since the foundation of the Mormon Church, members have built temples. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord explains why He commands His people to build temples, “For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should... Read the rest of this article »
