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.

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, and they are beautiful. They represent the ultimate in our worship and the ultimate in blessings offered.” 2

It is part of President Hinckley’s dream to build small temples, because he realizes that the people, “need nearby temples—small, beautiful, serviceable temples.” 3

And as Elder Call read at the groundbreaking ceremony the building of temples is also fulfillment of President Lorenzo Snow’s prophesy that, “the time will come when there will be temples established over every portion of the land, and we will go into these temples and work for our kindred dead night and day, that the work of the Lord may be speedily accomplished, that Jesus may come and present the kingdom to His Father.” 4

Within Mormon temples members of the Church perform saving ordinances for themselves and for those who died without having a chance to perform the ordinances for themselves. These saving ordinances ensure that those who accept the gospel of Jesus Christ will be able to walk through the gates of heaven and return to live with God and their families, being sealed for eternity.

The dedication of the Guadalajara temple filled church members with joy, and about 6,500 members attended the temple dedication. Graciela Garcia, a member of the Moctezuma Ward, said, “I can’t describe the emotion that filled us as … our beloved prophet blessed our homes, our country and its leaders, and our land.” 5

President Hinckley dedicated the Guadalajara temple on 29 April 2001. During the dedication prayer President Hinckley blessed the country, leaders, and people of Mexico saying, “We thank Thee for the progress of Thy work in this great nation of Mexico. Move it forward, dear Father. Touch the lives and hearts of great numbers of people who will hearken to the message of truth and come into the fold of Christ. Bring about the miracle of conversion among the great and good people of this land. May those who govern look upon Thy people with respect and with a desire to be helpful. Wilt Thou bless them and the nation for their friendliness to Thy work.” 6

Physical Address:
AV. PATRIA #879
FRACC. JARDINES TEPEYAC
45030 ZAPOPAN JAL
MEXICO

Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 333-125-1283/84/85

For more information about Mormon temples visit the sites below:

LDS (Mormon) Temple resources
LDS Temples – Mormon Temples – Salt Lake Temple
Teachings About Mormon Temples
(1) Church News, 26 June 1999
(2) Gordon B. Hinckley, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 4
(3) Gordon B. Hinckley, “New Temples to Provide ‘Crowning Blessings’ of the Gospel,” Ensign, May 1998, 87
(4) Church News, 26 June 1999
(5) News of the Church,” Ensign, July 2001, 74
(6) “Dedicatory prayer: ‘We pray for those who shall serve in this Thy house,’” Church News 5 May 2001, 25 Jun. 2005

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 that we can’t even begin to comprehend or understand at this time. Men and women will grow in their strength and power so that Satan will have less power over them.”1
President Thomas S. Monson , of the first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said the dedicatory prayer for the Tampico Tamaulipas Mexico Temple on 20 May 2000. During the dedicatory prayer President Monson spoke of couples kneeling at sealing altars to establish eternal family relationships. The idea of eternal family relationships is one of the main reasons that Mormon temples are built. Mormons believe that marriages that are performed in temples have the potential to last forever. Marriages are performed both for the living, and by proxy for those who have died.

Only members who are “clean of body and mind and worthy to receive the blessings herein given,” 2 are allowed to enter the temple because of the sacred nature of the ordinances and covenants made within. Almost everything within the temple is symbolic. White is worn to symbolize purity, and the buildings, rooms, and ceremonies are all symbolic.

During the dedicatory prayer President Monson prayed “that there may emanate from this Thy house a spirit of love and peace, a spirit divine and holy, which will be felt in this great city.”3 Temples are places of peace and members carry that peace with them when they leave the temple.

Because of the peaceful nature of Mormon temples, they are places where members can receive direction from God. President Benson said, “When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. These answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways.” 4

President Monson ended the prayer with a plea for the Saints in the area saying, “Lift the burdens of poverty from the backs of Thy children and prosper them as they serve Thee in righteousness, walking in obedience to Thy commandments.”

Physical Address:
AV. EJERCITO MEXICANO #74 CON 3A, AVENIDA
COL. LOMAS DEL GALLO
89480 CIUDAD MADERO TAMPS
MEXICO
Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 833-216-9660

(1) “News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar. 1999, 75
(2) “Tampico dedicatory prayer: ‘Lift the burdens of poverty,’” Church News 27 May 2000, 25 Jun. 2005
(3) “Tampico dedicatory prayer: ‘Lift the burdens of poverty,’” Church News 27 May 2000, 25 Jun. 2005
(4) Ensign, August 1985, page 8

“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 may enter the Temple.) Laws changed in ways which were encouraging for the Mormon Church, and the necessary building permits were approved in 1979.

Importing the necessary building materials and furnishings proved to be another obstacle. Only the finest of materials are used in the Mormon Temples, thus the Church leaders requested an exemption from the importation law, as well as importing the materials without tax. Church leaders fasted and prayed and presented their request to the proper government authorities. Amazingly, the requests were approved and signed. Government leaders commented that they ‘could not understand why they had changed their mind and sided with the Church.’2

Emil Fetzer was the architect assigned to draw up plans for the Mormon Temple in Mexico City. Of the four designs which were presented, one was of  Mayan-style architecture. As the First Presidency studied each of the proposed designs, they felt that the one with the Mayan influence was the one more suited to Mexico and its surroundings.

Since its dedication in 1983, the Mexico City Mormon Temple has proven to be one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. Faced with white cast stone and white marble chips, the temple is the fifth largest Mormon temple in the Church and the largest temple outside the United States.

Physical Address:
Avenida 510 #90
Col San Juan de Aragon
07950 Mexico, D.F.
MEXICO
Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 55-5003-3738

For more information on the Mormon Church or Mormon temples, please see the following websites:
Mormon Church
Mormon Temples

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.  The prophet was murdered at Carthage Jail on June 27, 1844.  Work on the temple continued, and the temple was finally dedicated in May 1846.  Thousands of the Mormon pioneers received their temple ordinances prior to their trek west.  Shortly after the temple’s completion it was abandoned.  Two years after the Nauvoo Temple was completed, the temple was almost entirely destroyed by arsonists. An 1850 tornado toppled most of what remained of the temple and the remaining stones were used elsewhere in other buildings.

Over a century later, Sister Marjorie Hopkins Bennion learned a remarkable story about the Nauvoo Temple blueprints when she met Sandra Griffin Hardy, a great great grand daughter of William Weeks, the Nauvoo Temple Architect.

Sister Bennion said: “in 1948, a young missionary from Heber City Utah, Elder Vern C. Thacker, was transferred to the small remote town of Boron, California, in the Mojave desert. While there he and his companion, Elder Frank Gifford, knocked on the door of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leslie M. Griffin, who graciously greeted them.

“Mr. Griffin was not a member of the Church but told the missionaries he was a grandson of William Weeks, the architect and the old ‘Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois.’ Although Leslie remembered little of his grandfather, he knew William was very proud of his role as [temple] architect…The two Mormon missionaries developed an excellent relationship with the Griffin Family…Before Thacker was to return home to Utah following the completion of his mission, Griffin turned the temple drawings over to him with instructions for him to turn them to Church Headquarters in Salt Lake City. Thacker recalled the scene: ‘on our last visit to Mr. Griffin he excused himself for a few minutes and went to the rear of the house. He returned with a large roll of papers, about 3 feet long, ten inches in diameter, secured with a rubber band. He explained, “These are the original architect’s drawings for the Nauvoo Temple. They have been in my family for over 100 years, handed down from my Grandfather William Weeks.”

“‘He opened the bundle…There were exterior drawings, some interior, an angel on a weather vane, pencil sketches of circular stairways, circular windows, archways, etc. Even the measurements for various details of the Temple were included in Williams’s handwriting. They were yellowed with age but in amazingly good condition. Mr. Griffin knew I was returning home in a few days. He asked me if I would do him a favor of carrying these plans to Church Headquarters. I assured him it would be a great honor for me to do so. He said he felt strongly that, after 100 years, these should be given to the Church. I subsequently left Boron with the plans tucked into the turtle back trunk of my Ford.’

“One week after returning from his mission, Thacker made an [appointment] with Church Historian, A. William Lund….and turned the drawings over to him. A short time later, Griffin received a letter of thanks from Lund… ‘We appreciate your action far more than words can express.’”

When President Hinckley made his announcement, he stated that the Nauvoo Temple was to be literally rebuilt, as close to the same specifications and design as the original as they could get. The original drawings of architect William Weeks, recovered by two Mormon missionaries, were key instruments in allowing the new Nauvoo Temple to be rebuilt as similar to the original as possible, a fitting memorial to the early Mormons who worked to build the original Nauvoo Temple only to leave it behind.

From the book ‘Holy Places’ by Chad S. Hawkins

More about the Nauvoo Temple

Physical Address:
50 WELLS ST
NAUVOO IL 62354
United States

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 310
Nauvoo, Illinois 62354-0310
United States
Phone:   217-453-6252

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 in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels.” 3 The endowment is a series of covenants made between God and men and women.

In 1949, Arwel L. Pierce, the president of the Mexican Mission, while visiting the area announced that the Church would flourish in Oaxaca; since that date Mormon missionaries have baptized 8,500 members in Oaxaca. The number of members in surrounding areas who will be served by the temple totals more than 28,000.

Because of faith and membership growth President Hinckley announced in 1999 that a temple would be built in Oaxaca. During the groundbreaking ceremony Elder Pratt encouraged members saying, “It is my prayer that we examine our lives, study the scriptures, that we may have family prayer, family home evenings, and keep the commandments.” 4 He encouraged members to get their lives in order so they may receive temple recommends, which are required to enter the temple after its dedication.

During the Mormon temple open house more than 10,000 people visited the new temple. Many visitors commented on the peaceful feeling found within the temple, saying, “One feels a peace there, a tranquility. It is heavenly!” 5 During the open house visitors realized that the Mormon Church is a Christian Church evident by all the pictures of Christ decorating the temple walls.

For the first time President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated a temple. The Oaxaca Mexico Temple was dedicated on 11 March 2000. More than 18,000 members attended the four dedicatory sessions.

During the dedicatory prayer President Faust said, speaking as a voice for the members, “We have longed for the day when a house of the Lord would be built nearer to us that we might come here often and worship Thee in spirit and in truth, and receive those ordinances, for both the living and the dead, which lead to immortality and eternal life through the great Atonement wrought by our Redeemer, Thy Beloved Son.” 6

Physical Address:
AV. UNIVERSIDAD #139
FRACC. REAL DE CANDIANI
68130 OAXACA OAX
MEXICO
Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 951-516-9588

For more information about Mormon temples visit the sites below:

LDS (Mormon) Temple resources
Teachings About Mormon Temples
USATODAY.com – Mormons open temple doors to share beliefs

(1) Church News, 20 March 199.
(2) Discourses of Brigham Young. 396–97.
(3) DBY, 416.
(4) Church News, 20 March 199.
(5) “News of the Church,” Ensign, May 2000, 107
(6) “Oaxaca dedicatory prayer: ‘May we come here frequently,’” Church News 18 Mar. 2000, 25 Jun. 2005

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 work for those who are deceased. The Mormon Church teaches that certain ordinances are necessary to receive eternal life. Many of those ordinances can only be performed in Mormon temples. People who have died need to have baptisms, sealings, and endowment ordinances performed by proxy in their behalf.   The dead, who live on with the same desires and personalities they had on earth, can choose to accept or reject temple covenants.

Elder Call reminded members that the temple would be complete in about a year and said, “We want to be prepared and attend the temple, not just to have the temple as a monument.” 3 Members are required to fulfill certain moral and religious requirements to enter the temple and Elder Call challenged them all to be ready. Promising that as members prepared to go to the temple it would “bring [them] more faith, purity, cleanliness, integrity, love, and dedication to the callings they hold.” 4

President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Ciudad Juárez temple on 26-27 February 2000. During the dedicatory prayer he asked God to bless the temple saying, “May it be a house of peace where those who serve may lay aside the cares of the world. May it be a house of love where those who labor may realize that the ordinances here administered, for both the living and the dead, assist in bringing to pass the great provisions of the Atonement of Thy Son. May it be a house of worship where Thy sons and daughters can commune with Thee.” 5

Many members find a LDS (Mormon) temple a good place to receive answers to their prayers and to commune with God. Even though members can receive answers at anytime, the peaceful and reverent atmosphere of the temple makes it conducive to perceiving the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Many members feel like President Benson, “When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. These answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways.” 6

Octavio Seanez Flores, president of the Ciudad Juárez La Cuesta Stake, sums it up best, “This land has a destiny, and that destiny is to have a house of the Lord where we can do His work and our work to gain salvation.” 7

Physical Address:
Calle Paraguay # 290
Esq. José Borunda, Col. Partido Romero
32177 Ciudad Juárez, CHIH
MEXICO

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 372155
El Paso, Texas 79937
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 656-611-5146

(1) News of the Church, Ensign, Apr. 1999, 74
(2) Church News, 23 January 1999
(3) Church News, 23 January 1999
(4) Church News, 23 January 1999
(5) “Dedicatory prayer: ‘A house of peace,’” Church News 4 Mar. 2000, 25 Jun. 2005
(6) Ensign, August 1985, page 8
(7) News of the Church, Ensign, Apr. 1999, 74

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 of these small temples, “a dream come true”2 for many members. Because of the mountainous terrain, travel in and out of the area is difficult, and previously members had to drive to Mexico City – a 20-hour drive. Now the more than 18,000 members in southern Mexico have a Mormon temple close by.

During the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple, held on 20 March 1999, Elder Richard E. Turley of the Seventy said that, “the greatest gift we have received on this earth is the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. But another great gift from the Lord is to have the essential keys to do temple work, which is essential to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord, and to help us gain eternal life with our Heavenly Father.” 3

The Mormon temple sits on 1.56 acres next to a meetinghouse. The exterior is finished with white marble and features a single-spire design with a gold statue of the angel Moroni on top. Although only 10,700 square feet, President Hinckley has 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, and they are beautiful. They represent the ultimate in our worship and the ultimate in blessings offered.” 4

President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the Tuxtla Gutiérrez Mexico temple on 12 March 2000. More than 3,300 members attended the four dedicatory sessions.

During the dedicatory prayer President Faust blessed members of the Church saying, “Bless all who shall labor here that they may do so in the true spirit of the Master whom they serve. That which will occur here is all part of a divine plan of happiness which Thou hast outlined for Thy sons and daughters of all generations. The fullness of the priesthood will be exercised here. This will be a house of instruction, a house of covenants, a house of ordinances. May those who receive these ordinances remember them always and live worthy of the covenants they make with Thee, dear Father.” 5

Physical Address:
CARRETERA A CHICOASEN CHIAPAS
KM. 1,4, ESQ. PASEO DE LA ROSETA
FRACC SAN JOSÉ CHAPULTEPEC
29047 TUXTLA GUTÍERREZ CHIS
Mexico

Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 961-615-8287

(1) Gordon B. Hinckley, “New Temples to Provide ‘Crowning Blessings’ of the Gospel,” Ensign, May 1998, 87
(2) “News of the Church,” Ensign, May 2000, 107
(3) Church News, 27 March 1999.
(4) Gordon B. Hinckley, “Welcome to Conference,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 4
(5) “Tuxtla dedicatory prayer: ‘Bring new light and understanding,’” Church News 18 Mar. 2000, 25 Jun. 2005

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 and site dedication for the temple were held on May 29, 1999. The ceremony and dedication were presided over by Carl B. Pratt, a member of the Seventy. Around 600 people attended the ceremony and dedication. The temple site is 3.39 acres, which includes a meetinghouse.

The Mormon temple was open for tours to the public June 26th through July 1, 2000. Those who attended the open house were able to explore the 10,700 square foot building and learn more about Mormon beliefs. More than 10,000 people toured the temple.

Then member of the First Presidency, Thomas S. Monson, who would later become prophet, dedicated the Veracruz temple on July 9, 2000. Four sessions were held, and more than 5,000 members attended. During the dedicatory prayer, President Monson prayed, “bless this great nation of Mexico. Bless the officers of the government that they may be friendly to Thy people. We pray that Thy Saints may prosper in this good land, that they may be released from the shackles of poverty, that they may go forward with faith, with a crown of righteousness upon their heads, to do Thy will and build Thy kingdom.” The Veracruz temple serves nine stakes, two districts and two branches in the area.

Physical Address:
AVE EJÉRCITO MEXICANO ESQ MICHOACÁN
COLONIA LUIS ECHEVERRIA
94290 BOCA DEL RIO VER
MEXICO
Mexico

Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 229-922-9621

“News of the Church,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 74

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 build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was.” For the same reason, God commanded the prophet Joseph Smith to build temples saying, “Let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people; For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fullness of times.”1

Within Mormon temples members make and keep sacred covenants and perform saving ordinances such as proxy baptisms for the dead and marriage sealings. These ordinances are eternally binding, performed through the priesthood power of God.

During the groundbreaking ceremony Elder Call, President of the Mexico North Area, talked about the eternal nature of temples saying, “A temple is an island of importance in our eternal journey to return to the presence of our Father in Heaven and live with him again after this life. The work done in the temple is eternal. It is a work of love.” 2

Members are encouraged to attend the temple on a regular basis, enriching their own lives and providing service for those who have passed on. God is not a respecter of persons, so He has made it possible for those who did not have a chance to receive these ordinances while living on earth can receive them by proxy in LDS (Mormon) temples today.

President Hinckley dedicated the Hermosillo temple on 27 February 2000. During the dedicatory prayer, he asked the Lord’s blessings upon members of the Church, saying, ” Keep Thine ancient promises to the faithful. Shower blessings upon them. Crown their lives with a testimony of the truth of this Thy holy work. Bless Thy Saints throughout the earth that they may “look to Thee and live.” May they have cause to rejoice in Thy goodness. Favor them with faith and testimony and great joy as they walk in faithfulness before Thee.” 3

Physical Address:
GENERAL PEDRO GARCÍA CONDE NO. 303
ESQUINA CON JUAN JOSÉ RÍOS
COLONIA PITIC.
83150 HERMOSILLO SON
Mexico

Mailing address:
c/o Mexico Area Administration Office
POUCH
Mexico
Phone:   (52) 662-210-5660

For more information about Mormon temples visit the sites below:

Mormanity: Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”
History of Mormon Temples
Mormon Temple Ordinances – ReligionFacts.com

(1) Doctrine and Covenants 124:37, 40-41
(2) “News of the Church,” Ensign, Mar. 1999, 75
(3) “Dedicatory prayer: ‘A crowning gem,’” Church News 4 Mar. 2000, 25 Jun. 2005