Temples in Mexico Articles
That the Lord works in mysterious ways is an idea that Samuel Oteo Perez would agree with. He came from Tabasco, Mexico, to the United States to work as a subcontracted employee in 1956. While in the United States, he was unjustly accused of helping illegal immigrants and put in prison for 90 days. During that time he was taught the missionary discussions and converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
After being released from prison, he returned to Mexico where he was baptized in Mexico City. He returned to his home in Tabasco, ready to share the gospel with his friends and family. A year later the area of Villahermosa was opened up for missionary work. Four full-time elders began teaching those Brother Perez had prepared.
Soon after the Mormon missionaries‘ arrival, a branch (small congregation) was organized and Brother Perez was called to serve as branch president. In 1972 a ward building was built, which later became a stake... Read the rest of this article »
The Monterrey Mexico Mormon Temple is the 12th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be built in Mexico. It will serve over 91,000 members in northeastern Mexico. Prior to the Monterrey temple being built, some members had to travel as much as 25 hours and cross the border to attend Spanish-speaking sessions at the Mesa Arizona temple.
The Monterrey temple is the answer to many members’ prayers. “We’ve waited a long time for this,” said Sister Casanova, “Now we can come to the temple often to perform the saving ordinances that we have so long hoped for.”1
Saving ordinances performed in Mormon temples include baptism, priesthood ordination, endowments, and sealings.
Baptism is an essential ordinance in order to enter the gates of heaven. Many people have died without receiving this ordinance. Within temples members are baptized in behalf of those who have died. After which, the priesthood, which is the power of God, is... Read the rest of this article »
“It was here in northern Mexico that Thou didst reveal the idea and the plan of a smaller temple, complete in every necessary detail, but suited in size to the needs and circumstances of the Church membership in this area of Thy vineyard. That revelation came of a desire and a prayer to help Thy people of these colonies who have been true and loyal during the century and more that they have lived here. They are deserving of this sacred edifice in which to labor for themselves and their forebears,” said President Gordon B. Hinckley [Mormon Prophet] in his dedicatory prayer for Mexico’s completed Colonia Juarez Chihuahua Temple.1
On a hill just west of this little town and overlooking this fertile valley, sits the first of the smaller Mormon temples to be completed outside of the United States. This Temple is an answer to the prayers of many faithful and deserving Latter-day Saints [Mormons] who with their ancestors, have sacrificed much through their... Read the rest of this article »
The building of the Merida, Mexico Mormon Temple was announced on September 25, 1998. The Merida temple is the 92nd operating Mormon temple worldwide.
A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on January 16, 1999. Carl B. Pratt, a member of the Seventy and President of the Mexico South Area, presided over the dedication and ceremony. The site of the temple is 1.53 acres on the north end of the Yucatan Peninsula, near the Gulf of Mexico. The area is rich with history and the temple site is close to some of Mexico’s most famous archeological ruins, such as Uxmal and Chichen Itza.
The Mormon Church also has a rich history in the area. In 1875 at a General Conference of the Church, six missionaries were assigned to open a mission in Mexico. The assigned Mormon missionaries began traveling by land to Mexico and arrived on January 7, 1876. Missionary work started in El Paso del Norte and Chihuahua. In 1880 Mexico was blessed and dedicated so... Read the rest of this article »
