The Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been dedicated by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The three dedicatory sessions were conducted in the temple and broadcast to meetinghouses throughout the temple district on Sunday, September 1, 2019.
There are more than 23,000 members of the Church in Haiti, five stakes (a group of congregations), 26 wards, 20 branches (smaller congregations) and one mission, the Haiti Port-au-Prince Mission.
Prior to the dedication, Elder Bednar conducted the traditional cornerstone ceremony, which signifies that the construction of the Port-au-Prince Haiti Temple is complete.
“The cornerstone is the Lord Jesus Christ; this is His house, the house of the Lord. We love and serve Him. May everyone remember what happened this day as a symbolism that Jesus Christ is our cornerstone,” said Elder Bednar during the public ceremony witnessed by Latter-day Saints and 23 local reporters and journalists.
Elder Bednar continued, “The house of the Lord is the place where members receive the highest and most important ordinances and covenants. They produce changes in individuals. [They] change communities, nations, starting with individuals. In these ordinances, the power of divinity is manifested, strengthens people, gives them a vision of who they are and why we are here; it gives them hope. That is the reason why, throughout the earth, the Lord reveals that temples must be built.”
Speaking during the youth devotional the night prior to the temple dedication, Elder Bednar told the young Latter-day Saints, “The temple will bless their families and this country.”
“Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the people who have lived on earth,” explained Elder Bednar. “Very few of those who have died have had the opportunity to hear about Him. So how can they be saved if they have not heard about Jesus Christ? Any young man or woman in this Church can explain how someone who has died can receive the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ordinances of the gospel that are performed in the temple.”
The public had an opportunity to see inside the temple and receive information on the purposes of the building during a free open house in mid-August.
The temple, located at Route de Freres Delmas 10, Port‐au‐Prince, will open Tuesday, September 10, 2019, for Latter-day Saints to begin the sacred work that is conducted therein.
In August of 1980, the Haitian government gave official recognition to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Two months later, the first branch of the Church was established in Port-au-Prince.
Temples of the Church differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered houses of the Lord where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man.
All images from the Church's newsroom
