Over the last few days, three new temples in South and Central America have hit important construction milestones. The Cobán Guatemala Temple was dedicated by Elder Dale G. Renlund on Sunday, June 9, groundbreaking services were held for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple on Saturday, June 8, and a groundbreaking date was announced today, June 10, for the Londrina Brazil Temple.
Dedication of the Cobán Guatemala Temple
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Cobán Guatemala Temple—the Church of Jesus Christ’s third house of the Lord in Guatemala—on Sunday, June 9, and invited Latter-day Saints to “dedicate your heart to God.”
As the Apostle was preparing for the dedication, he learned of a standard greeting in Q’eqchi’ (also spelled K’ekchi’), a Mayan language spoken in the remote highlands of Guatemala. The greeting, “Ma sa laa ch’ oo,” means “How is your heart?”
The greeting may also be applied to those who worship in the house of the Lord, he explained, where the purpose of temple ordinances and their associated covenants is to change hearts “from who we are to who we need to become.”
“On this day of temple dedication, a great question for all of us to ask ourselves is, ‘How is my heart?’ If we let Him, God can and will change our hearts,” said Elder Renlund. “Once our hearts are changed, we need to periodically assess our heart. When we are greeted with Ma sa laa ch’ ool, we should be prompted to ask ourselves, ‘How is my heart?’
You can read more about this unique temple dedication on Church Newsroom.
Groundbreaking ceremony for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple
Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, President of the Church’s South America Northwest Area, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Santa Cruz Bolivia Temple on Saturday, June 8, 2024.
Jhonny Fernández, mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, attended the ceremony. He was joined by Juan Carlos Medrano, councilor of Santa Cruz, and other civic and religious authorities. Approximately 500 people attended.
“The temple is the holiest place on the face of the earth,” Elder Zeballos said. “Today we are going to dedicate this sacred ground. From now on this will be a consecrated ground for the Lord, a place where His house will be built.”
During the dedicatory prayer, Elder Zeballos expressed gratitude for Jesus Christ.
“We thank You for Your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer. We are so grateful for His love for each of us, love represented especially through His infinite atoning sacrifice. By dedicating this site, we rededicate our lives to You and Your Beloved Son,” he prayed.
Groundbreaking date announced for the Londrina Brazil Temple
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the groundbreaking date for the Londrina Brazil Temple. A groundbreaking service will be held on Saturday, August 17, 2024. Elder Ciro Schmeil, First Counselor in the Brazil Area Presidency, will preside and offer a dedicatory prayer.
Church President Russell M. Nelson announced this temple in October 2022. “May you focus on the temple in ways you never have before. I bless you to grow closer to God and Jesus Christ every day,” he said before announcing 18 new temples, including the Londrina Brazil Temple.
The site location for this temple was published in November 2022. An artist’s rendering was released in January 2024.
Brazil has 23 temples in use, announced or under construction. The Londrina Brazil Temple will be one of three temples in the construction phase, including the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple, and the Ribeirão Preto Brazil Temple (groundbreaking date June 22, 2024). The Salvador Brazil Temple (dedication date October 20, 2024), will be open to the public beginning August 23, 2024, until September 7, 2024.
Ten operating temples are in Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. There are nine temples announced in Florianópolis, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Maceió, Natal, Santos, São Paolo East, Teresina and Vitória.
You can read more about the groundbreaking ceremony in Bolivia and the new temple coming to Brazil on Church Newsroom here.
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