Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple
The Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple is the 134th announced temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Upon its completion it became the 141st dedicated temple of the Church in operation.
On 9 June 2006, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ announced plans to build a temple in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The Central American Area President Spencer V. Jones, a member of the Seventy, made the announcement to members of the Church in the area. In the letter, the First Presidency stated, "We are confident that this will be a blessing to the many faithful Saints in this and surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of the temple." With its completion, the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple became the first Latter-day Saint temple in Honduras and the sixth temple in Central America. Until its dedication, members in the area had to travel to Guatemala City, to attend the nearest temple.
The new temple serves members of the Church in Honduras and Nicaragua. In April 2018, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Nicaragua. Currently, there are over 184,000 members, 4 missions, and 236 congregations in Honduras.[1] This is a dramatic accomplishment and a testimony of the faith of the members because the Church is still very young in the area.
Contents
History of the Church in Honduras
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras began in 1952, when Elder Spencer W. Kimball, who later became worldwide leader of the Church, traveled to Honduras to meet with then Honduran President Juan Manual Galvez. He received from President Galvez authorization to organize the Church in Honduras. During this trip, President Kimball gave to a waiter named Jose Santos Ortega Flores a copy of the Book of Mormon.
On 21 March 1953, this same Jose Ortega became the first Honduran member of the Church when he and four others were baptized. The following day, the first congregation was officially organized in Tegucigalpa.
Two years later, in 1955, the second congregation was organized in San Pedro Sula. In 1963, construction was completed on the first Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in Honduras, located in Colonia Palmira in Tegucigalpa.
Early Honduran members of the Church desired for themselves and their families the blessings that come only by participating in the sacred ceremonies of Latter-day Saint temples. But initially, the nearest temple was in Arizona, in the United States.
In 1976, the first organized group of Honduran members of the Church traveled by bus to the Mesa Arizona Temple. It was an arduous, 10-day round trip, made at great personal sacrifice. These excursions to Arizona continued regularly until temples were built in Mexico City and Guatemala City in 1983 and 1984, respectively.[2]
Two Groundbreaking Ceremonies Held
The Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple had two groundbreaking ceremonies held at two different locations over two years apart.
- Ground was first broken for the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple on Saturday, June 9, 2007—one year from the date of its announcement—at its originally selected location adjacent to the institute building at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras on the eastern side of the city. President Spencer V. Jones of the Seventy presided at the event, which was attended by invited priesthood leaders and their families, several of whom participated in the first ceremonial scoops of dirt with gold-colored shovels. Stake presidents from Nicaragua expressed gratitude that the temple would be only four hours away, allowing them to spend more time doing ordinance work than traveling, as had previously been the case.
- On Wednesday, January 28, 2009, Church officials announced that construction of the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple would no longer be pursued at the originally selected location. Construction of the temple was halted shortly after excavation for the foundation in September 2007 when opposition was met from Tegucigalpa City officials and citizens who felt the temple would overshadow and block the view of the iconic Our Lady of Suyapa Basilica. Despite months of negotiations, the Church did not succeed in obtaining a response of approval from the mayorship. Out of respect for the City officials' feelings and to avoid the perception of any rivalry with the Catholic Church, Church officials made the decision to relocate the temple.
- Ground was broken for the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple at its new location near the Toncontín International Airport on Saturday, September 12, 2009, in a small private ceremony of invited priesthood leaders and Area Authorities. An architectural rendering was on display reflecting the temple's surroundings of several acres in Residencial Roble Oeste.[3]
Open House and Cultural Celebration
The public was invited to visit the temple during an open house held from Saturday, 9 February, through 2 March 2013, excluding Sundays. More than 210,000 people attended the Mormon temple open house, including local dignitaries — Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa, First Lady Rosa Elena de Lobo, and a large government delegation that included 10 cabinet ministers.
In conjunction with the dedication of the temple, there was a cultural celebration featuring music and dance on Saturday, 16 March 2013. About 4,100 Latter-day Saints participated in the presentation. It took ten months to prepare the colorful program. Approximately 15,000 people attended the program, including President Ucthdorf, other Church leaders. and the President and First Lady of Honduras.
The Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple Is Dedicated
The temple was formally dedicated on Sunday, 17 March 2013, in three sessions, by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Gregory A. Schwitzer of the Seventy also joined him for the dedication. The sessions were broadcast to Mormon meetinghouses in the temple district, which includes Nicaragua.
The 28,254-square-foot temple is made of gray granite from China and stands 41.2 meters tall, with an angel Moroni on top.
