Salta Argentina Temple

As part of a seven-temple announcement on 1 April 2018, during the 188th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson named Salta, Argentina as the location for a future temple. The Salta Argentina Temple is the third Latter-day Saint temple constructed in the country and is the 194th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Argentina, a country of more than 40 million people, is home to approximately 481,000 Latter-day Saints organized into over 100 stakes and districts. The Salta Argentina Temple will serve members living in the Argentine Northwest who currently travel to the Córdoba Argentina Temple to participate in temple services. The 27,111-square-foot Salta temple is built on a 17.66-acre site across from the airport in the city’s southern area.

An accommodation center and Church meetinghouse were also constructed alongside a residence for the temple president and matron.

On 5 June 2020, an official exterior rendering of the Salta Argentina Temple was released.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Salta Argentina Temple

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the groundbreaking ceremony was postponed twice.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Salta Argentina Temple was held on 4 November 2020 at 6:30 p.m. Elder Benjamín de Hoyos, president of the South America South Area, presided at the event. Attendance at the temple site was by invitation only. Because of current COVID-19 restrictions, local social distancing guidelines were followed. The service was also broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple district.

Open House

The public toured the Salta Argentina Temple from Friday, May 3, through Saturday, May 18, 2024, excluding Sundays. Prior to the public open house, a media day occurred on Monday, April 29, and other invited guests visited on May 1 and May 2.

The temple’s architecture reflects the rich heritage of the Salta region, featuring design elements such as the cardon cactus flower, a prominent plant in the area, and the guarda pampa pattern motif, traditionally used in regional costumes and handcrafts. The color palette incorporates shades of blue, green, yellow, red, and ocher, mirroring the vibrant hues found in the local landscape.

Dedication

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Salta Argentina Temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024. The temple in Salta is one of two temples dedicated Sunday. Fellow Apostle Elder David A. Bednar dedicated the Layton Utah Temple three hours after the Salta dedication, brings the Church’s total number of dedicated temples to 195.

Elder Christofferson was accompanied by his wife, Kathy; Bishop L. Todd Budge, Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and his wife, Lori; Elder Alan R. Walker, a [[General Authority[[ Seventy and Second Counselor in the South America South Area Presidency, and his wife, Inés; and Elder Juan Pablo Villar, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director in Temple Department, and his wife, Carola Villar.

Elder Christofferson recalled working as a young missionary to help build the first chapel in Salta on several preparation days, then later returning with his mission president, President Richard G. Scott (who later served in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles), when the chapel was dedicated in 1966.

The temple in Salta will not only provide Latter-day Saints living across northern Argentina closer proximity for temple worship and work, but the temple district extends into southern Bolivia, including several districts and stakes there.