Construction Begins on the Querétaro Mexico Temple

Construction of the Querétaro Mexico Temple began on January 7 with an event attended by general and local authorities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, members of local congregations and special guests.

Elder Adrián Ochoa, General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Mexico Area Presidency, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony. General Authority Seventies Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela and Elder Benjamín De Hoyos and their wives were also in attendance.

Under a clear sky and a warm winter sun, dozens of people gathered in the large area where the two-story temple of approximately 2,500 square meters will be built. The temple, which will sit on 3.58 acres, will be located in the city of Santiago de Querétaro about 130 miles northwest of Mexico City. The Querétaro Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in the April 2021 general conference. 

During his remarks, Elder Valenzuela mentioned that “the Lord has blessed [the Bajío region] with growth in industrial and commercial activity, but … the Church has also grown in an important way. Many people have migrated to the cities that will make up the district of this temple and many more have joined the Church since the gospel began to be preached in these lands.”

“I would like to echo President Russell M. Nelson's invitation to spend more time in the temple and to seek to understand how the temple teaches us to rise above this fallen world,” Elder Valenzuela said.

Elder De Hoyos said that the Church is committed to building temples throughout the world “so that the blessings of the temple may be available to a greater number of our Heavenly Father's children."

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"Everything we do in the Church," he stressed, "leads to the work that is done in the holy temples."

Quoting President Gordon B. Hinckley, Elder Ochoa mentioned that when God decides to build a temple in a city, he wants to bless  the members of the Church and all the people who live in that place. “God wants to bless this town and all the people who live in the cities that will make up the District of this temple,” Elder Ochoa said.

The dedicatory prayer was offered by Elder Adrian Ochoa, after which he joined several special guests and members of the Church for the ceremonial turning of the earth.

The Querétaro Mexico Temple is now the third under construction in Mexico and one of 23 total temples in operation, under construction or announced in the country. Mexico is home to the second most temples, after the United States.

Located in central Mexico, the state of Querétaro borders the states of Hidalgo, Guanajuato, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí and the State of Mexico. The temple will serve many of the members who live in this region of the country, known as El Bajío. Querétaro is home to competitive urban areas and enjoys some of the highest economic growth in the country.

The groundbreaking ceremony was also attended by several special guests, including local congresswoman Dulce Imelda Ventura Rendón; Alejandro García, general director of the government of the municipality of Querétaro; Adolfo Sotelo, coordinator of religious affairs for the municipality; Ellery Mariano López, director of the Mexican Institute of Ophthalmology IAP; Jackeline de los Ángeles Verdín, president of the Kristen AC Foundation board of trustees; Mariana Guerrero Chávez, president of the board of trustees of the Vive Mejor AC Foundation; the priest Sergio Corona, president of the Diocesan Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Church and president of the Interreligious Council of the State of Querétaro; Pastor Carlos Flores, from the Evangelical Church in Querétaro; Rabbi Edwin Sonier Acosta, of Eben-Ezer MCC.

Latter-day Saints consider temples the house of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.

This article was first published on Spanish Newsroom.