Latter-day Saints Tell Tender Stories of Faith at the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple Dedication

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By Trent Toone, Church News

With an expression of awe and wonder, Garry Flake surveyed the large multitude of Latter-day Saints gathered outside the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple following the first dedicatory session on Sunday, October 13.

Flake was the second mission president of the Honduras San Pedro Sula Mission in the early 1990s, and years later he returned with the Church’s humanitarian services and emergency response after natural disasters devastated the country.

The 82-year-old marveled to know that a small ward he attended in 1992 had now grown into two stakes — he said he sat near both stake presidencies during the first dedicatory session. Flake was also amazed to learn the new house of the Lord will serve 15 stakes and one district, a significant increase over the number of stakes that existed in the 1990s.

“If there is a witness of the growth of the Church, it’s this,” Flake said. “How can the Church not be true when they have this growth? And not only the growth but the maturity of the priesthood leaders and the Relief Society sisters and the next generations that are here. It’s a glorious day.”

Flake made the statement moments after sharing a warm embrace with Gregorio Diaz, an old friend who now serves as patriarch of the Choloma Honduras Stake.

Flake’s tender feelings reflected the words of Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who spoke of the Honduran Saints’ “deep, wholehearted” faith.

“The testimonies of the members in Honduras run deep,” the Apostle said. “This depth of faith and faithfulness is the reason the Lord directed His Prophet to build another beautiful temple in the wonderful country of Honduras.”

Flake was one of several Latter-day Saints who shared personal experiences of faith and testimony while attending the dedication of the San Pedro Sula Honduras Temple.

‘A Great Blessing’

During the three-week open house, Moises Martinez, a quadriplegic, served as executive secretary for the temple open house committee. Despite his physical limitations, he used technology to record and transcribe minutes for each meeting, worked closely with Church leaders and did “impressive work,” said Karen Rodas, director of communications for the Church’s Central America Area.

In 2003, Martinez was on his way home from work when he was involved in a car accident and suffered a spinal cord injury. He and his wife, Jackelin, had been married for almost four years, and he didn’t know how permanent his physical condition would be at the time.

“But I did know that with the strength of the Lord and the support of my family and friends, I could overcome any test,” he said.

A few years later, a friend asked Martinez if he really believed in miracles — hoping that his faith would be enough to be able to walk. He fasted on several occasions and asked Heavenly Father to acknowledge His purpose with his physical trial. From those experiences he realized the true miracle was not walking again but being able to do many things despite physical limitations.

In the past 21 years since the accident, Martinez has served in several Church callings, including Sunday School instructor, bishopric counselor and elders quorum president. He currently serves as clerk of the San Pedro Sula Honduras Stake. He holds a full-time job, is pursuing a college degree through BYU–Idaho and enjoys traveling with his family.

Following the temple dedication, Martinez expressed his deep gratitude to have a house of the Lord near his home.

“For those of advanced age and physical difficulties, it’s a great blessing,” he said.

“I am grateful to the Lord Jesus Christ for the blessings I receive, and I can only show this gratitude with obedience and service in His work. I have traveled to the temple every year with the help of my brothers, but now with the temple closer I will be able to go to the house of the Lord more often. I know that we will live as eternal families with perfect bodies, and in the meantime we do everything that our strength allows us.”

‘A Beautiful Experience’

Friends Dany Garcia, 18, Marginick Lourieth, 18, and Nathalie Eluir, 16, attended together the second dedicatory session of the San Pedro Sula temple.

The experience was sweet for the trio because they served during the open house, and several had opportunities, Eluir said, to share the gospel with people, including with family and friends who had never heard it before. Eluir also felt a feeling of peace in the house of the Lord that she has never felt anywhere else.

“It was incredible,” she said. “I know Heavenly Father blesses us for serving in the temple.”

Hours after the dedication, Garcia was set apart as a full-time missionary and will soon preach the gospel in Guatemala Cobán/Belize Mission. Receiving his temple blessings has strengthened him spiritually and helped him to feel ready to be a missionary.

“It’s been a beautiful experience,” he said. “I am grateful to Heavenly Father for the opportunity to have a temple so near our homes.”

After the final dedicatory session, Elder Renlund and his wife, Sister Ruth Renlund, paused to greet several individuals and families gathered near the entrance of the temple. Among them were four young people — siblings Orlin and Jimena Gonzalez, ages 14 and 15, and friends Sonia Herrera, 23, and Omar Damas, 22, who rejoiced at the opportunity.

“It was a beautiful experience to meet an Apostle of the Lord, to hear his words and to feel and hear what the Lord would have us know — it was very beautiful,” Orlin Gonzalez said.

His sister, Jimena Gonzalez, said she felt Heavenly Father’s love as she attended the dedication and met Elder Renlund. “It was a special feeling,” she said.

Herrera had a similar experience.

“To shake his hand and look into his eye, to hear his message and the dedicatory prayer, I felt the Savior’s love,” she said. “I know we are blessed here in San Pedro Sula.”

‘Tierna Misericordia del Señor’

Richard Thomas served as a full-time missionary in El Progreso, a community just outside of San Pedro Sula, from January to May of 1970. At that time, Honduras was part of the Church’s Central American Mission. He remembers attending Church meetings in a rented hall and struggling to find people to teach until he and his companion taught and baptized a woman named Petronila Urbina.

“She became sort of my gold standard for the rest of my mission about what it was like to teach somebody who was really a golden contact. She became one of the pioneers,” he said.

While in San Pedro Sula for the temple dedication, the 74-year-old Thomas delighted in reconnecting with many of the “dedicated and faithful members” who helped the Church grow in Honduras. While attending a dedicatory session, a woman recognized him and said she remembered him teaching her the gospel 55 years ago. He learned that one never knows how far the message of the gospel will go once it is shared.

“For me, it’s been an incredible experience here, to see some of the fruits of missionary work. It’s absolutely been a ‘tierna misericordia del Señor’ — a ‘tender mercy of the Lord (I Nephi 1:20),’” said Thomas, who wore a blue Honduran tie. “The Saints in San Pedro Sula are as strong and faithful as you can find anywhere in the Church. They have testimony of a Savior, and they are incredibly diligent in keeping the commandments. They are the reason that there is a temple here.”

Honduran Journalist Interview

The day before the dedication, Elder Renlund was interviewed by Juan Antonio Bendeck, a prominent television journalist and media personality for TelePaís, a channel viewed by people across Honduras. The 15-minute interview was broadcast on television and radio throughout the country. It was also posted on YouTube.

The Spanish program is 43 minutes long, with the portion featuring the Elder Renlund interview beginning at the 27:50 mark. Elder Renlund’s English responses are translated using an interpreter.

“Will there be more temples in Honduras in the coming years?” Bendeck said.

“I believe so,” Elder Renlund said. “But we will wait for the Lord to direct the leaders of the Church to make that announcement. It’s not for me to decide.”

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