Ground Broken for Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple

Ground was broken in Guatemala City on Saturday, December 3, for the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple. Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, Second Counselor in the Central America Area Presidency, presided at the ceremony.

Elder Giuffra, accompanied by his wife María Eugenia, told Latter-day Saints and friends of the Church that temples are built as a place of refuge and worship for God’s children, both for themselves and for those who have passed.

In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Giuffra said, “We are grateful for the faithfulness in Jesus Christ that many of Your children have had in preaching the gospel in this part of Your vineyard … grateful that there is a safe environment so that the gospel of Your Son Jesus Christ can be preached, and the work grow in the City of Eternal Spring.”

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Rogelia Morán, a pioneer of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chimaltenango, shared her gratitude that she was able to participate in the groundbreaking, a momentous event in her life.

“I have been a temple worker for almost three decades. I know the joy and hope of our family members who await their ordinances in the house of the Lord, where His presence is felt,” she said.

Melany Ibeth Per Sanic, a young Latter-day Saint from Patzicía, expressed her joy of being blessed with a new temple. She said that since she was little, her family has taught and prepared her to enter the temple. “When it was time to enter the temple for the first time, I could feel a great spirit of joy and happiness that, for a moment, made me forget the things of the world and focus on the ordinances and covenants. The closer temples are to homes, the closer Heavenly Father is to us, and we are to the blessings He offers us.”

In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Giuffra added, ”We know that this holy house will allow many of Your faithful children to perform covenants and ordinances to return to Your presence. May the neighbors and everyone who passes by this sacred ground feel the influence of Your Spirit that flows from this place so that they have the desire to know more about this sacred building.”

Plans to build the temple were announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson during the October 2020 general conference.

Open house dates for tours to the general public will be announced when construction is complete. The dedication (inauguration) date will also be announced later. 

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Guatemala is home to more than 285,000 Latter-day Saints in over 430 congregations. Other temples in Guatemala include the Cobán Guatemala Temple, Guatemala City Guatemala Temple, Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple, and Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple.

Latter-day Saints consider temples as houses 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 originally appeared in Spanish Newsroom.