Ground Broken for Three International Temples

Church and local community leaders in Yigo, Guam; Praia, Cabo Verde; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, participated in groundbreaking ceremonies on Saturday, May 4, 2019. This is just one of a three times the Church has conducted three temple groundbreakings on the same day, and in March 1999 there were four in one day.

The temples will be the first such “house of the Lord” in each of these parts of the world. Construction on the three temples will last approximately two years.

Yigo Guam Temple

Elder Yoon Hwan Choi, president of the Asia North Area for the Church, presided over the groundbreaking and dedicated the temple site.

“Temples are not just buildings,” Elder Choi said. “A temple is a university for us to learn how to return to Heavenly Father.”

“What will you engrave in your heart today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the Yigo Temple?” Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita asked the audience. “I engrave in my heart my commitment to serve the Lord.”

The temple will be located at the corner of Marine Corps Drive and Melalak Drive in the village of Yigo on the north end of Guam.

Once completed, the temple will serve more than 5,000 Latter-day Saints on Guam and other islands of Micronesia.

Watch this video of the groundbreaking.

Praia Cabo Verde Temple

Elder Paul V. Johnson, president of the Europe Area for the Church, presided over the groundbreaking and dedicated the temple site.

Elder Johnson said, “For Cabo Verde’s faithful sons and daughters the blessing of having a temple of the Lord in their own country is a powerful reminder of the Lord’s promise in the Book of Mormon that He remembers His children upon the isles of the sea.”

A newly wedded couple from Cabo Verde, Zanny and Simão Lopes expressed the impact this temple will have in their lives. ‘’We just got married two months ago, in the Recife (temple) in Brazil. We are very excited to be able to enter the temple of our own country.”

The temple will be built in the capital city of Praia on the island of Santiago and located east of Avenida Cidade de Lisboa in the Tahiti Chã de Areia neighborhood.

Visit the Cabo Verde Newsroom website for complete details of the groundbreaking ceremony.

San Juan Puerto Rico Temple

Elder Walter F. González, president of the Caribbean Area for the Church, presided over the groundbreaking and dedicated the temple site.

“Without a doubt,” exclaimed Elder González, “this is a day to remember, a day that we will keep in our memories and in which the longing of so many brothers and sisters of this beautiful Island of Enchantment becomes reality.” Build the temple first in your hearts, Elder Gonzalez encouraged.

The temple will be located at 123 Calle Ronda Urb Villa Andalucía in the Trujillo Alto area of San Juan.

The Puerto Rico Newsroom website in Spanish provides more information on the groundbreaking ceremony.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the Lord,” the most sacred places on earth. Unlike meetinghouses, where Sabbath worship and weekly activities take place, temples are open throughout the week and are closed on Sundays.