Location of Budapest Hungary Temple Released

“We are reminded that temples bring us closer to Christ, and when we come closer to Christ, we are more joyful,” said Elder Sabin, who serves in the North America West Area Presidency. “We’re so grateful for all the members — past and present — whose faith and courage have made this possible along the way.”

In the dedicatory prayer offered at the end of his remarks, Elder Sabin said this new house of the Lord “will stand as a beacon of light and hope and a witness of the reality and divinity of Thy Beloved Son and of the eternal nature of the soul and the divine potential of thy children.”

The Modesto Temple was announced in April 2022 by President Russell M. Nelson. Construction will commence on a 17.63-acre site adjacent to 4300 Dale Road, encompassing about 30,000 square feet. In addition to the Modesto temple, the state has 11 other houses of the Lord in operation, under construction or announced. These are the Bakersfield, Feather River, Fresno, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Oakland, Redlands, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose, and Yorba Linda Temples. In the United States, only Utah has more temples than California.

Local faith, government and civic leaders attended Saturday’s groundbreaking, including Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen.

“[To] our friends, coworkers and neighbors: Please come often to the temple grounds and feel the peaceful surroundings,” said Zwahlen, who is a Latter-day Saint. “The same guiding peaceful principles we feel in our homes and the temple will improve our communities.”

Two youth speakers shared their insights about worship in the temple and its significance in their lives and the community. “As we serve in the temple, we find joy as we strive to be like Christ,” said a Latter-day Saint preparing for missionary service. Another Latter-day Saint youth said the temple “will serve not only as a beacon of light to the community of Modesto but will be a place for those who are seeking home.”

“The crowning evidence of the growth of the Church in any area is the dedication of a temple,” added Jerry Callister, a local Latter-day Saint and a longtime resident of Modesto. “This temple is going to bless not just Modesto but all the communities around it. It is in the temple that families can be sealed for time and for all eternity.”

Elder Sabin paid tribute to John Davis, a widower with three children who arrived in Modesto in the winter of 1905. Davis and his posterity formed the foundation of the Church in the area. California is now home to over 725,000 Latter-day Saints in 1,100 congregations.

Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on the 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.