Visitors’ Center Reopens at Mexico City Temple

More than 20,000 guests have visited The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Mexico City Temple Visitors’ Center since it reopened to the public on 23 November 2013.

The visitors’ center was first opened in November 1983 and was closed for nearly two years during the remodeling and expansion. The center is more than 19,000 square feet, the third largest temple visitors’ center out of more than a dozen such facilities in the Church, after Temple Square in Salt Lake City and a visitors’ center in Washington, D.C. Visitors’ centers exist not only to acquaint people with the Church but also to help them understand its beliefs. The Church operates visitors’ centers throughout the world, usually located near a temple or Church historic site. 

“Visitors’ centers and historic sites are established to invite others to come unto Christ,” said Jason John Mitchell, senior manager of public programs in the Church’s Missionary Department. “Hundreds of thousands will come to the newly renovated Mexico City Temple Visitors’ Center and will leave with a greater desire to learn and live the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

It is the first visitors’ center to include an entire exhibits area designed specifically to teach gospel principles to children and to include an area dedicated entirely to the history of the Church in Mexico. All exhibits are in Spanish and include original media developed specifically for the people in Mexico.   

Architectural patterns in stonework, glass stenciling and the carpet mirror patterns on the Mexico City Temple exterior. Nineteen different exhibit areas focus on four key messages: Jesus Christ, the Restoration of the gospel, the Book of Mormon, and temples and eternal families.

The center is run by Elder Duane Zobrist and his wife, Sharon, and they are assisted by two additional senior missionary couples who are retired and serve at their own expense, as well as 24 full-time young sister missionaries. Elder Zobrist said several people expressed an interest in knowing more about the Church after touring the visitors’ center. He said a businesswoman who visited the center during the opening said to him, “This is the holiest place I have ever been. … Can I come back again?”   

Hours of operation for the Mexico City Temple Visitors’ Center are 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. year-round with the exception of some holidays. Guests may also learn more about the center by visiting its Facebook page. Facebook visitors have described the center as a “beautiful place,” “spectacular” and “inspired.”