Milestones Reached for Temples in South America and the US

Three temples to be built in the U.S. and South America by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have marked groundbreaking milestones. Groundbreaking services were held in three separate ceremonies for the Santiago West Chile, Londrina Brazil and Austin Texas Temples on Saturday, August 17, 2024. These sacred events mark the beginning of construction for three new sacred houses of the Lord.

Londrina Brazil Temple Groundbreaking

Elder Ciro Schmeil, First Counselor in the Brazil Area Presidency, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Londrina Brazil Temple.

“It was the effort, faith and patience of many that allowed us to be here this morning to break ground on the Londrina Brazil Temple,” he said.

During the dedicatory prayer, Elder Schmeil asked that the presence of the temple would be a blessing to all in the region.

“May all members and nonmembers who reside in this temple district feel Your love and mercy and thus have the desire to draw closer to You through the sacred covenants made in the temples,” he prayed.

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced this temple in October 2022.

The Londrina Brazil Temple will be built at Avenida: Harry Prochet, S/N, Jardim São Jorge, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 32,000 square feet.

Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began preaching in southern Brazil in 1928. The Portuguese translation of the Book of Mormon was published in 1940, igniting a new era of growth in the country, including temples.

There are 23 temples announced, under construction or operating in Brazil. The 10 operating temples are in Belém, Brasília, Campinas, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple is under construction. The announced temples are in Florianópolis, Goiânia, João Pessoa, Londrina, Maceió, Natal, Ribeirão Preto, Salvador, Santos, São Paolo East, Teresina and Vitória.

Today, there are nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in Brazil (more than any other country aside from the U.S. and Mexico) in approximately 2,175 congregations.

Santiago West Chile Temple Groundbreaking

Elder Alan R. Walker, Second Counselor in the South America South Area Presidency, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Santiago West Chile Temple.

Tomás Vodanovic, the mayor of Maipú, Chile, and other civil, police and religious authorities were in attendance.

“We thank You, Father, for the privilege of being instruments in Your hands as we serve in Your work and as we strive to be faithful disciples of Your Son, Jesus Christ,” said Elder Walker during the dedicatory prayer. “This temple will stand as a beacon of light, a place of peace and a refuge from the world, inviting all to come to Christ and receive His saving ordinances.”

The temple will be built at Primo de Rivera 1551, Comuna de Maipú, Santiago, Chile. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 12,500 square feet.

The first temple in Spanish-speaking South America was dedicated in Santiago in 1983. The other four temples in operation, under construction or announced in Chile are in Antofagasta, Concepción, Santiago West and Viña del Mar.

One of the Church’s earliest leaders served a mission in Chile in 1851. Today, the country has become home to more than 600,000 Latter-day Saints in around 575 congregations.

Austin Texas Temple Groundbreaking

Elder Michael A. Dunn, Second Counselor in the North America Southwest Area Presidency, presided at the Austin Texas Temple groundbreaking.

Elder Dunn welcomed the leaders of other local faith traditions in attendance at the groundbreaking. “You honor us with your presence,” he told them. “And we want you to know that while we deem this a house of the Lord, it is not just our house of the Lord. It is yours as well.”

Glen Hancock of a local Latter-day Saint congregation echoed this feeling. “We hope that the sentiment in this community is that this temple belongs to everyone,” he said. “After all, we are all children of the same God.”

In the dedicatory prayer offered at the end of his remarks, Elder Dunn said, “Help us, as a people to continue to stand firmly on holy ground, to reach for heaven even as heaven reaches us in the form of this magnificent Austin Texas Temple.”

Allie LaFeber, a youth speaker from the Round Rock stake, shared that she had an older brother who died of cancer before she was born. She grew up hearing stories about him, holding in her heart the hope that she will meet him one day.

“Because of the Savior’s Atonement and the eternal perspective that temples give us, I know that we can live together as families with our Heavenly Father,” LaFeber said.

The Austin Texas Temple, which was announced in April 2022 by President Nelson, will be built on a 10.6-acre site adjacent to an existing meetinghouse located at 1801 E. Park Street, Cedar Park, Texas. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 30,000 square feet.

In addition to the Austin Texas Temple, the Lone Star State has eight other houses of the Lord in operation, under construction or announced. These are the Dallas, Fort Worth,  Houston, Houston Texas South, Lubbock, McKinney, McAllen, and San Antonio temples. 

Located in the south-central U.S., Texas was first visited by missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ in 1843. In 1898, about 300 Church members settled on land purchased by the Church in northeast Texas that would become the colony of Kelsey.

Church growth in Texas has been rapid in recent decades, with more than 132,000 Latter-day Saints in 1985 growing to just over 210,000 in 2000. Today, Texas is home to more than 385,000 members in around 750 congregations.

Latter-day Saints worship in temples for several reasons: to make sacred promises with God, to learn more about God’s plan for His children and the central role of Jesus Christ in that plan, and to unite families for eternity.