The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the open house and dedication dates for the Cobán Guatemala, Salta Argentina and Taylorsville Utah Temples. They also announced the location of the Cuernavaca Mexico Temple.
Cobán Guatemala Temple
A public open house will run from Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, May 11, excluding Sundays. Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Monday, April 22, 2024. Invited guests will tour the temple April 23–24.
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A rendering of the Cobán Guatemala Temple.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in two sessions on Sunday, June 9, 2024. The dedicatory sessions at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CST will be broadcast to all units in the Cobán Guatemala Temple district.
Church President Russell M. Nelson announced the Cobán Guatemala Temple in October 2019 during the women’s session of general conference. “The heavens are just as open to women who are endowed with God’s power flowing from their priesthood covenants as they are to men who bear the priesthood,” the prophet said. He counseled women to “draw liberally upon the Savior’s power to help your family and others you love.”
Following the announcement, construction commenced in 2020 after Hurricane Eta battered the region. COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance at the groundbreaking.
The temple in Cobán, located in the highlands of Guatemala, will be the third dedicated house of the Lord in the country. The Guatemala City Guatemala Temple, dedicated in December 1984, was the first temple built in Central America. The Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple was dedicated in December 2011. Guatemala has three other temples on the way: the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple (under construction) and the Huehuetenango Guatemala and the Retalhuleu Guatemala Temples (announced).
The first Latter-day Saint missionaries arrived in Guatemala in 1947. Today, Guatemala is home to nearly 290,000 Latter-day Saints in over 430 congregations.
Salta Argentina Temple
The public is invited to tour the Salta Argentina Temple from Friday, May 3, through Saturday, May 18, 2024, excluding Sundays. Prior to the public open house, a media day will occur on Tuesday, April 30, and other invited guests will visit on May 1 and May 2. After the open house, Elder D. Todd Christofferson will dedicate the temple on Sunday, June 16, 2024, in two sessions (10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. AST). The dedication service will be broadcast to all units in the Salta Argentina Temple district.
This house of the Lord is built on a 17.72-acre site across from the airport in southern Salta. An accommodation center and Church meetinghouse have also been constructed alongside a residence for the temple president and matron.
“Our message to the world is simple and sincere: we invite all of God’s children on both sides of the veil to come unto their Savior, receive the blessings of the holy temple, have enduring joy, and qualify for eternal life,” President Nelson said in April 2018 before announcing the Salta Temple.
Argentina is home to nearly 475,000 members in more than 720 congregations. The temple in Salta is one of six houses of the Lord in the country. The others are in Bahía Blanca (under construction), Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires City Center (announced), Córdoba and Mendoza (under construction).
Taylorsville Utah Temple
The house of the Lord in Taylorsville will open to the public on Saturday, April 13, 2024. The open house will go through Saturday, May 18, 2024 (excluding Sundays). Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, June 2, 2024, in two sessions (10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. MDT). The dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to all units in the Taylorsville Utah Temple district.
Prior to the open house, Church leaders will host news media and other invited guests from Tuesday, April 9, 2024, through Friday, April 12, 2024.
As with the house of the Lord in Cobán, President Nelson announced the Taylorsville Utah Temple in October 2019. The Taylorsville house of the Lord is one of 28 such structures in Utah. The others are the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Ephraim, Heber Valley, Jordan River, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo, Red Cliffs, Salt Lake, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, St. George, Syracuse and Vernal Utah Temples.
Utah is home to more than 2.1 million Latter-day Saints spread throughout some 5,400 congregations.
Cuernavaca Mexico Temple
This temple will be built on a 5.36-acre site located southeast of the corner of Calle Hernán Cortes and Calle Santa Prisca in Colonia Vista Hermosa, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 19,000 square feet.
The-Cuernavaca-Mexico-Temple-Site-Map-
The site map of the Cuernavaca Mexico Temple.2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.President Nelson announced the temple during the Church’s October 2022 general conference.
“We are … planning to build multiple temples in selected large metropolitan areas where travel time to an existing temple is a major challenge. Therefore, I’m pleased to announce four additional temples near Mexico City where new temples will be built in Cuernavaca, Pachuca, Toluca, and Tula.”
The Cuernavaca Temple is the second of these four temples to have the location announced. The Toluca Temple site was released in November 2023.
The Savior is “accelerating the pace at which we are building temples,” President Nelson said before announcing 18 more temples in October 2022, including the house of the Lord in Cuernavaca. “May you focus on the temple in ways you never have before. I bless you to grow closer to God and Jesus Christ every day.”
Dedicated temples in Mexico are in Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa. There are also temples under construction or announced in Cancún, Cuernavaca, Culiacán, Mexico City Benemérito, Pachuca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Toluca, Torreón and Tula.
The preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ began in Mexico during the 1870s. In 1961, a stake (similar to a diocese) was organized in Mexico City. In 1983, a temple was dedicated in Mexico City.
Mexico is home to more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in over 1,860 congregations.
Latter-day Saints worship in temples for several reasons: to feel God’s love and peace, to learn more about God’s plan for His children and the gospel of Jesus Christ, to make promises with God and with one’s husband or wife, and to unite families in this life and the next through sacred ordinances.