Ground was broken for four new temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this month. Read below to see where and what was said at each groundbreaking ceremony.
Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple
Elder Joaquin E. Costa of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple on April 9, 2022.
“We are grateful for the tolerance and openness to receive missionaries, allow construction, and provide a safe environment for the restored Church of Jesus Christ to grow in Bahía Blanca and southern Argentina,” Elder Joaquín E. Costa included as part of the dedicatory prayer, as reported by Newsroom.
The 8.14-acre site will house a 19,000 square foot temple and an additional 25,000 square foot building for patron housing and distribution center.
Bahía Blanca is 400 miles south of Argentina’s capital city Buenos Aires and the new temple there will be Argentina’s fifth, following the Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Salta, and Mendoza temples. More than 470,000 Latter-day Saints live in Argentina.
You can read more about the dedicatory prayer and groundbreaking ceremony here.
Grand Junction Colorado Temple
The Grand Junction Colorado Temple was announced in April 2021 general conference and will shortly begin construction as the groundbreaking ceremony was recently held on Saturday, April 16, 2022. Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the Quorum of the Seventy presided at the event.
“This is a day of dedication not only of this temple site, but for each of us in our individual lives,” Elder Wong said in the dedicatory prayer, as reported by Church Newsroom.
The city of Grand Junction has about 65,000 residents, and nearly 150,000 Latter-day Saints in 315 congregations call the state of Colorado home. The 29,000 square foot temple will be Colorado’s third, after the Denver and Fort Collins temples.
Attendance at the groundbreaking was limited, but it was live-streamed to local congregations. You can watch a video of the ceremony in the player above and read more about the event here. You can also see a rendering of what the Grand Junction Colorado Temple will look like here.
Lindon Utah Temple
On Saturday, April 23, the Lindon Utah Temple became the latest temple in Utah to begin construction. Currently the new Deseret Peak, Layton, Orem, Red Cliffs, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, and Taylorsville temples are also well under way, and additional temples have been announced in Smithfield, Heber Valley, and Ephraim, Utah. Existing temples in Utah include the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Draper, Jordan River, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo, Salt Lake, St. George, and Vernal temples, bringing Utah’s total number of temples to 28.
Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Utah Area President, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony in Lindon. In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Pearson asked that the youth be blessed “with added protection from temptation and evil as they come and participate in this holy temple” and that they will remember “the promises [God has] made available through [His] Beloved Son, Jesus Christ” when they come to the temple. He also asked that parents be given “the desire and determination to raise [their children] in righteousness and truth in unprecedented times.”
According to Church Newsroom, the guests at the invitation-only ceremony were moved indoors to a nearby chapel due to cold and rainy weather and reconvened outside only for the symbolic shovel turning.
Elder Pearson also prayed—as could be echoed for all the temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—“May the construction of Thy holy house ... continue to bless this community with peace, love, and unity.”
You can read more about the groundbreaking ceremony on Church Newsroom and see a rendering of what the Lindon Utah Temple is projected to look like here.
Farmington New Mexico Temple
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Farmington New Mexico Temple was held on Saturday, April 30. Elder Anthony D. Perkins, who presided at the groundbreaking, and his wife, Christine grew up in the region. They met in Farmington, dated in high school and held their wedding reception in the city.
About 500 other Church leaders and invited guests were in attendance as well, including Elder Larry J. Echo Hawk, an Emeritus General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Teresa; Elder Tommy D. Haws, an Area Seventy, and his wife Eileen.
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Perkins petitioned, “We pray that women, men, and youth of every race and ethnicity, every language, every political persuasion, and every walk of life will feel welcome to come up to worship in this holy place and depart in unity as covenant-keeping disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
According to Newsroom, once completed, the 25,000 square foot temple will serve members of the Church from the Four Corners region of the Southwestern United States, including parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and the Navajo Nation.
You can read more about the dedicatory prayer and groundbreaking ceremony on Church Newsroom.
