Construction of the Jacksonville Florida and João Pessoa Brazil temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially began Saturday, Jan. 24, with groundbreaking ceremonies held to dedicate the future temples’ sites.
Presiding over the groundbreaking ceremony of the Jacksonville Florida Temple was Elder Massimo De Feo, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the church’s United States Southeast Area presidency.
Jacksonville, Florida, is “a place that was chosen by the Lord,” Elder De Feo said upon acknowledging the land’s history as the place where the church’s first stake in the South was organized. This is “a sacred place,” he said, “it is a sacred moment.”
Speaking to the ceremony’s attendees, which included local government leaders and other dignitaries, Elder De Feo testified of the “power of the temple” to connect people to God and declared the Jacksonville temple will be a strength for Latter-day Saints and all others in the community.
The Jacksonville temple “will be a blessing for the community here,” Elder De Feo said. It will be “a symbol of Jesus Christ,” a symbol of peace, unity, dialogue and a reminder that “we are all children of Heavenly Father who loves all of us regardless of our beliefs.”
In his prayer to dedicate the site, Elder De Feo pleaded for the temple to “become a refuge for the weary, a place of revelation and a symbol of (God’s) love.”
“Father, we pray to bless this community that surrounds us and that the temple may radiate light, hope and truth for all those who visit or even only see it,” Elder De Feo said in prayer. “We pray that they may recognize the light of the Savior, feel hope in the Savior and know the truth about the Savior as they humble their hearts in reverence for this place.”
The Jacksonville Florida Temple was first announced by the late President Russell M. Nelson in October 2022, roughly 75 years after the state’s first stake was organized in Jacksonville and a temple was prophesied to be built there.
To be a single-story temple of approximately 29,000 square feet, the Jacksonville temple will help serve the more than 176,000 Latter-day Saints that call Florida home.
It will be built on a 6.6-acre site at 3323 Loretto Road, Jacksonville, Florida, and join the state’s four other temples, of which one is also under construction and the rest are in operation.
The groundbreaking ceremony of the João Pessoa Brazil Temple was presided over by Elder Joni L. Koch, president of the church’s Brazil Area.
At the ceremony, Elder Koch taught listeners — including Latter-day Saints, civic authorities, religious leaders and other guests — that the temple is a place Latter-day Saints can worship in to find the Savior, make covenants with God and become more like Jesus Christ.
He dedicated the site, thanking God in prayer for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and praying for the temple to be a testament of him.
“May the beginning of this work inspire us all to rededicate our lives to Thee and Thy Beloved Son,” he said.
The João Pessoa temple was one of 14 temples President Nelson announced for Brazil before his death this past September.
Plans for the temple call for a single-story temple of approximately 18,850 square feet to be built on a 3.9-acre site in the Cabo Branco neighborhood of João Pessoa, Brazil.
Once built and dedicated, the João Pessoa temple will help serve the more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints that reside in Brazil.
Of Brazil’s 24 total temples, 11 are currently in operation, five — including the João Pessoa temple — are under construction and eight are in planning/design stages.
“The Lord is directing us to build these temples to help us think celestial,” President Nelson said upon announcing the João Pessoa temple and 19 others in October 2023. “God lives. Jesus is the Christ. His church has been restored to bless all of God’s children.”
