Construction of the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially began Saturday, March 14, with a groundbreaking ceremony to dedicate the future temple’s site.
The ceremony was presided over by Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, president of the church’s Central America Area, and was attended by local government and religious leaders, plus members and friends of the Church of Jesus Christ.
Through sacred ordinances performed in Latter-day Saint temples, “God’s children receive blessings for themselves as well as on behalf of those who have already left this life,” Elder Giuffra taught at the ceremony.
He told listeners that temples are built as places of refuge and worship. And following his remarks, Elder Giuffra prayed for those who pass the temple site to connect with its sacredness.
“We ask that the influence of thy Spirit, which emanates from this sacred place, may be felt by the neighbors, the broader community and all who pass by this place, that their hearts may be touched and that it may awaken in them the desire to know the reason why a sacred building is being constructed,” Elder Giuffra said in prayer as dedicated the future temple’s site.
First announced by the late church President Russell M. Nelson in October 2022 general conference, the Huehuetenango temple was the fifth Latter-day Saint temple announced for Guatemala.
More detailed plans regarding the temple’s design and location were later released in March 2023 and call for a single-story building of approximately 10,787 square feet.
Other temples in Guatemala include three — the Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango and Cobán temples — that are currently in operation, one that is under construction and another that is in planning/design stages.
The Huehuetenango temple broke ground exactly 17 years — to the day — after the groundbreaking of the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple, per a Church News report.
It will be located at 18 Avenida, Zona 4, El Terrero, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, and will help serve the nearly 300,000 Latter-day Saints that call Guatemala home.
Learn more about the Huehuetenango Guatemala Temple and others worldwide on the Church News’ temple almanac.
