President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the Tijuana Mexico Temple on Sunday, December 13, 2015.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
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During the traditional cornerstone ceremony signifying that the temple is complete, President Uchtdorf called on the assistance of Church leaders and local Latter-day Saints to help him place mortar around the cornerstone.
“We love you," said President Uchtdorf. “We bring you the love and greetings of President Monson. His heart is here. He will participate by internet, by television. He will see it. He will hear you. He will feel your spirit. So, blessings to you from him. Blessings to you from us.”
Assisting him at the dedication services were Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Larry Y. Wilson of the Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and members of the Mexico Area Presidency — Elders Benjamin De Hoyos, Paul B. Pieper and Arnulfo Valenzuela, also of the Seventy.
President Uchtdorf told the Latter-day Saints that this is their temple. “It’s the Lord’s house and it’s a connection between heaven and earth. So, remember that when you come here that you feel that the ways between heaven and earth intersect. An intersection of the spiritual and our life here on earth.”
The temple will serve 45,000 Latter-day Saints living in the communities of Tijuana, Rosarito, Tecate, Mexicali, Ensenada, San Luis Rio Colorado, San Quintín, San Felipe and Guerrero Negro.
The night prior to the dedication hundreds of youth participated in a cultural celebration highlighting the history of the Church in Mexico performed through dance and music.
The Church has 12 other temples in Mexico located in Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Hermosillo Sonora, Mérida, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz and Villahermosa.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from meetinghouses or chapels where members meet for Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. Inside, members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to serve Jesus Christ and their fellow man.