Brasília Brazil Temple Opens for Free Tours

Brazil’s 10th temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opening for public tours.

Media and invited guests, including government dignitaries and community leaders, will be received for special tours at the Brasília Brazil Temple beginning today, August 1, 2023, through Friday, August 11. These guests will be hosted by Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, together with local Church leaders. This will be followed by three weeks of a public open house. All are welcome to walk through this house of the Lord, enjoy its beauty and ask questions. The public open house will run from Saturday, August 12, through Saturday, September 2, excluding Sundays.

Visit the open house website for more details.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple on Sunday, September 17, 2023, in two sessions (10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. BRT). The Apostle presided over the Brazil South Area for several years in the early 2000s.

The Brasília Temple was designed and built to suit the unique style of mid-20th-century modernism so prevalent in Brasília. Many of the city’s buildings were created by architect Oscar Niemeyer, who used clean lines, expansive cantilevers and complex curves to evoke the subtle arched lines seen in sailboats. The Brasília Temple’s design blends with city ​​architecture. Brasília’s urban plan was created in the shape of an airplane around Lake Paranoá. The temple sits atop what is known as the North Wing.

Exterior

Brasília’s house of the Lord is a symmetrical structure of cement clad in sparkling white Brazilian marble. One small tower rises from the center. The external windows are of hand-colored stained glass, forming from the dark blue at the bottom to light blue at the top, with details in cream and white. These windows highlight the exterior design, providing ample light to the rooms inside. The windows were made in Brazil by Atelier Artistic Sarasá (São Bernardo do Campo).

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The front of the temple is contoured by reflecting pools with ceramic tiles in shades of blue and white, which complement the colored glass. They are strategically positioned to reflect the temple’s modern columns for approaching guests.

The outdoor area and gardens use drought-tolerant native species suitable for the local arid climate. The grounds have thousands of shrubs, perennials and over 200 trees, including shade trees, evergreens, flowering trees and palm trees. The fence surrounding the property is built of galvanized steel with a bronze paint finish. Interlocking concrete pavers are used in the parking lot, on the sidewalks and in smaller squares. Granite paving is used in the main square and in the temple entrance.

Interior

The interior floors are a combination of Paraná white marble (native to Brazil), tiles from porcelain and Bahia blue stone accents and borders. Carpets manufactured in Brazil in a customized palette of colors soften and enhance various rooms and runners. The plaster works and ceiling moldings are enriched with decorative painting with a simple line and gold leaf finish.

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Crystal chandeliers add elegance to the lighting in larger rooms, and decorations are used in many other main spaces. The baptismal font’s handrails are made of transparent glass, mounted on a metal frame with a gold matte finish. This same structure is covered with a polished wooden handrail. Light brown jequi tibá wood, native to Brazil, is used in carpentry, furniture and pews throughout the temple. Door locks have gold finish to match the paint and structure of the railings.

Three original works of art are featured in the Brasília Temple. They depict the flight of Mary and Joseph with the baby Jesus to Egypt; Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, from the book of Ruth in the Holy Bible; and a Brazilian rural landscape. The last two are by Brazilian artists.

The Church of Jesus Christ in Brazil

Nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints live in Brazil, spread throughout more than 2,100 congregations. Missionary work began in Brazil in 1928. The Brasília Brazil Temple is the 180th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is the 10th temple completed in Brazil. It follows temples in São Paulo, Campinas, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Recife, Manaus, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, and Belem. Ten additional temples are planned or under construction in Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Londrina, Maceio, Ribeirao Preto, Santos, Vitoria, a second in greater São Paulo, Teresina and Natal.

The Brasília Temple will serve over 50,000 Church members living throughout Goias, Minas Gerais and the central Brazilian region. Having a temple in central Brazil will help these Latter-day Saints avoid the long and costly travel previously required to reach temples in São Paulo and along the Brazilian coastline. Patron housing sits adjacent to the temple. There is also a new chapel for Sunday worship services and weekday classes and activities.