Brazil
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Saturday, March 4, 2017, for Brazil’s eighth announced temple. President Thomas S. Monson announced the Rio de Janeiro Temple in the April 2013 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Elder Claudio R. M. Costa of the Seventy and Brazil Area president presided at the groundbreaking, and Elder W. Mark Basset of the Seventy and second counselor in the area presidency participated.
Elder Costa commented on how impressed he was that people gathered in the hot summer sun for the groundbreaking.
“Today is a historic day for the Church in this city and in Brazil, explained Elder Costa. "Rio de Janeiro is a wonderful city, a city that welcomes all with open arms like the Christ Statue.
“I am grateful to live in a country which champions religious freedom. We love our brothers of other faiths and we participate with them in humanitarian projects. We have good friends here.”
The temple will join the other sacred edifices in Campinas, Curitiba, São Paulo, Porto Alegre, Recife and Manaus. The Fortaleza Brazil Temple is under construction and the Belém Brazil Temple was announced last spring, making it the ninth temple in the country.
The Rio de Janeiro Temple is located at Avenida das Américas, #8,400, in Barra da Tijuca.
Peru
The groundbreaking of the Arequipa Peru Temple was also held on Saturday, March 4, 2017. Elder Carlos A. Godoy, of the Seventy and the South America Northwest Area president, presided at the services. Other members of the presidency in attendance were Elders Enrique R. Falabella and Hugo Montoya also members of the Seventy.
President Thomas S. Monson announced the temple in the October 2012 general conference.
“I have no doubt, brothers and sisters, that somehow all of us need to change something in our lives; to make a change in our hearts,” said Elder Godoy. “This is an opportunity, perhaps, to evaluate ourselves and to qualify to be here in this house with our heart turned towards God and to be more like His Son Jesus Christ.”
Elder Montoya addressed the youth of the Church in Peru. “A temple is a place of hope; it is a place where our young people can attend. Members of the Church come here and they find peace, serenity, answers and revelation.” Elder Godoy encouraged the youth to become more involved in family history. He said the Lord has provided technology to assist us in our search for our ancestors so they may receive the temple ordinances.
The Lima Peru Temple opened in 1986, and the Trujillo Peru Temple was dedicated in 2015. A fourth temple, the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple, was announced in April 2016.
Peru is home to nearly 569,000 Latter-day Saints. Church members in Arequipa, Peru’s second most populous city, currently attend temple services in Lima, which is nearly 500 miles away. For additional information on the Arequipa Peru Temple, go to the Peru Mormon Newsroom website (Spanish).
The Church has 155 dedicated temples in the world. The Hartford Connecticut Temple was the most recent temple to be dedicated on November 20, 2016.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from the meetinghouses or chapels where all are welcome to attend Sunday worship services. Temples are considered “houses of the Lord,” where the teachings of Jesus Christ are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ceremonies that unite families for eternity.