On Saturday, 30 October, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America broke ground for a temple in Córdoba, Argentina. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at the event, which commenced construction. Elder Andersen was joined by his wife, Kathy.
“The history of the Church here in Córdoba has, to a large extent, been built beginning at this site,” said Elder Andersen, regarding the site where one of the earliest chapels in Argentina sits. “How wonderful that its final purpose will be to embrace the house of the Lord, a temple to our God prominently in place for the generations to follow.”
| 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 |
Also participating in the groundbreaking ceremony were Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elders Mervyn B. Arnold and Marcos Aidukaitis, of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and Elder Bradley D. Foster, of the Second Quorum of the Seventy.
Special guests included the vice governor of the Province of Cordoba, Senor Hector Oscar Campana, national senator Dr. Luis Juez, and other provincial legislators and community leaders.
Said Elder Arnold, president of the Church’s South America South Area, “It was a day to express our thanks for the many pioneers who had paved the way and have been true and faithful to their temple covenants over these many years and have greatly sacrificed their time and talents to build the kingdom of God in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.
The Cordoba Argentina Temple was announced by Church president Thomas S. Monson at the 2008 semiannual conference of the Church.
There are over 380,000 members of the Church in Argentina.
There is also a temple in Buenos Aires. The Church currently has 134 temples in operation around the world. President Monson recently broke ground for the Rome Italy Temple.
To members of the Church, temples are the "house of the Lord," the most sacred place on earth, where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and strengthen their commitment to serve the Savior and their fellow man.
Unlike meetinghouses where Sabbath worship and weekly activities take place, temples are open throughout the week and closed on Sundays.
Prior to dedication, the public will be invited to tour the new temple during an open house period expected to last several weeks.