Elder Stevenson Dedicates Antofagasta Chile Temple

Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Antofagasta Chile Temple on Sunday, June 15, 2025, and taught that the house of the Lord is where all can learn of God’s plan of happiness and make covenants with Him and with the Savior, Jesus Christ.

“We are children of a loving Heavenly Father who desires that we return and live in His presence as an eternal family,” said the Apostle on the day when many parts of the world celebrate Father’s Day.

He said the Lord is inspiring His servants to build temples because the house of the Lord helps Heavenly Father’s children fulfill their divine potential, and temples are centered on families.

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“Understanding the eternal nature of the temple will draw you closer to your family; understanding the eternal nature of the family will draw you closer to the temple,” he said. “It is in the temple that sacred ordinances take place, which bind or seal families together eternally.”

“This is, as words carved over its doors proclaim, ‘The house of the Lord,’” Elder Stevenson said.

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The new temple in northern Chile is the 207th dedicated temple for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the third in Chile, where three more are announced or under construction.

“This temple dedication serves as a testament of the patience, strength and devotion of the Saints who reside in this beautiful region of Chile,” Elder Stevenson said. “For me, this shows the love of the Lord for His Latter-day Saints in Chile and allows us to rejoice in being together at this temple dedication today.”

Church News Read Elder Stevenson’s prayer to dedicate the Antofagasta Chile Temple

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President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Antofagasta in the April 2019 general conference.

Elder Stevenson was accompanied at the single dedicatory service by his wife, Lesa, Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, and his wife, Nancy; and Elder Eduardo Gavarret, General Authority Seventy and Second Counselor in the South America South Area Presidency, and his wife, Norma.

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Missionaries arrived in Antofagasta in 1966, and the first stake was organized here in 1980. Today, eight stakes and one district comprise the Antofagasta temple district.

President David A. Reyes Torres, the president of the Antofagasta Chile La Portada Stake, said having a house of the Lord closer to home is “a testament to His mercy and a demonstration of the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and that He hears prayers.”

President Reyes said the house of the Lord allows people to find joy and hope in the Savior and His Atonement and blesses families by uniting them for eternity.

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See this related article in Church News Antofagasta Chile Temple set to be dedicated

See this related article in Church News Elder Stevenson dedicates Antofagasta Chile Temple