Quito Ecuador Temple Wiki

On 3 April 2016, during the Sunday morning session of the 186th Annual General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson announced that Ecuador’s second temple would be constructed in the capital city of Quito.^[1]”Four New Temples Announced by President Monson,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 3 Apr. 2016.

Ecuador Temples at the Time of Announcement

Announced

• –

Under Construction

• –

Dedicated

• Guayaquil Ecuador [1999]

The official rendering of the Quito Ecuador Temple was released on March 7, 2019, in conjunction with the groundbreaking announcement.

Elder Enrique R. Falabella, president of the South America Northwest Area, presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Quito Ecuador Temple on Saturday, May 11, 2019. Special guests in attendance included the Interior Minister, Dr. Maria Paula Romo, and several religious leaders. Elder Hugo Montoya, a counselor in the area presidency, spoke to the congregation of more than 800 people. “As members we support each other to serve the citizens of this country. The temple will be a refuge. We should not be distressed despite our problems,” he said. “If we can be in a safe place, this place is the temple.”

The public was invited to tour the Quito Ecuador Temple from Friday 14 October through Saturday 29 October 2022, with no tours held on Sundays.

The Quito Ecuador Temple was dedicated by Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Nov. 20, 2022. The Quito temple was the second temple built in Ecuador and the 24th temple in South America. Prior to the Quito temple’s dedication, members in Quito would travel 270 miles to the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple.

Elder Cook presided over three dedicatory sessions. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Mary Cook; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan; Elder Shayne M. Bowen, General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Lynette Bowen; Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s South America Northwest Area, and his wife, Sister Carmen Zeballos.

Elder Cook described the purpose of temples as one that is eternally essential for all of Heavenly Father’s children.

“Temples provide the understanding, clarification, resolution and ordinances that are essential under the Father’s glorious plan to bless those who are on the covenant path.”

Elder Cook said the ordinances themselves are blessings and that continuing to be blessed through those ordinances requires work.

“The primary blessings of the temple are the ordinances of exaltation. The gospel is about exaltation, which requires the making and keeping of sacred covenants with God,” he said.

This dedication came 10 days before the 60th anniversary of Elder Cook and Sister Mary Cook’s sealing in the Logan Utah Temple. After completing the Quito temple dedication, Elder Cook said, “Everything just seemed so right.”

Nestled in a long, narrow valley high in the Andes mountains, Quito is known for being one of the highest capital cities in the world at 9,350 feet above sea level. The Quito Ecuador Temple is located in the eastern suburb of Cumbayá at the junction of Ruta Viva and Escalón Lumbisí in the Tumbaco valley.

Site

An L-shaped housing facility shares the temple site, located directly across from the temple entrance. Royal palm trees accentuate the beautifully landscaped temple grounds that may be enjoyed by the public.

The simplicity, symmetry and subtle details of the exterior of the temple create a striking yet soft contrast with the natural surroundings. The simple tones of the exterior facade emphasize the solidity and presence of the temple. This is achieved by the color of the volcanic andesite stone, located at the base of the temple and in other hard surface areas around the temple. The structure of the temple consists of cast-in-situ concrete walls and floors. The exterior is clad in white Turkish limestone with decoratively carved stone panels above the windows.

The design and manufacture of the exterior artistic stained glass windows were carried out by the Vidrart offices, located in Ecuador. The patterns are abstract florals and the colors that appear are blue, dark green, light green, red, yellow and white, all of which represent the tones of the flowers of Ecuador.

The fountain was designed by the RVC offices, located in Quito. The walls and fountain are covered in natural andesite stone, with an Ecuadorian floral pattern.

Cladding

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Water Course

Windows

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Spandrel panel

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Events