Villahermosa Mexico Temple Wiki

The temple was announced 30 October 1998 by the First Presidency.^[2]”News of the Church,”Ensign, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, January 1999. Accessed 5 October 2018.^[3]“3 More Temples Announced, Total Now 98.” Church News, 11 Jan. 2024, www.thechurchnews.com/1998/11/7/23249910/3-more-temples-announced-total-now-98.

Mexico Temples at Time of Announcement

Announced

• Merida Mexico
• Hermosillo Sonora (groundbreaking scheduled)
• Tampico Mexico (groundbreaking scheduled)
• Ciudad Juarez Mexico
• Monterrey Mexico

Under Construction

• Colonia Juarez Mexico

Dedicated

• Mexico City Mexico [1984]

Elder Richard E. Turley Sr. of the Seventy and first counselor in the Mexico South Area presided at the groundbreaking ceremony 9 January 1999. He spoke of his uncle, Harold E. Turley, who served several years before as a full-time regional representative of the Twelve with his wife, Ireta. The couple resided in a trailer on the site where the temple will soon be constructed. They dearly loved the people of the area.

Elder Turley testified that the Church is led by the Savior, Jesus Christ, who alone has the power to extend salvation to the living and the deceased. “This is why,” Elder Turley said, “temples are, along with the atonement, the greatest gift to mankind, as well as the greatest tool to prepare the earth for the Second Coming of the Savior.” He reminded leaders of the many responsibilities that lie ahead in order to prepare members so that they will be ready in about a year when the temple will be dedicated and will begin functioning. “Members must now develop within their homes a culture of temple attendance and participation. It is our hope that every member home in the temple district will eventually have a picture of the temple to remind them and their children of the opportunities that can be theirs. If you are faithful,” Elder Turley said, “the spirituality of the members will increase. There will be a measurable impact on the whole community through the faithfulness of the people and the beauty of the temple and its surroundings” ^[4]Church News, 23 January 1999.

The public open house ran over a 7 day period from 9 May to 13 May 2000, with 10,164 people attending.^[8]“Villahermosa Mexico Temple Facts and Figures.” Church News, 11 Jan. 2024, www.thechurchnews.com/2000/5/27/23246419/villahermosa-mexico-temple-facts-and-figures.

The Villahermosa Mexico Temple was dedicated on 21 May 2000, in four sessions by Church President Thomas S. Monson.^[9]”Facts and figures: Villahermosa Mexico Temple”. Church News. May 27, 2000.^[10]Barbara Jean Jones, “Five New Temples Dedicated in Four Countries,” Ensign, Aug. 2000, 75., who at the time was first counselor in the Church’s First Presidency. About 4,000 people attended. In the dedicatory prayer, President Monson asked God to “be constrained to look with favor upon Thy people and open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them.”^[11]”Villahermosa Mexico Temple dedicatory prayer,” in Church News, May 27, 2000.

President Monson came to dedicate the house of the Lord just one day after dedicating the Tampico Mexico Temple.

The site of the Villahermosa Mexico Temple is located near the coast of Mexico’s isthmus in a Mesoamerica region where ancient ruins are found in abundance. The area is often referred to as a “Book of Mormon land”; many believe that temples existed there anciently.

Site

A gorgeous ceiba tree graces the beautiful 1.73-acre grounds. The ceiba tree has cultural significance in Mexico, as Mayans believed that a ceiba tree grew at the center of the earth and that the vines of the tree connected the earth with heaven.

The Temple is surrounded by the tropical foliage of the temple grounds.

Circular designs decorate the exterior; they appear in the windows and are carved into the marble surface.

Cladding

The temple’s exterior is Blanco Guardiano white marble from Torreón, Mexico.

Windows

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The first Inscription on the Villahermosa Mexico Temple is in Spanish and is on the north face of the temple. It is carved into the stone and painted black.

The second Inscription on the Villahermosa Mexico Temple is in Spanish and is on the east face of the temple. It is etched into the glass transom panel above the front doors.

The cornerstone of the Villahermosa temple is on the south east corner of the temple on a raised panel. The engraved text is spanish and painted black.

Like most of the small temples, built around the world, the Villahermosa Mexico Temple has a single spire tiered spire.

The spire sits to the right of center, when standing facing the front doors, in line with those doors.

A statue of the Angel Moroni sits at the top of the single spire. The fiberglass statue is a replica of a statue carved in 1982 by Karl Quilter. It is placed facing East by South.

The Villahermosa Mexico Temple has a total floor area of 10,700 square feet (990 m2).

Within the temple are a baptistry; instruction rooms; a celestial room, which represents eternal life in God’s presence; and sealing rooms, where couples are married, or sealed, for eternity to preserve family relationships in the life to come.

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Two ordinance rooms (two-stage progressive) lead up the center of the temple to the Celestial Room.

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The Villahermosa Mexico Temple has two sealing rooms.^[12]”A Complete List of Mormon Temples: Villahermosa Mexico”. Deseret News. March 31, 2012.