Details

History

The Church’s history in northern Mexico dates to the late 1800s, when colonists from Utah arrived and purchased acreage near the Casas Grandes River. The first stake, or group of congregations, in Mexico was created in Colonia Juárez in 1895. By 1912, some 4,000 Church members had settled in established colonies in Chihuahua and Sonora.

For decades Church members in this area made the long journey to Mesa, Arizona, to attend the nearest temple. However, while on a visit to Colonia Juárez in June 1997, President Gordon B. Hinckley felt inspired to consider a new approach to temple building. He later stated that as he made the three-and-a-half hour drive from Colonia Juárez to the El Paso, Texas, airport, he “reflected on what we could do to help these people in the Church colonies. … The concept of these smaller temples came into my mind.”^[1]Debra R. Spilsbury, “New Temple ‘a Dream’ to LDS in Northern Mexico”, Church News President Hinckley was struck by the idea of incorporating all the essential features of a temple within a smaller structure, which could be built efficiently and within a relatively short timeframe.^[2] Dell Van Orden, “Inspiration Came for Smaller Temples on Trip to Mexico,” Church News, Aug. 1, 1998, .

Announcement

President Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans to construct the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple, as well as his vision for these smaller temples, on October 4, 1997, during a session of the Church’s worldwide general conference. For Mormons in northern Mexico, this news was joyously received as a great miracle.

Local member Rosa Chavez explained that she felt the announcement “was an answer to many prayers.” She continued, “I felt great gratitude because, in a way, we are an isolated people and I knew that the Lord was aware of each of us.”^[3]Virginia Hatch Romney and Richard O. Cowan, The Colonia Juárez Temple: A Prophet’s Inspiration (2009). Temple President Meredith I. Romney also remarked on the timely nature of the news, as border restrictions were tightened shortly after President Hinckley’s announcement — effectively closing off temple blessings to Church members lacking passports to enter the United States.

Groundbreaking

Approximately 800 people, including local government officials, attended the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony on March 7, 1998. Church leader Elder Eran A. Call conducted services on a blustery, snowy day. Not long after the proceedings were completed, construction workers began leveling the temple site.

Construction

Many local Church members donated hours of their personal time to help prepare the temple’s interior and grounds for its open house. Some, on occasion, worked until midnight as they assisted in this effort. Such acts were done out of love and a heartfelt desire to serve God. Robena Ortiz and her family were among one such group who helped clear boulders and dead brush from the temple site. “My mother, who is 92 years old, brought a rake and raked the ground in the heat of the summer,” she explained. “I encouraged her to stop and rest in the shade, but she said, ‘No. I am doing it for mi templo (my temple).’”^[4] LaRene Porter Gaunt, “Taking Temples to the People,” Ensign, Mar. 2000.

Open House

A public open house was held for the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple from February 25 to 27, 1999. Over 10,800 guests took the opportunity to tour the temple’s interior and grounds, including religious, business and government dignitaries. Included among the open house’s visitors were Francisco Barrio, the former governor of the state of Chihuahua, and his wife, Hortencia. At the conclusion of their tour, Governor Barrio remarked, “Now I understand why all the Mormons I know are a happy, confident, and content people.” In a formal statement he affirmed, “The temple is a place which inspires reflection and changes our attitude. It felt wonderful to be inside.”^[5]Virginia Hatch Romney and Richard O. Cowan, The Colonia Juárez Temple: A Prophet’s Inspiration (2009). The governor at the time of the temple’s completion, Patricio Martínez, also attended the open house and shared his impressions: “It has been an extraordinary experience and an honor for my wife and me to have been invited to visit this temple. It is a place that reflects pure joy. … We will always consider it an honor for us to have been able to visit this sacred place before it is dedicated.”^[6]Virginia Hatch Romney and Richard O. Cowan, The Colonia Juárez Temple: A Prophet’s Inspiration (2009).

Dedication

The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple was dedicated March 6–7 by President Gordon B. Hinckley; 4,932 Church members, including both those from northern Mexico and many from the United States, attended the four dedicatory sessions. In his dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley thanked God for the inspiration that led to the temple’s construction. “This is a day long looked forward to and much appreciated by Thy faithful Saints in these colonies of Mexico,” he stated. “It was here in northern Mexico that Thou didst reveal the idea and the plan of a smaller temple, complete in every necessary detail, but suited in size to the needs and circumstances of the Church membership in this area of Thy vineyard. That revelation came of a desire and a prayer to help Thy people of these colonies who have been true and loyal during the century and more that they have lived here. They are deserving of this sacred edifice in which to labor for themselves and their forebears … We present it unto Thee and to Thy Son as the sacred offering of Thy thankful people.”^[7] Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Mar. 13, 1999.

For Church members in northern Mexico, the temple continues to prompt feelings of profound gratitude. Wesley Bowman from Colonia Dublán remarked, “It’s a miracle. We never dreamed we would have such a beautiful temple.” Rea Schmidt, of Colonia Juárez, described similar sentiments: “It is still like a dream, one I hope I never wake up from.”^[8]Debra R. Spilsbury, “New Temple ‘a Dream’ to LDS in Northern Mexico”, Church News ^[9]Hart, John L. (March 13, 1999), “Newest temple in Mexico dedicated in its oldest stake“, Church News

Dedication Order

The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple is the 55th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the second temple built in Mexico, and the first built in Chihuahua.

Presidents

Temple President	Years Served
Juan D. Fajardo	2018–2018
Helamán Cano	2015–2018
John L. Hatch	2012–2015
Robert J. Whetten	2009–2012
John B. Robinson III	2004–2009
Meredith I. Romney	1999–2004

Details

Location

Described as a “shining pearl to all who see it,”^[10] Maria Ontiveros Jones, “Colonia Juarez Temple Groundbreaking,” Ensign, May 1998 the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple stands on one acre of property on a hillside overlooking the Church-owned Juárez Academy, this magnificent edifice can be seen for miles with its white marble exterior gleaming against the azure sky.

Colonia Juarez is about two hundred miles southwest of El Paso, Texas. The small town consists of only one store, one hamburger restaurant, one school, and numerous farms.

The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple is situated on one acre of property.

Exterior

The temple features a white marble from Vermont and features a contemporary design with a single spire.

Interior

The temple’s interior stands at 6,800 square feet and includes a baptistry, a single instruction room, a single sealing room and a celestial room. With just one ordinance room and one sealing room, the Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple is the smallest temple in the Church.

The Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple was the first of the new generation of smaller temples, as conceived by President Gordon B. Hinckley, built outside of the United States.