Description

The Mexico City Mexico Temple (formerly the Mexico City Temple) is the 28th constructed and 26th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. An acclaimed landmark in one of the world’s largest cities, the Mexico City Mexico Temple serves more than 384,000 members of the Church who live in Mexico City and in the states of Mexico, Baja California South, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, Querétaro and San Luis Potosí.

There are 13 temples in Mexico. The other temples in Mexico include Ciudad Juárez, Colonia Juárez Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Hermosillo Sonora, Mérida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Tampico, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tijuana, Veracruz and Villahermosa.

History

The history of the Church in Mexico City dates back to the 19th century, when a small group of missionaries arrived in the city. Today a dozen temples serve the more than one million Church members in Mexico — the largest number of Mormons in a country except for the United States.

Ever since endowments were first given in Spanish in 1945 in the Mesa Arizona Temple, faithful Mexican Saints looked forward with anticipation to the time when they might be blessed with a temple in their own country.

Before the construction of the Mexico City Mexico Temple, local Saints sacrificed much to attend temples in the United States. For many Church members, this required months and sometimes years of saving to pay the required travel expenses. “There were people who sold their homes to go to the temple in Mesa [Arizona],” explained Celia Becerra, a temple worker in Mexico City. “After visiting the temple, they would return to their hometowns and begin their lives all over again.”[ref] “Saints Throng to Temple in Mexico City,” Ensign, Feb. 1984, lds.org/ensign/1984/02/news-of-the-church/saints-throng-to-temple-in-mexico-city?lang=eng.[/ref] Devout congregants looked forward in faith to a day when they would have a temple in their homeland.

Announcement

Plans to build the Mexico City Mexico Temple were announced on April 3, 1976, and  On November 25, 1979, a groundbreaking ceremony at the temple site was conducted by Elder Boyd K. Packer o, one of the Church’s highest governing bodies.

President Spencer W. Kimball made the announcement to build a temple in Mexico on 3 April 1976. Church members celebrated it as an answer to their prayers.

Plans to build the first temple in Mexico, however, were not easy. In 1976 foreign missionaries were not officially recognized in Mexico, and mandatory laws required all buildings to be open to the public. This was especially problematic since temples are literal houses of the Lord and only those who prove themselves worthy through their local Bishop and Stake President may enter the temple. But within a few years, laws changed in encouraging ways and the necessary building permits were approved in 1979.

Groundbreaking

An incredible 9,000 attended the one-hour groundbreaking ceremony on 25 November 1979. Elder Boyd K. Packer f the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles offered the prayer dedicating the site in Spanish.

Construction

Importing the necessary building materials and furnishings proved to be another obstacle. Out of respect and love for the Lord, only the finest of materials are used in building temples, thus Church leaders requested an exemption from the importation law, as well as importing the materials without tax. Church leaders fasted and prayed and presented their request to the proper government authorities. Amazingly, the requests were approved and signed.

Open House

More than 110,000 visitors toured the temple during its public open house from November 9 to 19, 1983, including thousands of government, business and civic leaders.

Dedication

President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the first presidency,  dedicated the Mexico City Mexico Temple from 2-4 December 1983. More than 30,000 Church members attended the nine dedicatory sessions, and many local members served as ushers or sang in choirs.presidency.

In his dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley petitioned, “Father, sanctify this Thy house, bless it, preserve it. . . . And may all who look upon it see it as a place of holiness and as the expression of a thankful people to their Creator and to their Redeemer.”[ref]Mexico City Mexico Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Mar. 9, 2010, ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/58952/Mexico-City-Mexico-Temple.html.[/ref]

At the dedication of the Mexico City Mexico Temple, Elder Ezra Taft Benson received the distinct impression that God was not pleased with Church members’ neglect of the Book of Mormon. Stressing the importance of the Book of Mormon would later become one of the hallmarks of his

Dedicatory Prayer

Dedication Order

The Mexico City Mexico Temple was the first temple built in Mexico.

The Mexico City Mexico Temple was the second temple built in a Spanish-speaking country, following the Santiago Chile Temple

Renovation (Phase 1, 2007)

By its 25th anniversary, the Mexico City Mexico Temple had dropped at least eight feet in elevation due to the rapid subsidence of Mexico’s capital city.

The temple closed 30 March 2007 for for an extensive renovation project expected to take up to 14 months. The temple’s foundation was reinforced, strengthening the integrity of the structure. A new facade of white cast stone replaced the original facing, restoring the temple’s bright luster, refurbishment of the angel Moroni statue, and revamping of the landscaping. While most of the renovation focused on reinforcing and stabilizing the foundation, some work was done on the inside. New carpeting, paint, stonework and lovely light fixtures were among the many improvements.

Open House

Once renovations were completed the church conducted guided tours of the temple from 20 October through 8 November 2008.

 

Cultural Celebration

To celebrate the temple’s rededication, a cultural program was held in Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium. Some 87,000 people attended the 80-minute performance which boasted a cast of over 8,000 young men and women.

Having participated in the original dedication of the Mexico City Mexico Temple 25 years earlier, President Thomas S. Monson returned to Mexico’s capital city in November 2008 to rededicate the nation’s first temple. In his remarks, President Thomas S. Monson spoke with fondness of his association with the Mexican community in Salt Lake City. Growing up with friends from immigrant families, he recalled cherished memories of time spent in their homes. He even performed an impromptu verse of the Spanish folk song “El Rancho Grande.”

Following his remarks, the audience was delighted for 80 minutes with regional folk dances, reenactments of Mexican history, and a finale procession of full-time missionaries set to a medley of hymns. The evening closed with an exchange of handkerchief waves between the Lord’s servants and the tens of thousands of attendees.[ref][ref]Jason Swensen, “87,000 gather at LDS event in Mexico,” Deseret News 17 Nov. 2008, 29 Jan. 2009 http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705263636,00.html.[/ref][/ref]

Rededication

On 16 November 2008 thousands of Mexican members participated in the two rededicatory sessions, which were held in the temple and also broadcast to meetinghouses in Mexico and Spanish-speaking congregations in the United States. Following the dedicatory prayer, President Monson expressed his love for the Mexican people and his assurance of the continued growth of the Church and of temple building in Mexico. “There will be more,” he said.[ref][ref]Jason Swensen, “Mexico City temple rededicated,” Deseret News 17 Nov. 2008, 29 Jan. 2009 http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705263634,00.html.[/ref][/ref]

Dedicatory prayer

Renovation (Phase 2, 2014)

In January 2014, the Mexico City Mexico Temple was again closed for additional renovations. This time the renovations focused more primarily on the interior.

Open House

The public was invited to take a guided tour of the Mexico City Temple, from 14 August to 5 September 2015, allowing the public to see the improvements. Over 96,000 people toured the temple during its public open house.

Cultural Celebration

On September 12, a pageant titled “A Legacy of Faith and Service” was held in celebration of the temple’s impending rededication with music and dance by Latter-day Saint youth. President Eyring told the performers, “May we enjoy and long remember this thrilling experience.”

Rededication

On Sunday, September 13, 2015, the temple was dedicated in three sessions by President Henry B. Eyring of the First Presidency. In the dedicatory prayer, President Eyring asked a special blessing on the youth in Mexico: “

Give them the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness. Bless them with a vision of their eternal purpose.”[ref]Mexico City Mexico Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Sept. 17, 2015, deseretnews.com/article/865636993/Dedicatory-prayer-for-the-Mexico-City-Mexico-Temple. [/ref][ref]Jason Swensen, “Mexico City Temple Rededicated,” Church News, Nov. 17, 2008, deseretnews.com/article/705263634/Mexico-City-temple-rededicated.html. [/ref]

President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, rededicated the Mexico City Temple in two sessions Sunday, 13 September 2015. Both sessions were broadcast to meetinghouses in all stakes and districts in the Mexico City Mexico Temple district. The regular three-hour block of meetings scheduled on the 13th were cancelled enabling thousands of Latter-day Saints to participate.

Assisting President Eyring was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Temple Department and the Mexico Area Presidency.

Presidents

Details

Of the four designs which were presented for the design of the Mexico City Mexico Temple, one was “a modern adaptation of ancient Mayan architecture.”[ref]“Saints Throng to Temple in Mexico City,” Ensign, Feb. 1984, 75.[/ref] When Church architect Emil B. Fetzer received the assignment to design the Mexico City Mexico Temple, he turned to a book on Mayan architecture, which Heber Grant Taylor and his wife felt inspired to give him 18 years earlier from the library of his grandfather President Heber J. Grant. As the First Presidency studied each of the proposed designs, they felt that the one with the Mayan influence was the one most suited to the Mexican site and its surroundings.

The Mexico City Mexico Temple is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful structures in the city. It has been the subject of much study by the University of Mexico’s school of architecture. The office of Mexico City’s mayor has also recognized the temple as an example of both attractive design and quality construction. Following its completion, the Mexico City Mexico Temple received an international award for artistic use of precast concrete.

Location

Characterized by its highly ornamented Mayan-inspired exterior, the Mexico City Mexico Temple is an acclaimed landmark in northeastern Mexico City. This beautiful edifice is located near the San Juan de Aragón park and zoological gardens in northeastern Mexico City. Enchanting gardens and a lovely water feature are highlights of the seven-acre temple grounds, which are open to the public. The temple grounds are park-like themselves, featuring beautiful gardens and an enchanting water feature.

Several other Church buildings share the “Manzana del Templo” (Temple Square) including a missionary training center, stake center, patron housing facility, and an informative visitors’ center—free to the public. The visitors’ center’s centerpiece is a supernal reproduction of Thorvaldsen’s Christus statue. During Christmas, the grounds are decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights in a festive display of the season.

Exterior

The architecture is influenced by the Mayan Revival style, and includes both Aztec and Mayan elements. It is the largest temple outside the United States. At the time of its construction it was the largest temple to be erected outside the United States.

Church architects faced a great challenge in the construction of the Mexico City Mexico Temple. Because Mexico City is situated in a basin over water, problems can arise with buildings settling and tilting over time. To support a structure as large as the temple, a special foundation was imperative. Two hundred and twenty-one large reinforced concrete piles were driven over 100 feet deep into the ground. Steel straps were anchored to these pilings and fastened to a mechanism that can be adjusted, if necessary, to keep the building level.

Cladding

The building is faced with white cast stone and white marble chips.

Roof

Ribbed Metal roofing; Original: Split Cedar Shake

Windows

Symbolism

Inscriptions

Cornerstone

Spires and Moroni

Spire

On top of the central tower a statue of the angel Moroni, the Book of Mormon prophet, holds the golden plates. The temple contains a baptistry; instruction rooms, where patrons learn about Jesus Christ; a celestial room, which represents eternal life with God; and sealing rooms, where marriages are solemnized for eternity.Both the original temple and the rebuilt temple use a classic modern design with a single spire. The spire is a single three stepped construction on the east center of the temple

Moroni

The Mexico City Mexico Temple is one of five temples featuring an angel Moroni statue holding the gold plates. (The other four temples are the Los Angeles California Temple, Washington D.C. Temple, Jordan River Utah Temple, and Seattle Washington Temple.)

Interior

  It is the fifth largest temple in the Church and the largest temple outside the United States. The Mexico City Mexico Temple has a total of 116,642 square feet, four ordinance rooms, and eleven sealing rooms.

Endowment Rooms

Sealing Rooms

Individuals and Contractors

Sources and Links