Montevideo Uruguay Temple Wiki

Description

History

The first branch, a small congregation of the Church, was organized in 1944. In the 1940s, Argentine Latter-day Saint basketball star and former missionary Rolf Larson came to Montevideo to play a South American championship game and sparked the public’s interest in the Church.

In 1948, Uruguay became the third South American nation to host a Latter-day Saint mission, an organization that assigns volunteer missionaries to geographical areas for teaching the gospel and providing service to local citizens. (The first two South American missions in specific countries were established in Argentina and Brazil.) More recently, Church membership in Uruguay blossomed, growing at a rate of 80 percent over a period of five years — indicating the need and support for a Latter-day Saint temple. Church membership in Uruguay continues to grow, and as of 2014, membership exceeded 100,000.

Announced

When the Montevideo Uruguay Temple was announced in November 1998, faithful Uruguayans had been traveling to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to participate in temple worship.

Groundbreaking

The Montevideo Uruguay Temple’s groundbreaking occurred on April 27, 1999, on land that had been known locally as “Mormon grounds.” Owned by the Church since the 1960s.

Church apostle Richard G. Scott presided at the groundbreaking ceremony, mentioning that 48 years before, he had begun volunteer missionary service in Uruguay, a time which he recalled as a treasured era in his life.

“When the House of the Lord is completed, it will have an impact on all the nation. I have seen it in other nations, where members have eagerly attended the temple. The Spirit that comes affects not just the members, but all of the nation. This is a day of tremendous importance for Uruguay,” said Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve who presided at the temple’s groundbreaking ceremony.

As a former missionary in Uruguay, Elder Scott remembered his missionary experiences during his remarks. “Forty-eight years ago, I stepped down from a boat in Montevideo and began a stage in my life that I have treasured.” He expressed appreciation to those in attendance for their faithful lives, and noted that “you represent a much larger number of members. Where I once served as president of the Montevideo District, now I see many worthy families, many missionaries, many stakes in the blossoming of the work. I am grateful to the Lord for what was done; it is as leaven for the entire country. I pray that the Lord will be with you in your preparations to enjoy the blessings of the temple.”

Elder Carlos H. Amado of the Seventy and president of the South America South Area, who offered the site’s prayer, said, “For the adults, this is the completion of a dream, but for the children it is a start of a new era. Those who are pioneers have seen much, but the most fantastic things the pioneers have seen will not be anything compared with that which the children here will see. They will see much more, and they will do much more than the pioneer members. The temple will be constructed for you to serve your many ancestors. Filled with faith, they came to this land and founded this nation with the desire to know God and worship Him in liberty. Many of these immigrants were guided by the Spirit of the Lord to come to this land; many of them do not have the gospel, but their names exist, and the work for their redemption is accelerating.”^[1]Church News, 15 May 19

Construction on the Montevideo Uruguay Temple commenced the day after the groundbreaking ceremony

Open House

In March 2001, the completed building welcomed visitors for tours, including Uruguay’s president, Jorge Batlle. After, touring the temple, he said that the temple was “a place where moral values are evident.”

During the open house nearly 25,000 people visited the Montevideo Uruguay Temple. Many visitors of other faiths commented that, “They felt like they had left this world when they entered the temple, that they’d left their cares and worries behind. Others said it is the most beautiful building in the country.” ^[2]“News of the Church,” Ensign, May 2001, 109

Dedication

On March 18, 2001, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the sacred edifice in four sessions, allowing over 7,000 attendees to participate. In his dedicatory prayer he said of the temple: “May it grace this land. May the nation of Uruguay be blessed because of its presence on this soil. May it stand as a testimony to the world of the knowledge of Thy people concerning the eternal things of God.” ^[3]1 Montevideo Uruguay Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Mar. 24, 2001, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/39528/MONTEVIDEO-URUGUAY-Here-we-will-carry-forward-a-great-work.html.

Dedication Order

The Montevideo Uruguay Temple was the first temple of the LDS Church to be dedicated in the 21st century.

The Montevideo Uruguay Temple was the first temple built in Uruguay and the 11th in South America, making Uruguay the second-to-last nation on the continent to have a temple within its borders, just before Paraguay. The Montevideo Uruguay Temple is the 103rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Presidents and Matrons

Details

Location

Standing east of the nation’s capital, and occupying one end of a Church-owned city block in Montevideo’s most exclusive neighborhood, Carrasco, the Montevideo Uruguay Temple adds to the wide range of architectural styles found along the city’s southeast coast. The Montevideo Uruguay Temple site is on property acquired by the Church in the 1960s. It also houses two mission headquarters, a distribution center a meetinghouse, a patron housing facility, and a regional service center. The lush temple grounds are filled with palm trees, shrubs, and brightly colored flowers.

Exterior

The Montevideo Uruguay Temple is covered in elegant granite and decorated with circle designs above the windows. A steeple rises from the roof and supports a gold-leafed statue of Moroni, a Book of Mormon prophet; the statue’s trumpet symbolizes the gospel message sounding throughout the world. Uruguay’s first temple was constructed according to a relatively small, streamlined, contemporary design similar to several temples built in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At that time, Church leaders intensified efforts to build temples closer to Latter-day Saints living across the globe.

Interior

With 10,700 square feet, the temple has sealing rooms, where marriages are performed; instruction rooms, where patrons learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and make promises to follow His teachings; a celestial room, or a room representing God’s presence where patrons can quietly pray and contemplate; and a baptistry.