The Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple is the 141st

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). It is the first to be built in Honduras and the sixth in

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. The Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple serves

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

s in Honduras and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

. There are 168,000 Latter-day Saints in Honduras and Nicaragua in 302 congregations.

History

The temple was announced in a letter to local church leaders 9 June 2006; and later in a press release published 24 June 2006. Ceremonial groundbreaking and dedication were held at a site located in eastern

Tegucigalpa Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...

, near the Basilica de Suyapa, on 9 June 2007, but the church later announced that the temple would be built at a new site. On 28 January 2009, the LDS Church announced that due to objections from the local government, the proposed temple would no longer be located at the previously designated site. The primary reason for the relocation was due to a belief, widely held by members of the Tegucigalpa city council, that the temple would overshadow the local basilica. The church had all the primary permits secured, but out of respect for the strong feelings of those involved, the church decided to seek a new location. The temple was to be built adjacent to an LDS Church

Institute of Religion An Institute of Religion is a local organization that provides religious education for young adults (ages 18–30) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Local institutes may function in church meetinghous ...

. Excavation had begun before the church ceded to pressure to relocate the building. Church officials decided to move the temple in order to avoid confrontation. The plans to build a temple in Tegucigalpa were announced by the LDS Church to local church leaders on June 9, 2006. The original groundbreaking and site dedication was on 9 June 2007, by Spencer V. Jones, a member of the church's

Second Quorum of the Seventy Seventy is a priesthood office in the Melchizedek priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Traditionally, a church member holding this priesthood office is a "traveling minister" and an "especial witness" of Jes ...

and president of the church's Central America

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

. On December 11, 2012, the church announced an open house from February 9 through March 2, 2013. The temple was dedicated on March 17, 2013 by

Dieter F. Uchtdorf Dieter Friedrich Uchtdorf (born 6 November 1940) is a German aviator, airline executive and religious leader. He is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

of the church's

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

. In 2020, the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple was closed temporarily during the year in response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

, but is now operational again.

References

External links

Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple Official siteTegucigalpa Honduras Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{LDS-North-America Religious buildings and structures completed in 2013 21st-century Latter Day Saint temples Religious buildings and structures in Honduras Buildings and structures in Tegucigalpa Temples (LDS Church) in North America The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras 2013 establishments in Honduras 2013 in Christianity

History

See also

References

External links