On a park-like property nestled beneath tall palms and sky-covering mango trees, about 3,000 leaders and a large choir assembled to take part in the groundbreaking ceremony for Brazil's second temple.
A walkway of white sand ran alongside the seated congregation and formed a border around a square of earth decorated with flowers.Into this square of earth President Gordon B. Hinckley thrust a chrome-plated shovel, officially breaking ground for the temple. After doing so, President Hinckley invited local leaders and then a few children to join him. He later encouraged everyone else to take a shovel and participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking. A long line immediately formed and nearly everyone in the congregation took part. One by one, they furrowed and churned the red, sandy earth.
President Hinckley was accompanied by his wife, Marjorie; Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve; and the Brazil Area presidency, Elders Dallas N. Archibald, W. Craig Zwick and Claudio R. M. Costa, all of the Seventy.
In an address before turning over the first shovelful of soil, President Hinckley told how three years previously he had come to Recife and inspected six potential sites for a temple. He told of coming to and selecting the present site, which is located on an elevation near a busy highway in an area where prosperous farms once lined the outskirts of Recife.
He said the visibility from the site is an important consideration, "so that all the people who ride up and down that highway will see it."
"We are also grateful for these beautiful palms," he said, gesturing to a row of 40-foot palms estimated to be 200 years old. "They are beautiful and very valuable, and they must not be touched." Pointing to the other side of the site, he continued, "These
mangoT trees here are a tremendous asset to this property."
He outlined temple building projects currently under way, and surmised that the Recife temple may be the 57th or 58th in the Church when completed. The temple was announced Jan. 21, 1995.
"This is part of the plan of the Lord," he said. "The gospel is not complete without the ordinances of the Church.
"It is necessary that we add this holy house. We hope, brothers and sisters, that you will live worthy of it. We hope that you will come here frequently. We hope that everyone
in this areaT who becomes a member of the Church will have the opportunity of coming here to do ordinance work. Only as this is done can the work of the Lord be completed.
"Now we have at least two years in which to get ready. Let every man and woman in this congregation, let every boy and girl over 12 years of age, resolve that you will come to the House of the Lord. The boys and girls to do baptisms for the dead, the men and women to receive their endowments, to be sealed in the Lord's holy house, and then to come back again and again and again. We anticipate that this temple will take care of many, many thousands of members in this northern area of Brazil. God bless you, my wonderful associates. It is wonderful to be here as we break this ground."
As President Hinckley dedicated the site, he petitioned: "May thy holy Spirit touch the lives of all who labor here. May this prove to be a place of great beauty and of peace and of harmony, and may thy holy Spirit hover over it and bless it as it rises from the earth up into the skies of heaven, where there will be the crowning figure of the Angel Moroni. Again, we plead that there will be no delay and that those who have to do with its construction may work with inspiration and dedication, that this house may be acceptable unto thee."
In his remarks, Elder Scott encouraged members to prepare to be worthy to attend the dedication of the temple.
"Prepare yourselves now to be worthy of this temple. Prepare yourselves now to obtain a recommend for the temple and keep it current all your lives."
Elder Zwick said that the "final purpose of all that we teach is to unite parents and children in the Lord Jesus Christ so they can be happy in their homes and sealed under the eternal covenants of marriage."
He said that it is the right of every member of the Church to have a personal experience with the Holy Ghost, "and we are having one here."
Elder Costa said that "this day, the 15th of November, is a day of great importance for Brazil. It is a day that the ground will be broken for a temple, and a day that the prophet visits here. We have great joy in our hearts for this privilege."
