Happy news seemed apropos for Church members preparing for Christmas in western Guatemala. For many, recent word that a second temple was to be built in the country was more welcome than anything that could be wrapped inside a package and bow.
"We feel that we could not have possibly received a greater Christmas gift than this," said Quetzaltenango Guatemala El Bosque Stake President Alex M. Perez Ulin.
On Dec. 17, the day after President Gordon B. Hinckley made the announcement while presiding at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, President Ulin learned that the Church would build a temple in Quetzaltenango. (See Dec. 23, 2006 Church News, page 4.) The future temple will become the second in Guatemala — the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple was opened in 1984 — and the fifth temple to be built in Central America. The Guatemala City and San Jose Costa Rica temples are in operation. Meanwhile, temples in Panama and Honduras will open in the future.
The Church enjoys a prolific presence in Quetzaltenango — the nation's second-largest city — and in neighboring cities and towns in western Guatemala. Some 15 stakes and a mission operate in the region.
Missionary work was established over a half-century ago in the region and the first stake was organized in 1975 by Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, according to the Central America Area.
The mountainous regions surrounding Quetzaltenango offer a peek into the indigenous past of the Americas where the ancient Mayan languages of Kiche and Mam are still spoken. With the new temple, Guatemala will become the only predominately Spanish-speaking country outside of Mexico to have more than one temple.
Julio Alvarado is a former Area Authority Seventy and once presided over the Guatemala Quetzaltenango Mission. He said a new temple will provide unprecedented access and growth to the thousands of devout members living in western Guatemala.
"I'm well aware of the limitations that many have had trying to regularly attend the temple in the capital," Brother Alvarado said. "For example, the members who live in Canquixaja Momostenango have to travel via pick-up truck two hours to the town of Momostenango, and then travel another four to six hours by bus to Guatemala City.
With a temple in Quetzaltenango, those same members will be able to attend the temple and return to their homes on the same day.
Francisco Rosales, a member from Totonicapan near Quetzaltenango, echoed Brother Alvarado's thoughts, saying countless lives will be blessed by the new temple.
"So many faithful families, individuals and young people from this region will be able attend the temple often and enjoy the great blessings that such a building brings," Brother Rosales said.
Lives are being changed — even before ground has been broken on the future temple.
President Guillermo Eduardo Cabrera Telon, first counselor of the Quetzaltenango Guatemala West Stake, said members of his stake are being encouraged to donate generously to the general temple fund to show their gratitude. "There is a greater sense of consecration among the members."
Some members in the area cannot attend the Guatemala City temple and look forward to one in Quetzaltenango.
"It is a four-hour drive to the capital and it takes an entire day to make a trip to the temple, President Telon said. "Many employers here require workers to work part-time on Saturdays, making it impossible for them to attend the temple regularly. But those members who can't go are making sure to keep their temple recommends renewed to be ready for when the new temple opens."
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
