Click here for Campinas Brazil Temple information including temple schedule and directions from temples.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Announced: April 3, 1997.
Location: Rodovia Heitor Penteado Kn 4,3 Distrito Souzas, Campinas, SP 13092-543 Brazil; phone: 955) 19-3258-5470.
Site: 6.18 acres.
Exterior finish: Light gray Asa Branca granite from the state of Ceara.
Temple design: Classic modern.
Architects: JCL Arquitetos Ltd., and Church A&E Services.
Project manager: Raul Lins.
Contractor: Ernesto Woebcke.
Rooms: Four ordinance rooms, three sealing rooms, celestial room, baptistry.
Total floor area: 49,100 square feet.
Dimensions: 142 feet by 163 feet.
District: 36 stakes and six districts in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais.
Groundbreaking, site dedication: May 1, 1998, by President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency.
Dedication: May 17, 2002, by President Gordon B. Hinckley in 4 sessions.
Dedicatory Prayer
Done by President Gordon B. Hinckley
O God our Eternal Father, Thou great Elohim, we bow our heads before Thee in solemn and reverent prayer on this day of dedication. We are met to present unto Thee this Thy holy house. We approach Thee in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our hearts are filled with gratitude. How thankful we are for this beautiful and hallowed structure.
Acting in the authority of the holy priesthood which comes from Thee, and in the name of Jesus Christ, we dedicate and consecrate to Thee and to Thy beloved Son this, the Campinas Brazil Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It carries the inscription, "The House of the Lord." It is Thine, the offering of Thy sons and daughters who love and honor Thee.
We dedicate the ground on which it stands with its beautiful vegetation. We dedicate the footings, the foundation, the walls, and the steeple with its crowning figure of Moroni.
We dedicate all of the interior, the baptistry, the areas for the initiatory ordinances, the endowment rooms, the beautiful celestial room, the sealing rooms, and all other areas and spaces of this Thy house. We dedicate the auxiliary structures for the purpose for which they have been built.
Wilt Thou accept of this beautiful temple as our gift unto Thee.
We are grateful for the fullness of the everlasting priesthood restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. In this, Thy house, the keys of this priesthood will be exercised in behalf of the living and the dead. Here we will honor Thee in carrying forward the great work of salvation and exaltation made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Thy beloved Son, our precious Lord. Here will be bestowed upon the faithful blessings to be had only in these sacred houses. Here Thy sons and daughters will enter into binding covenants with Thee. Here at sacred altars husbands and wives, children and parents will be sealed together as families. Here the Holy Spirit of Promise will make those sealings eternal and everlasting.
Here will occur a great and dedicated service in behalf of those who have passed beyond the veil of death that they might be freed from the prison-house in which they have been held, many of them for centuries. Here a selfless work of love will take place. We thank Thee for every blessing, for every opportunity which will be offered here.
Bless all who come to this Thy house that they may be worthy in every respect, that they may be clean and acceptable before Thee.
We invoke Thy blessings upon the president of the temple and his counselors, upon the matron and her assistants, that they may be granted strength, vitality, and energy to carry forward the work of this Thy house. We pray for all of those who serve with them that they may do so with a spirit of love and consecration.
Bless Thy Saints in this great nation of Brazil. As they walk in obedience before Thee, open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them. May faith grow in the hearts of Thy people. May their testimonies never waiver. May they ever look to Thee with love and confidence.
We pray for the cause of peace in all the earth. May men everywhere turn from their own willful ways and look to Thee for wisdom. Let thy Spirit brood upon the nations and touch for good the hearts of Thy sons and daughters everywhere.
Prosper Thy Church throughout the earth. Watch over all who have gone forth as messengers of eternal truth. Keep them from harm and evil. Lead them to those who will accept their message. Fortify them against every adversity.
Now, dear Father, accept of our thanks. Accept of our love. Accept this, Thy hallowed house. May Thy holy Spirit ever dwell herein. All of this we have done in preparation for that day when Thy Son shall come to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
As Thy humble children we so pray in the name of our Redeemer, the Savior of the world, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Beacon of light in Campinas
By Fernando Assis
Brazil public affairs director
CAMPINAS, Brazil — The beautiful morning of May 17 brought the dedication of the Campinas Brazil Temple, a building that shines as a beacon of light to this important industrial city in the state of Sao Paulo.
The temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in four sessions. He was accompanied by President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, who was an early missionary to Brazil and who conducted the groundbreaking ceremony four years ago. Other General Authorities who took part were Elder Athos M. Amorim of the Seventy, president of the Brazil South Area; and his counselors, Elders Neil L. Andersen and Adhemar Damiani of the Seventy. President Hinckley was accompanied by his wife, Marjorie.
Invited to take part in the cornerstone ceremony were Elders Helio da Rocha Camargo and Helvecio Martins and their wives. Elders Camargo and Martins are former General Authorities from Brazil.
The dedication of the temple was a culminating spiritual experience for such longtime Campinas members as Edmer Tobias, 57, widow of Nei Tobias Garcia, the first president of the Campinas stake who served for 11 years and helped to build the Church in the city.
At the dedicatory session she attended, she said, "I was reminded of my husband and his sacrifices as a leader in that early era of the Church. I knew that he would have been very happy to be here now. I feel deep gratitude to be alive for this dedication, and within the celestial room of the temple."
Younger members were also grateful to attend the dedication. Ana Claudia Tenorio, 21, observed her birthday on the day of dedication. "I could not be given a better gift," she said. She received her temple blessings when the temple opened on May 18.
Missionaries also helped prepare for the temple. Among them was Wayne M. Beck, an early missionary in Campinas. In 1946 to show his faith in the local members, he and his wife, Evelyn, donated the first $20 for a temple in Campinas. In 1963 he was called to preside over the Brazilian Mission. Many years later he served as the executive secretary of the Brazil Area presidency, and as president of the Sao Paulo Brazil Temple. Brother Beck attended the first dedicatory session of the Campinas temple with two sons. Afterward he commented, in his customary way of praising the greatness of the Brazilian members, "The Brazilian people are strong and self-sufficient; they are able to do much for the Church. This temple is evidence of that."
Another early missionary who attended was Robert R. Scott who served in Campinas in 1943, when there were only about 20 members in the city. Shortly after returning home from his mission, the other missionaries in Campinas were withdrawn from Brazil because of World War II. The branch was left to operate with local leadership. "Those young, vibrant [sisters] and young elders met their responsibilities and were very successful," he said. "They laid the groundwork for the many stakes in Campinas and, now, the fourth temple in Brazil."
A more current example of what the Brazilian members can do is shown by the success of the temple open house, which had some 75,000 visitors during the three-and-a-half week opening for public tours. Members worked ardently and contributed to the construction of the edifice. Elder Flavio Cooper, Area Authority Seventy, was interviewed on Globo Television station, one of the two most popular stations in the state, and that interview was credited with heightening interest in the open house. Some 3,000 visitors requested more information and visits by missionaries.
Many of the visitors shed tears of gratitude for the sense of peace they felt at this sacred location. Others who participated in hosting and speaking to the media at the open house were the area presidency; Elder Jairo Mazzagardi, Area Authority Seventy and vice chairman of the temple committee; Elder Cooper; and Gisele Vaz, regional director of public affairs.
Unfortunately, the later stages of temple construction coincided with an escalation of urban violence in Campinas, which culminated in the tragic assassination of the mayor of the city, Antonio Da Costa Santos, known affectionately as "Toninho." A historian and an architect known for promoting good works, he had earlier visited the temple site and expressed his enthusiasm for it.
After his untimely death, his successor as mayor, Mrs. Izalene Tiene, visited the temple.
"The city was in need at this time of precisely this kind of spiritual refuge," she said. Mrs. Tiene returned for the first day of the open house and was hosted by Elder Amorim. Impressed again by her visit, the mayor asked permission to, at times, leave her office and come to the temple and sit at the fountain for moments of reflection and peace.
The temple, said Nei Tobias Garcia Jr., son of the first stake president of Campinas, sits on a hill and is especially visible at night.
"It is brilliant," he said. "Its light in the dark night serves as a teaching that proclaims the truth."
