The First Presidency has announced the dedication and open house dates for two temples in South America. The temples in Belém, Brazil, and in Quito, Ecuador, are scheduled to be dedicated on Sunday, Nov. 20, according to the announcement on ChurchofJesusChrist.org on Friday, June 24. Both temples were announced in the April 2016 general conference by President Thomas S. Monson.
Belém Brazil Temple
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication, with three sessions scheduled for Nov. 20, at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. The dedicatory session will be broadcast to units in the temple district.
The public open house for the Belém Brazil Temple will be Saturday, Oct. 22, to Saturday, Nov. 5, excluding Sundays — Oct. 23 and Oct. 30.
The temple was one of four temples announced by President Monson in the April 2016 general conference. The groundbreaking was on Aug. 17, 2019.
Read more: Here are some of the inspiring promises made during the Belém Brazil Temple groundbreaking
The Belém Brazil Temple is one of 16 temples in Brazil that are dedicated, being constructed or announced. There are eight dedicated temples in Brazil: the São Paulo Brazil Temple, which was the first to be dedicated in South America, 44 years ago in 1978, and temples in Recife, Porto Alegre, Campinas, Curitiba, Manaus, Fortaleza and Rio de Janeiro, which was dedicated on May 8.
Temples in Salvador and Brasilia (the country’s capital) are also under construction. Others have been announced in Belo Horizonte, Vitoria, São Paulo East, Santos and Maceió.
Brazil is home to nearly 1.5 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the third largest population of Latter-day Saints by country after the United States and Mexico, according to ChurchofJesusChrist.org. They comprise the more than 2,170 congregations in Brazil.
Quito Ecuador Temple
Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the dedication, with three sessions scheduled for 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. The dedicatory session will be broadcast to units in the temple district.
The public open house will be Friday, Oct. 14, to Saturday, Oct. 29, excluding Sundays — Oct. 16 and Oct. 23. The groundbreaking was on May 11, 2019.
Read more: Quito Ecuador Temple to be a place of ‘refuge’ for Latter day Saints
The Quito Ecuador Temple is the country’s second temple — the Guayaquil Ecuador Temple was dedicated in August 1999. There are more than 250,000 members of the Church in Ecuador and more than 300 congregations.
The Quito Ecuador Temple will serve Latter-day Saints in Quito, Otavalo, Ambato, Santo Domingo and other areas in the region.
