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Brasília Brazil Temple

180th temple dedicated

Dedication of the Brasília Brazil Temple

The first capital city of Brazil was Salvador, where government leaders resided between 1549 and 1763. The capital was then moved south to Rio de Janeiro for another 200 years. Then in 1960, country leaders created Brasília, a new city designed to look like an airplane when viewed from above, to become the new capital.

This new city, though apart from Brazil’s 80% of population along the 4,500-mile-long eastern coastline, was intentionally built in the geographic center of the country. On Sept. 17, 2023, the country received a new “center” — a spiritual center — for Latter-day Saints to make and remember covenants and perform ordinance work for their predecessors.

“As we bring our ancestors beyond the veil the holy ordinances they desire, and as the holy endowment is presented to us each time we are here, the eyes of our understanding are opened,” said Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the Brasília Brazil Temple in Portuguese, at the dedication. “We better see the purposes of our being on earth.”

Elder Andersen, who had also served in the Brazil South Area presidency from 2001 to 2005, explained that those who enter the temple “enter a new world.” He said, “This is the house of the Lord. It is a sacred place — unlike anywhere else. It is nestled between heaven and earth.” His wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, shared a similar sentiment at the dedication: “In the temple, we feel a peace not available anywhere else in the world.”

The Apostle and his wife were joined by Elder Mark D. Eddy, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Brazil Area presidency; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department.

Elder Eddy began serving as second counselor just a month and a half before the dedication. “Brazil will never be the same after the dedication of this temple,” he said at the ceremony. “And we should not be the same, either.”

Suzana Ekert de Melo, a Latter-day Saint from the Jardim Satélite Ward in the São José dos Campos Brazil South Stake in São Paulo, served a mission in Brasília in 1977. Several decades later, she attended the Brasília temple dedication and told the Church News that the temple is directly linked with the plan of salvation.

She said: “To know that my family can be eternal and that all the people I love, who passed on from this life, and who I thought I had lost but are not? That is what the plan of salvation taught me.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “How grateful we are that this magnificent and hallowed structure will stand as a testament to Thee and Thy Beloved Son in this city of Brazil where the leaders of the nation meet and where laws influencing the freedom and prosperity of the people are established. ... Because Thy house is here, let there be an added goodness, honesty, peacemaking and prayer in the functioning of the government of this land.”

Read the dedicatory prayer of the Brasília Brazil Temple here.
https://twitter.com/AndersenNeilL/status/1703595946964373668

Timeline of the Brasília Brazil Temple

April
02
2017
Announced

President Thomas S. Monson announced plans to build a house of the Lord in Brasília, Brazil, during the April 2017 general conference.

September
26
2020
Groundbreaking

Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Brazil Area, dedicated the site for the temple. Joining him were Elder Joaquin E. Costa and Elder Joni L. Koch of the Brazil Area presidency and Damares Alves, Brazil’s minister of Women, Family and Human Rights.

August
05
2023
Open house

The Brasília temple held a public open house from Aug. 5 to Aug. 26, 2023, excluding Sundays. A media day was also held Aug. 1, and tours for invited guests were given from Aug. 2 to Aug. 4. Thousands of visitors attended the open house.

September
17
2023
Dedication

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Brasília temple on Sept. 17, 2023. This was the same day as the Bentonville Arkansas Temple and the Moses Lake Washington Temple dedications.

The Brasília temple was announced April 2, 2017, by President Thomas S. Monson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Sept. 26, 2020, and presided over by Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, president of the Brazil Area. Elder Neil L. Andersen dedicated the temple on Sept. 17, 2023.

Architecture and Design of the Brasília Brazil Temple

The single-storied Brasília Brazil Temple, with an area of roughly 25,000 square feet, has multiple arches around the exterior to pay homage to mid-20th century Brazilian modernism. The exterior is made of sparkling white Brazilian marble, and reflecting pools with ceramic tiles sit in front of the edifice.

The floors inside the temple are covered in porcelain and Bahia blue stone tiles, carpets made in Brazil, and Paraná white marble, which is native to Brazil. Light-brown Jequitibá wood, native to Brazil, is used in furniture throughout the building. The handrails of the baptismal font are made of transparent glass, with a metal frame and gold matte finish.

The temple was built on a 6-acre site located in the Federal District of Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Thousands of shrubs, perennials and over 200 trees fill the grounds, including shade trees, evergreens, flowering trees and palm trees. A new meetinghouse and patron housing facility were built alongside the house of the Lord.

Interior Photos of the Brasília Brazil Temple

Quick Facts

Announced

2 April 2017





Dedication

17 September 2023

CURRENT PRESIDENT AND MATRON
Location

GA/Norte Quadra 612 - Lote C
Brasília, Distrito Federal
Brazil

Additional Facts

Fact #1

This was the 10th Latter-day Saint temple in Brazil and the first built in Distrito Federal.

Fact #2

This was one of the last five temples announced by President Thomas S. Monson before he passed away in January 2018.

Fact #3

The Brasília Brazil Temple dedication marked the first time in Church history that three temples were dedicated on the same day. The other two temples dedicated were the Bentonville Arkansas and Moses Lake Washington temples.

Fact #4

Each speaker at the Brasília temple’s dedication offered remarks in Portuguese. The dedicatory prayer was also spoken in Portuguese.

Additional Facts

Fact #1

This was the 10th Latter-day Saint temple in Brazil and the first built in Distrito Federal.

Fact #2

This was one of the last five temples announced by President Thomas S. Monson before he passed away in January 2018.

Fact #3

The Brasília Brazil Temple dedication marked the first time in Church history that three temples were dedicated on the same day. The other two temples dedicated were the Bentonville Arkansas and Moses Lake Washington temples.

Fact #4

Each speaker at the Brasília temple’s dedication offered remarks in Portuguese. The dedicatory prayer was also spoken in Portuguese.