Dedication of the Cobán Guatemala Temple
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Cobán Guatemala Temple — the third in Guatemala — in two sessions on Sunday, June 9, 2024. The prayer was offered in Spanish.
At the time of the temple’s dedication, its district included stakes and districts throughout northern Guatemala — including cities like Chulac, Senahú and San Benito — and throughout Belize. Latter-day Saints in this area previously had to travel four to eight hours to attend the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple.
The first missionaries in Senahú — John Bringhurst of the United States and Raúl Zelaya from El Salvador — arrived in 1977. Later that year, Bringhurst and fellow missionary Óscar Delgado started work in Chulac using Q’eqchi’ interpreter Miguel Chub. Q’eqchi’ is a Mayan language widely spoken in the highlands of northern Guatemala. After coming home and getting married, Bringhurst returned to the country to help translate the Book of Mormon into Q’eqchi’.
The first members in the region faced intense persecution, with Alberto Coy Yaxcal, baptized in 1978, losing his job and having his house burned down. Another early convert, Guillermo Bol, said people would throw stones and hot water at him and the missionaries.
“But these experiences only strengthened my testimony of this truth,” Bol said. “Now I can testify with more firmness than ever that it is a living and true work.”
Preparing for the dedication, Elder Renlund said he was delighted to learn a standard Q’eqchi’ greeting is “Ma sa laa ch’ ool,” or “How is your heart?”
“On this day of temple dedication, a great question for all of us to ask ourselves is, ‘How is my heart?’ If we let Him, God can and will change our hearts” through temple covenants, said Elder Renlund.
Using eastern Guatemala’s Polochic River and its many tributaries that strengthen it as an example, Elder Renlund said that covenants serve to bind the children of God more closely to Him.
Multiple covenants with God are needed because they “are not only sequential but also additive in our relationship with God,” Elder Renlund said. “Each covenant is like adding a tributary to a river. Just like each tributary strengthens a river, each covenant strengthens our connection to God. Covenants are not, in and of themselves, the source of power. The source of power is the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Making and keeping covenants create a conduit for Their power in our lives. The stronger our connection is with God, the less likely we are to wander off the covenant path.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We ask Thee to bless individuals in the temple district who do not share our faith, that they may revere and respect this holy temple and thereby be edified by its presence.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Cobán Guatemala Temple here.
Timeline of the Cobán Guatemala Temple
The Cobán Guatemala Temple was announced Oct. 5, 2019, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Nov. 14, 2020, and presided over by Elder Brian K. Taylor, Central America Area president.
After a public open house from April 25 to May 11, 2024, the Cobán Guatemala Temple was dedicated June 9, 2024, by Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Cobán Guatemala Temple
The Cobán Guatemala Temple is a single-story building of 8,772 square feet. Its architecture and appearance reflect the Spanish Colonial style common for religious and government buildings in the area, with the design motifs reflecting the patterns typical of the Cobán area textiles. The building is constructed with cast-in-place concrete walls and roof, with an exterior finish of stucco and granite accents along the roofline, foundation and exterior doors.
Inside, the flooring features decorative wool area rugs in main rooms, entries and corridors, complemented by stone flooring using crema marfil marble with emperador claro and rojo alicante for accents. The art-glass design is based on the geometric textile motifs, which are also found in the area rugs, banding on lighting fixtures and furniture carvings. The millwork features Guatemalan mahogany.
The house of the Lord stands on a 2.1-acre site, with palm trees, grass fields and oblong sidewalks filling the grounds. The site also contains a meetinghouse and temple patron housing.
Interior Photos of the Cobán Guatemala Temple
