Dedication of the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
The ceiba, Guatemala’s national tree, was held sacred in Mayan culture with the belief it connected the living and the dead. And now in Guatemala City, the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple was dedicated Sunday, Oct. 11, as a place connecting living temple patrons with family members beyond the veil through sacred ordinances.
“The ordinances of the temple connect all our generations,” said Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple on Oct. 11, 2026. “In the chain of our eternal family, each of us can be a strong link and a strong bond.” Elder Gong said that “Guatemala is called the land of eternal spring because it is always green and flowers bloom all year round. Similarly, eternity comes for us when we participate in the ordinances of this temple.”
The Savior is “the heart of the temple,” he said. “In this land of eternal spring, we are grateful for Jesus Christ, who brings eternal life.” Elder Gong was joined at the dedication by his wife, Sister Susan Gong; Elder Gregorio E. Casillas, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Church’s Central America Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Alma Casillas; and Elder Taylor G. Godoy, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Carol Godoy.
Glenda Rosalba Méndez y Méndez de López — who served with her husband, Juan Fernando López, as open house and dedication committee coordinators — recalled an experience that taught her to remember the Savior in the temple. One morning during the open house, while hurrying to prepare the temple for visitors, Méndez found herself rushing up the stairs. “As I went up, I had an impression that I shouldn’t rush, because instead of focusing on the process, I needed to focus on the reason for the temple,” she said. Méndez went straight to the celestial room, sat for a moment and gave thanks in prayer for the opportunity to be there. “It reminded me that while what we were doing involved certain processes and things we had to have ready, we shouldn’t forget that Christ was the reason for what we did,” she said.
Elsa Cabrera Ibarra is a ward temple and family history consultant in the Guatemala City Mariscal Stake’s Roosevelt Ward, where the Miraflores temple is located. “Every time I pass by the temple, I sigh, smile and say, ‘Thank You for this blessing, Father.’”
Catherine Coloma Ruiz — a young woman in the San José Ward, Guatemala City Florida Stake — served as a tour guide during the open house and loved to share the temple with her nonmember friends. “I clearly remember what one of them said when we entered the celestial room: ‘So, this is why the temple is important to you, right?’ I replied: ‘Yes. There is no other place on earth where you can feel the kind of peace we feel there.’” When Coloma enters the temple, she no longer feels the weight of her burdens, she said. “Whenever I walked through the temple doors, everything else was left behind.”
The Tecpan Branch, Patzicia Guatemala Stake, planned a Saturday trip to the open house, with an almost-two-hour drive east to the temple. However, it conflicted with an important school band rehearsal for 17-year-old Perla Sapon del Valle, a convert of seven months; and if she missed rehearsal, she risked being kicked out of the band. “During the night between Thursday and Friday, I had a dream,” she recounted. “I dreamed I was at the temple entrance. I hadn’t even seen it yet, but I had dreamed of the scene. I told my mother about it, and she told me that Heavenly Father really wanted me to be there.” Then Friday around 8 p.m., she received a message that the rehearsal was canceled. “That night, I wept because it really was a chance for me to visit such a beautiful and special place. It was a wonderful experience, where I could feel the Spirit and, above all, feel that the temple is a little piece of heaven on earth.”
Guatemala City Mariscal Stake President Hector Santos Portillo recalled interviewing an older woman who desired to work in the Miraflores temple. “She felt a strong call from the Lord to go and participate as a temple worker,” said President Santos. “She told me: ‘This is the calling I have dreamed of ever since I was baptized 40 years ago. I thought that due to the cost and the time, I would never be able to do it. But now I see that the Lord keeps His promise, and I will be able to serve as a worker and fulfill my work duties, and walk from my home to the temple.’”
Temple worker Emili Buc Martinez of the Quetzal Ward, Guatemala City Milagro Stake — who was a convert of one year and eight months when the temple was dedicated — said the temple motivated her to keep learning, to improve as a person and to remain steadfast in her faith. “The temple has helped me feel greater peace and tranquility in difficult times.” She said, “I’ve noticed curiosity and an interest in knowing more about the temple, its purpose and the activities that take place there,” which in turn leads to natural conversations of sharing beliefs.
Before the Miraflores temple was built, the Guatemala City Mariscal Stake Center, where the Roosevelt Ward met, stood on part of the current site. Although local Latter-day Saints were sad to see their beloved meetinghouse go, they recognize with awe the higher purpose of these grounds. “It’s been a very special place for me, because it was the exact spot where I took my first steps in learning about the gospel when it was a chapel,” said Romelia Ruano Ceballos de Yanes of the Quetzal Ward, recalling her baptism there in 1976. “Seeing it transformed into something so beautiful,” she continued, “it has become very special to me, and now my testimony has grown stronger because of the Miraflores temple.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Holy Father, may we draw ever closer to Thee and Thy Son through the ordinances and covenants in this holy house. As the scriptures invite, may we become saviors on Mount Zion for beloved family members. May we return unto Thy presence, through Thy holy house, as families united eternally.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple here.
Timeline of the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
The Miraflores temple was announced Oct. 4, 2020, by President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Dec. 3, 2022, and presided over by Elder Patricio M. Giuffra.
After a public open house from Aug. 27 to Sept. 12, 2026, the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple was dedicated Oct. 11, 2026, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
A two-story building of approximately 30,000 square feet, the Miraflores temple stands on a 1.5-acre site.
Among the motifs in the temple’s design is that of the monja blanca. In addition to being Guatemala’s national flower, it’s a symbol of peace, resilience, beauty and spiritual calm. The name, “white nun orchid” in English, comes from the shape of its petals, which look like a nun in prayer, wrapped in a white robe.
Interior Photos of the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
