Dedication of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was dedicated on Jan. 15, 2023, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It was announced just over four years earlier by Church President Russell M. Nelson.
At the dedication, Elder Christofferson said, “The temple will bless this island. It has had a lot of challenges in recent years, natural disasters and other kinds of difficulties that have been serious and caused a lot of destruction. It will make a difference.”
He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson, Elder Kevin R. Duncan, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan; Elder Benjamin De Hoyos, General Authority Seventy, and his wife, Sister Evelia De Hoyos; Elder Jorge M. Alvarado, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Caribbean Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Cari Lu Alvarado; and Bishop W. Christopher Waddell, first counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and his wife, Sister Carol Waddell.
Sister Christofferson said the local architecture of the temple shows her how the Lord loves His people.
“Each temple is so very specific in its decoration to resonate with the people who live in that location,” she said. “Whenever you walk into a temple, you will feel that the Lord is saying, ‘This is the house of the Lord, this is my house, but I want you to come home.’ That’s what He’s trying to tell us.”
The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple serves members on the island and surrounding areas, saving them the expense of traveling 250 miles to the neighboring island’s Santo Domingo Dominican Republic Temple. The location of the Puerto Rico temple allows them the opportunity to attend the house of the Lord more regularly.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Dear Father, we pray that the presence of Thy temple on this island may draw down Thy blessings upon Puerto Rico, its people and its leaders. In recent years, they have endured storms and natural disasters that have caused destruction, hardship and suffering. Bless them now with a period of calm and respite and with the time and means to recover and rebuild and to prepare for a brighter future.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple here.
Timeline for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was announced by President Russell M. Nelson on Oct. 7, 2018. A groundbreaking ceremony was held seven months later, on May 4, 2019, with Elder Walter F. González — president of the Church’s Caribbean Area — presiding.
Following the Dec. 1-17, 2022, open house, the dedication ceremony for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was held on Jan. 15, 2023. The San Juan Puerto Rico Temple serves five stakes and over 23,000 members at the time of it’s dedication.
Architecture and Design of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
The artistic rendering for the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple was released on Jan. 12, 2019. The architecture is based on Spanish colonial style, with a single domed spire above the entrance of the temple. This house of the Lord is a single-story building with 6,998 square feet, and it sits on 2.97 acres of land.
Interior Photos of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple
