Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at a devotional in Otavalo, Ecuador, on Thursday, May 14, where Elder Juan Pablo Villar read the announcement of a new temple to be built in the city located nearly 60 miles (100 kilometers) from the capital city of Quito.
According to the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom, Elder Villar, a General Authority Seventy and president of the South America Northwest Area, read the First Presidency’s announcement as members of the Church and community gathered at the Francisco Páez Coliseum in Otavalo.
Those in attendance came from the surrounding Imbaya, Imbabura and Ibarra stakes.
Also at the devotional were Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife, Sister Jacqueline Palmer; Elder Villar’s wife, Sister Carola Villar; and Elder José A. Jiménez, an Area Seventy, and his wife, Sister Cristina Jiménez. President J. Russ Bradshaw and Sister Karen B. Bradshaw of the Ecuador Quito North Mission also attended.
“We are pleased to announce the construction of a temple in Otavalo, Ecuador. The specific location and timing of the construction will be announced later. This is a reason for all of us to rejoice and express gratitude for such a significant blessing — one that will allow more frequent access to the ordinances, covenants and power that can only be found in the house of the Lord,” Elder Villar read.
Otavalo is in the province of Imbabura. More than 125,000 people live there. The Church has four stakes in the area.
The event was also broadcast live to local units.
Elder Renlund’s visit to Otavalo is part of his ministry to Ecuador and other countries in the Church’s South America Northwest Area.
