GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — In 1984, the dedication of the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple marked the first temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Central America.
And now 42 years later, the city is gaining another distinction for the Church — the first Central American city to have two temples.
Tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 11, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple, the country’s fourth.
This dedication will make Guatemala City, Guatemala, the second city outside the U.S. to have two temples, the first being Lima, Peru.
Sunday will also mark the dedication of the Ephraim Utah Temple. Ephraim will become the site of the Church’s 223rd temple, while the Miraflores temple becomes the 224th.
From Aug. 27 to Sept. 12, the public was invited to tour the Miraflores temple. Here’s what this temple has meant to Church members, how they’ve shared the temple with their friends through the open house and how they’ve prepared personally for this new house of the Lord.
‘A boost of spiritual morale for Guatemala City’
As president of the Sumpango Branch, Chimaltenango Guatemala Stake, President Josue Urbina said he saw many who aren’t members of the Church visit the temple during the open house. “In many of them, I could see a genuine desire to learn more about what we teach and what we believe.”
In one interaction, he talked with a mother and daughter on the grounds, and they asked questions about the temple and what’s done inside. “I could see a sense of amazement in them, realizing that what they had previously thought about the Church was very different from what we actually believe.”
He also saw a positive reaction among members of his branch, with several, including new convert members, deciding to make temple covenants.
“The Guatemala City temple was quite a distance away, making it difficult to find the time to go,” said President Urbina. Sumpango is west of Guatemala City. “Now that it’s closer, it will be much easier. I see many members of my branch preparing to serve as temple workers. It is both a blessing and a responsibility to serve in such a sacred place.”
He and his father, Marito Urbina, also of the Sumpango Branch, volunteered during the open house and saw firsthand what this gospel can mean for individuals. Urbina said he saw people getting to know Jesus Christ and desiring to improve their lives to draw closer to Heavenly Father.
“I believe it was a boost of spiritual morale for Guatemala City and our country,” said Urbina of the open house. “I think everyone, members and nonmembers alike, could sense and understand that this is the house of God. They could grasp how sacred the temple is to the members.”
Urbina was baptized in October 1983, and he remembers several times over the years that stakes were divided to accommodate the growth of the Church. “I have seen the work grow in such an accelerated and special way.”
He even recalls volunteering at the Guatemala City temple’s 1984 open house, which he holds as “a very special time that left an impression on me.”
Yet even more tender than seeing more wards and stakes in the country has been seeing the hand of the Lord bless Guatemala, he said. “I have truly seen the Church grow, but I think the most beautiful miracle for me is how the Church has grown within my own life.”
‘A sense of peace’ at the open house
The initial count of visitors at the open house was around 75,200, but revised estimates had totals closer to 100,000.
“It has been a very enriching experience for us,” said Glenda Rosalba Méndez y Méndez de López, who serves with her husband, Juan Fernando López, as open house and dedication committee coordinators. “We could feel the love they experienced from Heavenly Father when they were able to enter the celestial room, even without being members.”
She noted that not even long lines, hot weather or rainy days could deter people from visiting. “Many said, ‘We waited 2½ hours’ or ‘We waited three hours.’ I would ask, ‘And how was the tour after that wait?’ Everyone said it was worth it, both members and nonmembers alike.”
López said that “they waited there because they wanted to be there, because they wanted to see it. And when they left, they’d say: ‘You truly feel a sense of peace here. It’s a place apart from the rest of the world.’”
Because of dense traffic, it can sometimes take members in Guatemala City up to two or three hours to travel to the Guatemala City temple, said López. “The members’ faith is renewed because they understand that the Lord loves them and is concerned about them. He wants to bring the temple closer to their lives so that they can draw closer to Him.”
Guatemala president visits open house
In the days leading up to the open house, Guatemala President Bernardo Arévalo and first lady Lucrecia Peinado toured the Miraflores temple on Aug. 20, reported the Church’s Spanish-language Newsroom. They were led through the sacred edifice by Elder Patricio M. Giuffra — a General Authority Seventy and president of the Central America Area — and his wife, Sister Maria Giuffra.
During the tour, Arévalo said: “You can feel the peace here. It is a place full of light, where you can feel calm.”
Strengthened testimonies by serving at the open house
Although serving as a guide during the open house was a lot of work, Norma Samayoa of the El Trébol Ward, Guatemala Central Stake, said seeing the excitement of visitors made her forget her fatigue. “I saw many changes in the hearts of people who previously hadn’t attached much importance to the house of the Lord.”
She now looks forward to being a Miraflores temple worker, with public transportation taking only 12-15 minutes to the sacred edifice. “I feel very happy and grateful to my Heavenly Father. Words fall short when describing the love and privilege that God and His Son are giving me.”
Claudia Trujillo of the El Trébol Ward, Guatemala Central Stake, said both members and friends felt Heavenly Father’s love at the open house. She added that many can come to know the restored gospel through this building. “Just by passing in front of it, you can feel a beautiful spirit.”
Three sisters from the Sumpango Branch, Chimaltenango Guatemala Stake — Danna López Méndez, 17; Ximena López Méndez, 16; and Tatiana López Méndez, 13 — saw how the new temple impacted visitors through the open house.
Danna, who was stationed in the baptistry and taught about it during the open house, said: “I loved seeing how such simple words could change people’s lives. Seeing them weep and feel the Spirit just as I was feeling it also strengthened my testimony.”
Ximena said she strongly felt Heavenly Father’s love throughout the open house. “Serving people also made me very happy; not just feeling that love in my own life but being able to convey it to others.”
Tatiana, while helping visitors put on shoe coverings, noticed that many people who were troubled or going through afflictions brightened their faces with joy when entering the temple. “It reminded me of how much our Heavenly Father loves His children and how He gives everyone the opportunity to experience His joy.”
Receiving closer temples over the decades
When Jorge Garcia Gaitán of the Santa Marta Ward was sealed to his wife in 1972, they had to travel to the Mesa Arizona Temple, since Central America wouldn’t have a temple until 1984.
“Making that trip required 15 days,” he said. “Five days to get there, five days to be there and five days to return. But it was a tremendous blessing to be able to do it, to be sealed with my family for time and all eternity.”
With temples becoming closer, they’ve had greater opportunities to worship the Lord, including Garcia serving as a temple worker for 28 years.
“There are so many temples now where we can always strengthen ourselves through temple work,” he said.
‘An immense blessing’ for missionary work
While sitting in the Miraflores temple’s celestial room for the first time, Sister Kelly Langford wept with joy. It was nearly 30 years ago that she served as a young missionary in the Guatemala Guatemala City North Mission.
“My heart spilled over with joy at the thought of how far the Saints here have come, how loving and inclusive they are to have invited and helped so many to come unto Christ and be part of His Church that there are now two temples here,” said Sister Langford, who serves with her husband, President Wayne Langford, as leaders of the Guatemala Antigua Mission.
The temple’s open house was “an immense blessing” for the mission, she said, as the sisters and elders invited others to come and see the temple, come and feel the Spirit. “Many of our missionaries have had the privilege of teaching and baptizing friends who they accompanied to the open house. We know the Spirit was able to touch the hearts of the people.”
Catherine Coloma Ruiz, a young woman in the San José Ward, Guatemala City Florida Stake, recalled two young women she met as a tour guide during the open house. The two had seen invitations to the event on social media and the streets of Guatemala City, said Coloma, and they were curious to see the inside of one of the Church’s temples.
“When the tour ended, they approached me and shared what they had felt. As they spoke, I couldn’t help but think about how the Father had prepared the hearts of so many of His children — inviting them to come, see and feel for themselves the Spirit that’s within the temple.” They were put in contact with the sister missionaries and are receiving lessons about the restored gospel.
She explained that having a temple closer to attend more regularly will strengthen local Saints from on high as they seek to make right decisions in their lives. “I know this will give me the power and strength to continue testifying of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to keep becoming a better person.”
Preparing for ordinance work
Guatemala City Mariscal Stake President Hector Santos Portillo said members in the stake — with the temple within its boundaries — have prepared by finding names to bring to the temple for ordinance work.
“We’ve surpassed 300 members who’ve submitted a name to the temple this year,” he said. “That figure will be greater this October, with some activities and initiatives we’ve planned.”
President Santos explained that many members are receiving or renewing a temple recommend. And “75% of recent converts from this year now hold a temple recommend. They have already submitted a name to the temple and are ready to enter the temple the week following its dedication.”
The Church in Guatemala
The Miraflores temple will join three other operating temples in the country: in Guatemala City (dedicated in 1984), Quetzaltenango (2011) and Cobán (2024).
Another is under construction — the Huehuetenango temple, since its March 2026 groundbreaking — and a final one is in planning stages in Retalhuleu, announced in April 2023.
The first Latter-day Saint missionaries arrived in Guatemala in 1947. Not many years later, the Central American Mission was created in 1952, with headquarters in Guatemala City.
Around 300,000 members of the Church now live in Guatemala, across nearly 440 wards and branches.
Miraflores Guatemala City Guatemala Temple
Address: 13 Calle 5-56, Guatemala City, Guatemala
Announced: Oct. 4, 2020, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Dec. 3, 2022, presided over by Elder Patricio M. Giuffra, a General Authority Seventy
Public open house: Aug. 27 through Sept. 12, 2026, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: Oct. 11, 2026, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 1.5 acres
Building size: 30,000 square feet
