GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala — 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 temple. “In the chain of our eternal family, each of us can be a strong link and a strong bond.”
He was joined 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.
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 new house of the Lord is the second in the city, fourth in the country and 224th dedicated temple in operation worldwide. Also on Sunday, the Ephraim Utah Temple — the Church’s 223rd house of the Lord — was dedicated by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
‘Take flight to eternity’ through ordinances and covenants
Service in the temple sanctifies, said Elder Gong. “It brings us closer to God our Father and Jesus Christ. Your families and many others on both sides of the veil will be blessed. Come serve as a temple worker or a temple patron — or both.”
He noted three miracles about the temple: First, the Lord is placing more temples closer to more members. Second, temple attenders can draw closer to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, through sacred covenants. Third, those who serve in the temple can help deceased family members receive the blessings of the Lord’s forgiveness, comfort and peace.
Elder Gong said that similar to how the Quetzal, the national bird, flies “even higher than the condor and the golden eagle,” according to the national anthem, “in this sacred house you will take flight to eternity through sacred ordinances and covenants.”
The temple represents eternal love, continued Elder Gong. “When we offer sacred temple ordinances and covenants for deceased family members, the Lord can help us to mend, repair and heal our relationships on both sides of the veil. When hearts have been broken and feelings have been hurt, the holy temple and the Atonement of our Savior can make up our losses and give us hope for a bright future.”
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.”
In dedicating the temple, Elder Gong prayed: “May we draw even close to Thee and Thy Son, and to our families and loved ones, through the ordinances and covenants of this temple.”
Peace from the Savior and vicarious ordinances
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.
López recounted one night of the open house, after tours had concluded, that a young woman and her boyfriend showed up on a motorcycle. They noticed the woman crying — the boyfriend explained that on difficult days, they drove to see the temple construction, and it brought her peace. On that particular night, she was mourning the death of her brother a few months prior.
“We gave them a special tour, just the two of them,” said López. “The young woman hadn’t been doing well, but after the tour, she left smiling and full of hope. She said she truly felt that this was the place that brought her peace, and now she understood why it brought her peace, because everything done inside made sense. Her expression changed, her face lit up, and the tears stopped.”
López said the couple, not members of the Church, finally understood why the building had brought them peace — because of the ordinances performed there for those beyond the veil.
‘Thank You for this blessing, Father’
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.’”
She explained how her ward has been preparing for this new temple: “We’ve been working more on genealogy, and as a ward we’ve had talks about family history, the importance of attending the temple and keeping covenants, and we’re helping the youth build their own family tree.”
Temple worker Emili Buc Martinez, who’s a convert of one year and eight months — of the Quetzal Ward, Guatemala City Milagro Stake — said the temple has 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.
Guatemala City Villa Hermosa Stake President Sergio Molina said the dedication marks “the beginning of a phase of greater conversion to Jesus Christ, more dedicated service and more consistent participation in temple and family history work.”
He added that although leaders of the Church can teach, guide and invite, true preparation takes place in each home and each heart. “Temple blessings reach into homes, strengthen marriages, unite generations and help us better understand the eternal purpose of our existence.”
‘Heavenly Father really wanted me to be there’
Seventeen-year-old Perla Sapon del Valle of the Tecpan Branch, Patzicia Guatemala Stake — a convert of seven months — had a recent experience that showed her God wanted her in the temple.
Her branch 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; and if Perla 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.”
‘Excitement, gratitude and a deep desire to serve’
Now with a temple within his stake’s boundaries, Guatemala City Mariscal Stake President Hector Santos Portillo said the number of temple workers has doubled.
He recalls recently 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.’”
Twenty-year-old Westin Vásquez of the Mixco Ward, Guatemala City Mixco Stake, has served as a temple worker in the Guatemala City temple for two years, and he serves with family members. “That has strengthened us a lot as a family, as we come to know more about Jesus Christ and His Atonement.”
He said he’s grateful that a closer temple will make it easier to attend the temple and serve the Lord. For Vásquez, the open house was a way “to serve my Heavenly Father in His house, to recognize His love within the temple and to realize how we, as Church members, can be part of the process of having this beautiful temple.”
In the past year, Church leaders across the Guatemala City Mixco Stake focused on reaching out to all endowed members with expired temple recommends. With their support and encouragement, more members are now prepared and grateful to attend the house of the Lord.
“Many of the latter have decided to return to the covenant path and become active in the Church again,” said Mixco stake President Elvis Gomez Garavito. “There is great excitement, gratitude and a deep desire to serve in the house of the Lord and perform saving ordinances for our ancestors.”
Finding great peace in the temple
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, and it was a wonderful experience.”
Luis Castillo of the Mixco Ward, Guatemala City Mixco Stake, lives only half an hour from the new temple. “It’s like having a little piece of heaven near our home,” he said.
“When we entered the celestial room, I personally felt great peace, as if the rest of the world didn’t exist.” He noted that the peace and love he felt inside were something the world can’t give. “I also love the vicarious work performed in the temple so that our brothers and sisters waiting there, hoping for that work to be done for them, can see the light of the Lord.”
From a stake center to a temple
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, Guatemala City Milagro Stake, 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.”
It’s a refuge, she said. “There is so much emotion, and we are very happy to have the temple closer to our homes. Members have felt greater love for their covenants, and nonmembers with many questions have resolved their doubts.”
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
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
See more photos of the Miraflores temple dedication
