MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Managua Nicaragua Temple on Sunday, Oct. 18, bringing the Central American country its first house of the Lord.
The new temple will help missionaries and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints share and teach the gospel “with the end in mind” — preparing people to enter the house of the Lord.
“The end used to be for the missionaries, ‘Let’s get them baptized,’” he said. “The end for the missionaries will now be, ‘We are going to work with our member friends to get them to the house of the Lord.’”
Elder Rasband described the joy he and his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, felt while meeting with Church leaders and all the missionaries serving in Nicaragua before the dedication.
“It’s been my experience over my ministry to know that when a temple is dedicated in a country, it has an eternal impact on its people, not only the members but also our nonmember friends,” he said.
Assigned by President Dallin H. Oaks to dedicate the Managua temple, Elder Rasband said he had studied the Church’s history in Nicaragua, including visits by prophets and apostles. He reflected on President Russell M. Nelson’s announcement of the Managua temple and the love and care both President Nelson and President Oaks have shown for Nicaraguan Latter-day Saints.
“I’m grateful to be part of that history of prophets and apostles who have cared for the wonderful people of Nicaragua,” he said.
Elder Rasband expressed gratitude for the opportunity to return to Nicaragua, where the new temple will serve members in 12 stakes and four districts.
“I have felt a huge impression of the Lord of how happy the heavens are that they are going to have a temple here in Nicaragua for these many wonderful Latter-day Saints,” he said.
Sister Rasband shared her husband’s joy.
“It’s just been wonderful and great to be here in this wonderful land, knowing that they finally will have a temple,” she said. “We are just thrilled with joy for all of them.”
Elder and Sister Rasband were accompanied by Elder Mark D. Eddy, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Church’s Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Annette Eddy; and Elder Ryan K. Olsen, a General Authority Seventy and member of the Church’s Central America Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Julie Olsen.
The Managua temple is the 226th dedicated temple in operation worldwide. Also on Sunday, the Montpelier Idaho Temple — the Church’s 225th house of the Lord — was dedicated by President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency.
Invitation to rising generation
Elder Rasband extended an invitation to Central American youth, members and new converts to prepare for temple ordinances and consider missionary service as part of their plans.
“I testify to all of you that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you and They have a plan for you,” he said.
Acknowledging school, family commitments and other opportunities, he encouraged young men and young women to prepare to receive their own temple endowment at an appropriate time. He reminded young men of the prophets’ call to serve missions and invited young women to prayerfully consider missionary service. He extended the invitation to senior couples and new converts who are eligible to serve.
“We have much to do in the gathering of Israel throughout the earth. We need every one of you who can to serve the Lord as missionaries,” he said. “We love you, and we need you.”
‘Por fin’: A temple of their own
For years, faithful Latter-day Saints in Nicaragua traveled to Guatemala, Honduras and even as far as Arizona and Utah to worship in a temple. Through challenges and a long wait for a temple of their own, they remained “faithful and true,” Elder Olsen said.
Now, those journeys will take hours instead of days — “a tremendous blessing for the Saints of Nicaragua,” he said.
Their joy is captured in a Spanish expression Elder Olsen has heard repeatedly: “Por fin” — “finally” — “we have our own temple.”
That sense of pride extends beyond Church members. During the open house, Elder Olsen was struck by how visitors — including media representatives, government officials and educators — embraced the temple as their own.
“They took pride in this beautiful building,” he said, describing how visitors who were not members of the Church regarded the temple as a religious monument and a blessing for Nicaragua.
‘A little piece of heaven in Nicaragua’
More than 43,600 people attended the Managua Nicaragua Temple open house from Sept. 10-26.
For open house and dedication committee coordinators Luis Krosvy Stephen Cuarezma Olivares and his wife, Laís Massiel Escorcia Cuarezma de Cuarezma, the experience was an opportunity to help others discover the temple blessings that had shaped their marriage and faith.
Luis Cuarezma joined the Church at age 10 in 2006 after reading about the Savior’s appearance in 3 Nephi 11 and praying to know whether the Book of Mormon was true. Kneeling on his bed near a window, he received an answer he described as “unmistakable.” He later served in the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission and now serves as second counselor in the Managua Nicaragua Stake presidency.
Laís Cuarezma was not a Church member when the couple married in 2019. After her grandfather died that year, Luis Cuarezma explained the purpose of temple and family history work, sparking her interest. She began attending Church with him, received the missionaries’ lessons and was baptized by her husband. She is the only member in her family.
“When I went to Church, I liked everything. Everything was beautiful to me,” said Laís Cuarezma, a 29-year-old who now serves as the stake Young Women president.
The couple was later sealed in the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple.
“It completely changed our perspective,” Luis Cuarezma said. “The Lord’s ordinances are so powerful and so sacred that what we need to do is prepare to receive them.”
During the open house, the Cuarezmas witnessed visitors’ longing for temple blessings and were touched by the faith and sacrifices of members to be in the temple.
One elderly woman traveled from a remote community despite serious health challenges. Having lost her sight, she could only listen during the tour. The couple accompanied her inside again, inviting her to feel the seats, woodwork and representations of Nicaragua’s national flower, the sacuanjoche.
Another visitor hugged Luis after exiting the celestial room, saying he had never felt so close to Jesus Christ.
For Luis Cuarezma, the temple is an answer to thousands of prayers and honors generations of faithful Nicaraguan Latter-day Saints.
“The temple in Nicaragua is literally a dream come true. We finally have a little piece of heaven in Nicaragua,” the 31-year-old said. “It is so beautiful to see those families with tears in their eyes saying, ‘I can finally go.’”
His wife added: “The temple is the fruit of the work of many pioneers and many families who made great sacrifices and chose Jesus Christ.”
Feeling the Lord’s guidance
When Nubia Julebi Selva Jenski was called to lead the historical subcommittee for the temple open house and dedication, she wondered how she could fulfill an assignment that felt beyond her abilities.
“I’m not a writer or a journalist,” she said. “I just said yes without knowing why and how I was going to do this.”
Without a model to follow, she turned to prayer. One morning she awoke at 2 a.m. and knew what to do. Inspiration helped her identify volunteers, organize teams and develop a structure for the historical report.
With help from dozens of volunteers, the committee interviewed more than 200 people and gathered about 300 testimonies, preserving experiences for a report to the Church’s Temple Department.
The assignment became what she described as a “revelatory experience,” deepening her testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and her confidence in the Lord’s guidance.
“I know that the Lord is with us always, and that He does His work,” she said. “This is His house, and He is in every detail of His house.”
‘All temples are beautiful, but this one is ours’
For nearly four decades, Rodrigo López Valle and his wife, Mayra Azucena Rosa Romero de López, have made the temple a family destination, a refuge and a priority worthy of sacrifice.
Now, with the Managua Nicaragua Temple, the blessings they traveled so far to receive are closer to home. Both testified: “It’s a miracle.”
“All temples are beautiful, but this one is ours,” Rodrigo López said.
Both joined the Church in Honduras — Mayra in 1978 and Rodrigo with his mother in 1986. Missionaries gave Rodrigo and his mother a temple photograph and encouraged them to prepare to attend within a year.
The couple met while singing in a Church choir. After both serving missions in Honduras, they began dating. They were sealed in the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple on Dec. 11, 1990, following an eight-hour bus ride from Honduras.
The couple moved to Nicaragua in 2003. As their family grew, they strived to attend the temple, even when money was scarce. Mayra de López recalled her husband, then a stake president, saying he needed to attend the temple. They had no money for the trip.
Rodrigo López suggested inviting someone who could help pay for gas. A recently returned missionary agreed to join them and contributed enough money to make the journey, which they considered “a miracle,” Mayra de López said.
Other journeys brought danger, including overnight bus rides and robberies. Along the way, Church members provided food, shelter and help.
“The Lord’s hand was always present on every trip and through every sacrifice,” she said.
The López children grew up associating the temple with family vacations. One son repeatedly requested a temple trip for his birthday.
“I truly believe the temple has strengthened our family,” Rodrigo López said. “It has strengthened our testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and given us unity as husband and wife and as parents.”
During the Managua temple open house, one son chose to spend nearly three weeks serving there while studying and seeking employment. In the final week, he received a call that led to a job.
The Lópezes, who previously served as temple workers in the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple, look forward to serving in the Managua temple. Their youngest son will also serve as a temple worker.
“Through the temple, my faith in Jesus Christ has become stronger,” Rodrigo said.
Added Mayra: “The temple has always been our refuge, our goal.”
‘Families can be eternal’
Ashly Solange García Araica, baptized at age 11, traveled with her parents to the Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple in 2023 to receive her endowment and be sealed to them. Her younger brother stayed behind because he lacked the documents needed to cross the border.
With the Managua Nicaragua Temple close to home, she hopes he will soon share that blessing.
“My brother is very excited to know that one day he will also be able to be sealed with us and that we can be an eternal family,” she said.
García, now 21, is a member of the Villa Flor Ward in the Managua Nicaragua Villa Flor Stake. She returned from the Guatemala Antigua Mission in May with a deeper testimony and a desire to keep serving.
During the temple open house, she volunteered for 109 hours, helping organize buses and direct arriving visitors. Her boyfriend, Rubén Salazar Peña, also a returned missionary, offered 133 hours of service. They served together whenever possible.
As visitors arrived, she often told them: “Remember that our Heavenly Father loves you, and this is a great blessing. Enjoy it.”
Serving at the open house deepened her testimony and love for others and the temple. Entering the sealing room brought added meaning to her hope of establishing an eternal family with Salazar. The couple plans to marry civilly on April 23, 2027, and be sealed in the temple the next day.
“It was incredible to me because I know that’s part of our Heavenly Father’s plan, that families can be eternal,” she said. “Having a temple here will bring countless blessings to people.”
Managua Nicaragua Temple
Address: Km 9, 3 Carretera Masaya, Managua, Nicaragua
Temple announced: April 1, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Nov. 26, 2022, presided over by Elder Taylor G. Godoy, a General Authority Seventy and then first counselor in the Central America Area presidency
Public open house: Sept. 10 to Sept. 26, 2026, excluding Sundays
Dedication: Oct. 18, 2026, by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property Size: 8.9 acres
Building Size: 24,500 square feet (2,276 square meters)
Building Height: 99.4 feet (30.3 meters) including the spire
See more photos from the dedication weekend below.
