The Torreón Mexico Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is opening to the public from Thursday, Oct. 22, through Saturday, Nov. 7, excluding Sundays.
Preceding the public tours, a media day is being held Monday, Oct. 19, and invited guests will tour the sacred edifice Oct. 20-21.
Two General Authority Seventies accompanied news representatives through the temple on today’s media day: Elder Moisés Villanueva, president of the Church’s Mexico Area, and Elder Taylor G. Godoy, assistant executive director of the Temple Department.
After the open-house period, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Torreón temple on Nov. 22. This will be the Church’s 16th temple dedicated in Mexico.
Interior and exterior photos of the temple were released Oct. 19 on the Church’s Mexico Newsroom in conjunction with the media day.
The Torreón temple will be dedicated the same day as the Modesto California Temple, with the two becoming the Church’s 230th and 231st temples worldwide.
The dedication will also fall on the same month as another Mexico temple dedication — Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the San Luis Potosí Mexico Temple on Nov. 1.
Design and features
A single-story edifice of 11,324 square feet, the Torreón Mexico Temple stands on a 2.2-acre site at the corner of Paris and Amsterdam streets in the city of Gomez Palacio, just west of Torreón in the state of Durango.
Prevalent motifs throughout the temple are the design of the cotton plant and blossom and of wheat plants, which grow across the region. Green, lilac, white and orange tones also adorn the temple interior.
Millwork includes stained mahogany, with white-painted wood found in the celestial, sealing and instruction rooms. Doors are made of wood and aluminum, with the main entrance incorporating bronze.
The temple exterior is made of cast-in-place reinforced concrete, clad in glass-fiber-reinforced concrete, with a braced-frame steel spire. The grounds feature trees, shrubs and flowering perennials native to Mexico.
About the Torreón temple
While President of the Church, President Russell M. Nelson announced this temple for Torreón, Mexico, on April 4, 2021. It was one of 20 temples he announced in the April 2021 general conference, alongside another for Mexico, in Querétaro.
On Dec. 10, 2022, ground was broken for the Torreón temple. Elder Hugo Montoya — a General Authority Seventy and then president of the Mexico Area — presided over the ceremony.
“This building, as you can see, will be beautiful,” said Elder Montoya in his message, adding that the temple will be “made with high-quality materials and built with the highest standards. However, it is not the building itself that allows us to feel joy but what takes place inside the building, which are ordinances and covenants.”
The Church in Mexico
Of Mexico’s 27 temples in various stages, 14 are dedicated: in Mexico City, Colonia Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, Hermosillo, Oaxaca, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Tampico, Villahermosa, Mérida, Veracruz, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Tijuana and Puebla.
Besides the Torreón temple’s upcoming dedication, the San Luis Potosí temple is scheduled for dedication on Nov. 1.
One other temple is currently under construction, in Querétaro, since its January 2023 groundbreaking.
That leaves 10 Mexico temples in the planning and design stage: the Culiacán, Mexico City Benemérito, Cuernavaca, Pachuca, Toluca, Tula, Cancún, Chihuahua, Juchitán de Zaragoza and Reynosa temples.
Missionary work began in Mexico in 1875, when seven missionaries were sent to the country. The first five members in Mexico were baptized in Hermosillo, Sonora, in 1877. A branch was soon established in Mexico City in 1879. The country’s first stake, the Juárez Stake, was created in 1895.
Today, Mexico has more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in nearly 1,900 wards and branches.
Torreón Mexico Temple
Address: París 266, El Campestre, 35080 Gómez Palacio, Durango, Mexico
Announced: April 4, 2021, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Dec. 10, 2022, presided over by Elder Hugo Montoya, a General Authority Seventy
Public open house: Oct. 22 through Nov. 7, 2026, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: Nov. 22, 2026, by Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 0.9 hectares (2.2 acres)
Building size: 1,052 square meters (11,324 square feet)
Building height: 28 meters (91.9 feet)
