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President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Asunción Paraguay Temple on May 19, 2002. The people of Paraguay long dreamed of a temple in their country to have the blessings received in the house of the Lord more available. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a long journey of coming to recognition in Paraguay. Francisco Vitale ran across the Church when he was in his studies to become a Catholic priest in 1966. He was baptized and was one of the first full-time missionaries to be called out of Paraguay.
“It was difficult to be a member; people would come and throw rocks at the building where we met,” Vitale said. “Now people respect the Church. For the Paraguayan members, this temple is a miracle.”
The miracle of a house of the Lord being built in Paraguay highlighted the progress being made in the country. The Saints expressed their gratitude and love for the blessings they had been given.
“The Lord has shown us much love, and I’m grateful,” President Abilio Samanieg, then a counselor in the Asunción Paraguay Temple presidency, said. “When we heard the news that a temple was to be built in Paraguay, we clapped and jumped and hollered. We wanted the Lord to know how happy we were.”
The joy spread as over 22,000 visitors walked through the Asunción Paraguay Temple’s halls during its open house. The first lady of Paraguay was among attendees and visited with Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy and president of the South America South Area.
The long road for the Paraguayan Saints accumulated in the temple dedication, showing their sacrifice and consecration had paid off.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May this temple stand as a crowning jewel to Thy work in this nation. May Thy Saints throughout the land look to this, Thy holy house as a sanctuary to which they may come to make sacred covenants with Thee and partake of the great blessings which Thou hast prepared for Thy faithful children.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Asunción Paraguay Temple here.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the Asunción Paraguay Temple rededication, being the first time he had rededicated a temple. The moment was punctuated by the fact that Elder Christofferson had served as a young missionary in part of the Asunción Paraguay Temple district.
Of the experience, he shared, “It’s hard to put into words the feelings that one has coming back to where he or she served a mission, and then seeing the Church’s development in the meantime — along with the promise of what’s yet to come.”
“The promise of what’s yet to come” is the story of the Paraguayan people. The Church had very small beginnings with many challenges in Paraguay, but the faithful Saints continued to see the blessings of their perseverance.
“We know what a special place this is,” said Sister Kathy Christofferson, wife of Elder Christofferson. “Everything in this building teaches how much the Lord loves His children. He wants to bless them as they make covenants to serve Him.”
The rededication provided a unique opportunity for those not of the faith to see the building in their community on the inside. Elianne Caceres, a nonmember, said of the temple, “I know that every person has a different way of connecting with Jesus Christ, but I consider the temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be one of the most perfect and beautiful places to connect with God.”
The members in Paraguay shared in their gratitude for the opportunity to have friends and family to walk through the renovated house of the Lord: “I was very happy to see that other people who are not of our faith could also enjoy the peace and tranquility of this holy place,” said Arami Paredes, a local member in Asunción.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Loving Father, we pray that Thou wilt bless this nation, the locus of this now-rededicated house of the Lord, with peace and liberty. ... May the faithfulness of the Latter-day Saints in Paraguay call forth Thy blessings upon all the people of the nation.”
Read the rededication prayer of the Asunción Paraguay Temple here.
The Asunción Paraguay Temple was announced in the Sunday Afternoon session of the April 2000 general conference by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. There were five other temples announced in the same announcement.
The groundbreaking for the Asunción Paraguay Temple was presided over by Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy and president of the South America South Area on Feb. 3, 2001.
The open house for the Asunción Paraguay Temple occurred from May 4-11, 2002. A total of 22,482 visitors attended the open house, including the first lady of Paraguay, and almost 3,000 people requested more information about the Church.
President Gordon B. Hinckley — accompanied by President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency — dedicated the Asunción Paraguay Temple on May 19, 2002. He dedicated the temple in four different sessions.
The closure of the Asunción Paraguay Temple occurred on Oct. 29, 2017, following an announcement by the First Presidency — consisting of President Thomas S. Monson, President Henry B. Eyring and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf — in April 2017.
The rededication open house for the Asunción Paraguay Temple ran from Oct. 12 to Oct. 19, 2019, inviting all from surrounding areas to view the renovated house of the Lord. Around 20,000 people toured the temple during this time.
The Asunción Paraguay Temple was rededicated in a single session on Nov. 3, 2019, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
The announcement of the Asunción Paraguay Temple in the April 2000 general conference on April 2 by President Gordon B. Hinckley brought cheers from the Paraguayan Saints. The house of the Lord was dedicated just over two years later by President Hinckley on May 19, 2002.
The house of the Lord was closed beginning on Oct. 29, 2017, to begin renovations. Two years later the temple was rededicated by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Nov. 3, 2019.
The 11,906-square-foot house of the Lord features the symbol of the lapacho tree flower, the Paraguay national tree and flower, throughout the design. The lapacho flower is usually found in the color lavender, which was then used for the fabrics and art glass, with even the stone being lavender colored.
The lavender art glass allows a softer glow to enter into the temple and is welcoming to viewers on the outside. Trees and plants from the region fill the landscape with perennials, succulents and flowering trees. A large fountain outside the temple accents the property.
2 April 2000
19 May 2002
3 November 2019
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This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Paraguay.
The temple was built on the ground where the first Latter-day Saint chapel was built in Paraguay in 1964.
When the temple was first constructed and dedicated in 2002, it marked the first time in the history of the Church that every Spanish-speaking country in South America had an operating temple.
At the time of the Asunción temple’s rededication, there were almost 95,000 members of the Church in Paraguay.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Paraguay.
The temple was built on the ground where the first Latter-day Saint chapel was built in Paraguay in 1964.
When the temple was first constructed and dedicated in 2002, it marked the first time in the history of the Church that every Spanish-speaking country in South America had an operating temple.
At the time of the Asunción temple’s rededication, there were almost 95,000 members of the Church in Paraguay.
