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In 1995, the First Presidency — including President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor — announced plans for a temple in Cochabamba. He later presided over the 1996 groundbreaking and dedicated the finished house of the Lord on April 30, 2000.
Rene Cabrerra, then-Church distribution center manager, told the Church News at the dedication that “During the groundbreaking ceremony in 1996, [President Hinckley] said he would return in two years when the temple was finished. True, it has been a little more time than that, and some doubted, but this is a great blessing for us.”
A reported 9,084 Church members from Bolivia attended the dedication of this house of the Lord, the first in their country.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “In this sacred edifice, as well as in other temples, will be carried forward a work unequaled in all the earth in behalf of those of Thy children who have lived and passed on to immortality. How wondrous are Thy works. How great Thy plan, O God. It is all possible because of the gift of Thy Son, who gave His life in an atoning sacrifice in behalf of all who have walked or will yet walk the earth.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple here.
The First Presidency of the Church — at the time consisting of President Howard W. Hunter, Church President; President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor; and President Thomas S. Monson, second counselor — announced a temple for Cochabamba, Bolivia, along with a temple for Recife, Brazil, on Jan. 13, 1995.
President Hinckley, then the President of the Church, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple on Nov. 10, 1996. Despite heavy rain throughout the day, an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people from across the country attended the ceremony, some traveling 20 hours by bus to be there.
The public was invited to tour the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple from April 18-22, 2000. Approximately 65,570 visitors attended the house of the Lord during its open house.
The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple was dedicated in four sessions by President Hinckley on April 30, 2000. A total of 9,084 members attended the dedication.
A temple was first announced for Cochabamba, Bolivia, by the First Presidency of the Church on Jan. 13, 1995. The groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 10, 1996, and presided over by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Once the house of the Lord was constructed, 65,570 visitors toured the completed edifice during its open house from April 18-22, 2000. The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley on April 30, 2000.
The 35,500-square-foot Cochabamba Bolivia Temple was built on 6.51 acres of land. Behind this house of the Lord, the Andes Mountains form a rich backdrop, and flower beds decorate the temple grounds.
The front facade of the structure features five tall, arched windows of art glass, and a multilevel tower on a square base stands above the building. Inside the temple are two instruction rooms, three sealing rooms and a chapel.
On Oct. 23, 2018, a group of former Bolivia missionaries — from all over the United States and South America — met at the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple for a reunion trip 20 years after their service.
Provided by Davis Smith
Read more: How a not-so-typical mission reunion in Bolivia was the start of many miracles
13 January 1995
30 April 2000
Avenida Melchor Urquidi 1500
Alto Queru Queru
Cochabamba, Cochabamba
Bolivia
View schedule and book online
(591) 4-429-3161
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Bolivia.
This temple, along with the Recife Brazil Temple, was the first to be announced for South America since the Bogotá Colombia Temple in 1984.
Enrique O. Huerta, a member of the Cochabamba Bolivia Universidad Stake, spoke with the Church News at the 2000 dedication, saying, “We anticipated 50,000 visitors in two weeks of open house, but instead, we got 65,570 in one week. Twenty thousand people came in one day. They were lined up for blocks and stayed until midnight.”
At the open house, 2,232 visitors asked for a follow-up visit from full-time missionaries.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Bolivia.
This temple, along with the Recife Brazil Temple, was the first to be announced for South America since the Bogotá Colombia Temple in 1984.
Enrique O. Huerta, a member of the Cochabamba Bolivia Universidad Stake, spoke with the Church News at the 2000 dedication, saying, “We anticipated 50,000 visitors in two weeks of open house, but instead, we got 65,570 in one week. Twenty thousand people came in one day. They were lined up for blocks and stayed until midnight.”
At the open house, 2,232 visitors asked for a follow-up visit from full-time missionaries.