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After nearly 10 years from its announcement, the Concepción Chile Temple was dedicated Oct. 28, 2018, by President Russell M. Nelson in his first year as President of the Church
“We feel very grateful,” said President Nelson at the temple dedication. “The people are so loving and so anxious to serve the Lord and to serve each other. ... It really is a sacred feeling you have among them.”
The many Chilean Latter-day Saints gathered at the dedication ceremony talked about how unique the new temple was for them. One member said, “It was a very special moment for us. We never thought we would have a temple here in Concepción.”
Two young children were invited to help President Nelson add mortar to the cornerstone during the cornerstone ceremony. Vania Petit, the mother of one of the children, cried when she saw her daughter with the Prophet. “The most important thing to me is family,” Petit said. “That is why the temple is so important to me; because it is about family.”
Accompanying President Nelson at the ceremony were his wife, Sister Wendy Watson Nelson; and Elder Gary E. Stevenson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We acknowledge those Chilean pioneers of faith and devotion who established the foundation of Thy work in this beautiful country. May their names be remembered and their legacy revered by all succeeding generations. We pray for the families and individual members of the Church who reside in this choice land. As they are faithful and true to the covenants they have made and will make in this holy temple, wilt Thou prosper them and grant them the desires of their hearts. We pray for the youth, that they may be drawn to these sacred precincts. We pray for the children, that their hearts may be turned to their fathers. May the ordinances and covenants of salvation and exaltation be provided to all on both sides of the veil who yearn for them.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Concepción Chile Temple here.
The Concepción Chile Temple was announced in October 2009 general conference by the President of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson.
Ground was broken for the house of the Lord on Oct. 17, 2015. Elder Walter F. González, president of the South America South Area, presided over the ceremony.
An open house was held from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13, 2018. More than 83,500 people toured the temple during this time.
The temple was dedicated in three sessions on Oct. 28, 2018, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The evening prior, Oct. 27, 2018, 1,500 youth attended the Concepción Chile Temple youth devotional with President Nelson. The devotional was also broadcast to 28,000 youth residing in the temple’s district.
The Concepción Chile Temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson, 16th President of the Church, on Oct. 3, 2009. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Oct. 17, 2015, with Elder Walter F. González presiding.
Three years later, an open house from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13, 2018, preceded the dedication. On Oct. 28, 2018, President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of the Church, dedicated the new temple.
At 23,095 square feet, the Concepción temple is located near the Biobío River in central Chile and stands on 4.06 acres. The design reflects the neoclassic building style of other historic religious buildings in Chile and includes subtle French detailing. Precast concrete was used on the exterior walls to help simulate the faux limestone stucco used in other historic Chilean buildings. This house of the Lord features a dome tower with a gilded angel Moroni statue.
The temple grounds include 96 palm trees and araucarias — a Chilean pine. Many of the trees originated from the site before the construction of the temple. The Biobío River can be viewed from certain areas of the temple grounds.
The interior of the temple includes original art glass; hand-tufted carpets from California, New Zealand and Thailand; stone from Portugal and Spain; and lapis lazuli — a deep-blue metamorphic rock and the national stone of Chile. The copihue, the Chilean national flower, is found in various motifs and detailings. A color palette of gold, green and blue is found throughout the temple.
The main stone used in the flooring inside the temple is beige St. Michel limestone, quarried and carved in Portugal, with crema marfil marble, quarried in Spain, accenting it. The principal hardwood used within the temple is sapele mahogany from Africa.
3 October 2009
28 October 2018
(56) 41-3834700
This was the second Latter-day Saint temple in Chile, the first being the Santiago Chile Temple, dedicated in 1983.
Before the dedication of the Concepción temple, Saints would travel to the Santiago temple, which is a drive of more than 300 miles away.
At the time of its dedication, this house of the Lord served Latter-day Saints in southern Chile and southwest Argentina.
When President Russell M. Nelson — 17th President of the Church and dedicator of the Concepción Chile Temple — was born in 1924, there were no members of the Church in South America. At the time of the Concepción temple’s dedication, South America was surpassing 4 million members and 18 temples.
The Concepción Chile Temple was the first temple President Nelson dedicated since becoming President of the Church in early 2018.
After the Concepción temple’s announcement in 2009, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile in February 2010. It triggered a tsunami and subsequent blackout impacting nearly the entire country’s population.
The temple’s building standards exceed what is required in Chile. It is constructed on what is called a floating foundation, which would make a 10-magnitude earthquake feel like a 2-magnitude earthquake.
This was the second Latter-day Saint temple in Chile, the first being the Santiago Chile Temple, dedicated in 1983.
Before the dedication of the Concepción temple, Saints would travel to the Santiago temple, which is a drive of more than 300 miles away.
At the time of its dedication, this house of the Lord served Latter-day Saints in southern Chile and southwest Argentina.
When President Russell M. Nelson — 17th President of the Church and dedicator of the Concepción Chile Temple — was born in 1924, there were no members of the Church in South America. At the time of the Concepción temple’s dedication, South America was surpassing 4 million members and 18 temples.
The Concepción Chile Temple was the first temple President Nelson dedicated since becoming President of the Church in early 2018.
After the Concepción temple’s announcement in 2009, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck Chile in February 2010. It triggered a tsunami and subsequent blackout impacting nearly the entire country’s population.
The temple’s building standards exceed what is required in Chile. It is constructed on what is called a floating foundation, which would make a 10-magnitude earthquake feel like a 2-magnitude earthquake.
