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In November 2007, after local Church leaders in El Salvador read a letter from the First Presidency in sacrament meeting, members were in tears at the news of a temple in San Salvador. For Latter-day Saints in the country — some of whom would travel up to eight hours by vehicle to attend the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple — the news of a local temple was a miracle. “My dream has come true,” said one member.
President Manuel Ernesto Lopez, a stake president in the capital city, said many of the sisters and older pioneers of the Church in El Salvador shed tears of joy. “I believe this is a unanimous feeling. We are all thinking, ‘This is a dream,’” he said.
President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the San Salvador El Salvador Temple on Aug. 21, 2011. “It is a remarkable building,” he said after the last of three dedicatory sessions. “And the Spirit was so evident that it’s hard to adequately describe.”
Also at the event was Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He said, “I feel the temple will have a positive impact in every sense — economic, spiritual and social — for El Salvador.” He then added that the temple will open “new horizons” for developing the area.
Local members talked about how the dedication of the San Salvador temple was one of the most important dates in their history. “We all started to cry,” said one member.
“The temple is the only place in the country where we can find exaltation,” were another member’s sentiments. “The temple is the door to exaltation for my country.”
Another member also expressed her feelings of gratitude for El Salvador’s first house of the Lord: “I don’t have a fancy car, and I don’t own a big house on the beach, but the Lord has helped me prosper. I have children, grandchildren and even a great-grandchild that love God. And now there is a temple in El Salvador.”
Attending the dedication with President Eyring and Elder Christofferson were Sister Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency and a native Salvadoran; Elder William R. Walker, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department; and members of the Central America Area Presidency — Elder Enrique R. Falabella, Elder James B. Martino and Elder Carlos H. Amado.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Now, with grateful hearts, we dedicate and consecrate this hallowed structure and its surroundings to the accomplishment of Thy will and the fulfillment of Thine eternal work. We pray that its influence may be felt throughout the land as a light upon a hill. We ask it all in the name of Him whose redemption has blessed the human family and opened the way for Thy sons and daughters to go forward in eternity.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the San Salvador El Salvador Temple here.
The San Salvador El Salvador Temple was announced in a statement by the First Presidency read in sacrament meetings throughout El Salvador on Nov. 18, 2007. The letter also commended Saints in El Salvador for their dedication and faithfulness in traveling to temples outside their country.
Ground was broken for the temple on Sept. 20, 2008. Elder Don R. Clarke, president of the Central America Area, presided over the ceremony.
A public open house was held from July 1 to July 23, 2011. A total of 165,790 people toured the open house — including approximately 200 government officials from El Salvador and 27 representatives of other religions. One of the days even saw over 14,000 attendees. The open house proved to be a successful missionary tool, with over 22,000 people filling out comment cards and nearly 5,000 requesting visits with the missionaries.
Two cultural celebrations were held Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011 — the day before the dedication. Approximately 16,000 people attended the celebrations, and several thousand Latter-day Saint youth participated in the performances.
The temple was dedicated in three sessions on Aug. 21, 2011, by President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency.
The San Salvador El Salvador Temple was announced in a First Presidency letter on Nov. 18, 2007. Elder Don R. Clarke presided over the groundbreaking ceremony held Sept. 20, 2008 — nearly a year later.
After an open house from July 1 to July 23, 2011, and cultural celebrations mid-August, President Henry B. Eyring dedicated the new house of the Lord in three sessions on Aug. 21, 2011.
The San Salvador temple sits on an open lot filled with palm trees, tropical bushes and walkways leading to the temple. The structure stands on a base of 27,986 square feet and encompasses arches and conches inside and out, giving it a Spanish colonial touch found in the San Salvador region.
The exterior finish was made with Bianco Sienna granite from Brazil. Inside, decorations throughout the temple in the art-glass windows, wood and granite feature the flor de izote — El Salvador’s national flower. The wood found in the temple is genuine mahogany from Honduras and other nearby countries. The floors are made from limestone quarried out of Israel.
The San Salvador temple has two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, a baptistry and a bride’s room.
18 November 2007
21 August 2011
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This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in El Salvador and the fourth in the Central America Area.
It was the first temple that President Henry B. Eyring dedicated as first counselor in the First Presidency.
This temple was dedicated on Church President Thomas S. Monson’s 84th birthday.
It was dedicated in the same year as another temple — the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple, dedicated Dec. 11, 2011. El Salvador and Guatemala share a country border.
The San Salvador temple is roughly a 15-minute drive from the Monument to the Divine Savior of the World historical landmark, built in El Salvador in 1942.
In the same general area as the temple are botanical gardens, The Little Prince Park and the Estadio Cuscatlán — the largest soccer stadium in Central America.
Approximately three and a half miles away from the temple is the Centro Histórico de San Salvador, the city’s historic downtown where San Salvador began in the 16th century. The temple is also nearly four miles from the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in El Salvador and the fourth in the Central America Area.
It was the first temple that President Henry B. Eyring dedicated as first counselor in the First Presidency.
This temple was dedicated on Church President Thomas S. Monson’s 84th birthday.
It was dedicated in the same year as another temple — the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple, dedicated Dec. 11, 2011. El Salvador and Guatemala share a country border.
The San Salvador temple is roughly a 15-minute drive from the Monument to the Divine Savior of the World historical landmark, built in El Salvador in 1942.
In the same general area as the temple are botanical gardens, The Little Prince Park and the Estadio Cuscatlán — the largest soccer stadium in Central America.
Approximately three and a half miles away from the temple is the Centro Histórico de San Salvador, the city’s historic downtown where San Salvador began in the 16th century. The temple is also nearly four miles from the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Salvador.
