Barranquilla Colombia Temple
Colombia, home to over 185,000 Latter-day Saints, will soon be the home to a second Mormon temple. The Barranquilla Colombia Temple will be the second temple built in Colombia, following the Bogotá Colombia Temple which was built in 1999.
Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Barranquilla Colombia Temple on 1 October 2011, during the Saturday morning session of the 181st Semiannual General Conference of the Church. The date of completion is currently unknown; however, when the temple is finished it will include a baptistery; instruction rooms; a celestial room, which represents eternal life with God; and sealing rooms, where eternal marriages are performed.
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Early Latter-day Saint Church History in Colombia
People from North America living in Cali and Bogotá made up most of the first 45 members of the Church in Colombia. Then, in May 1966, the first LDS missionaries arrived in the country. Five years later, there were 27 congregations meeting in 10 different cities. In 1975, a chapel was built. Today, Colombia’s 263 congregations contain a membership almost 19 times what it was 20 years ago. There are now five separate missions dividing the country regionally. The congregations are divided into 29 stakes and 12 districts.
Temple Site
The Barranquilla Colombia Temple will be built just outside of Barranquilla, Colombia, in Puerto, Colombia, across from Colegio Alemán, approximately two kilometers west of Barranquilla proper, on the highway to Cartagena. The temple will rise from a hill overlooking the biggest river in Colombia - the Magdalena River - and the ocean. Latter-day Saints from Colombia and Venezuela will worship in the Barranquilla Colombia Temple to find peace and draw closer to God.
Temple District
The Barranquilla Colombia Temple will serve members from the following seven stakes and two districts in Colombia: Barranquilla Colombia El Carmen Stake, Barranquilla Colombia Hipodromo Stake, Barranquilla Colombia Paraiso Stake, Cartagena Colombia Los Alpes Stake, Cartagena Colombia Stake, Montería Colombia Stake, Santa Marta Colombia District, Sincelejo Colombia District, and Valledupar Colombia Stake.
Groundbreaking Ceremony
Five decades ago, the South American land of Colombia - a land renowned for its rich culture, natural beauty, and welcoming people - was dedicated for the preaching and establishment of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, a half-century later, work has begun on the second temple to be built in the country.
On Saturday, 20 February 2016, members across Colombia participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Barranquilla Colombia Temple. Elder Juan A. Uceda, a General Authority Seventy and President of the South America Northwest Area, presided over the outdoor ceremony at the site of the future temple. Thousands of others viewed the event, via satellite, in meetinghouses across the country. Also in attendance were local government, police and business leaders.
In the course of his remarks, Elder Uceda said that it is no coincidence that a temple is being built in Barranquilla on the 50th anniversary of the Church in Colombia as the hand of the Lord is at work. He challenged members across Colombia to make temple attendance a sacred, well-established family tradition. He told the members to attend the temple frequently, and "then return and share your experiences with your children and grandchildren so they know that the temple is an integral part of your life.” He added that attending the temple is a beloved tradition in the Uceda family.
According to the 21 February 2016 edition of the Church News:
- [Elder Uceda] encouraged the members to make their own family temple traditions even as they prepare for the future Barranquilla Temple. Attend the Bogota Temple (which was dedicated in 1999) as often as possible, he encouraged them, and he counseled them to hang pictures of the temple throughout their homes and engage in family history research and begin preparing names for work in the Barranquilla Temple.
- Latter-day Saints in the future temple district can also acquire and maintain a temple recommend. Then keep your temple recommend in your pocket every day of your life, even if you live far from the temple.
In his prayer of dedication on the temple construction site, Elder Uceda evoked the Lord’s blessings for all who would help build the temple — and for the members and government leaders in Colombia.
