Buenos Aires Argentina Temple
The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple is the 39th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormon missionaries, Melvin J. Ballard, Rey L. Pratt, and Rulon S. Wells, arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1925 after thirty-four days of traveling by land and sea. When they arrived, there were only four members of the Mormon Church present. On Christmas Day, Elder Ballard dedicated South America for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Each day, the Mormon missionaries would prepare two to five hundred handbills to be distributed to people on the street. For eight months the missionaries walked the streets of Buenos Aires handing out handbills, anxiously hoping to teach people about the Mormon faith. [1] Since that time the membership of the Mormon Church in Argentina has grown rapidly, with a hallmark being the construction of the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple.
Visitors to Argentina traveling from the airport to downtown Buenos Aires drive right past the beautiful Buenos Aires Temple. Although Argentine Mormon members were generally unable to contribute much in the way of finances toward the building of their temple, many contributed in other ways. A group of sisters, for instance, crocheted sixty-four cloths, when all that was asked was seven.
President Thomas S. Monson, then an apostle, presided over the temple dedication on January 17, 1986. In the dedicatory prayer he asked, "May all who enter this, thy house, be privileged to say, as did the psalmist of old, 'We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company'... We pray thou wilt accept of our offering and hallow this house which we have built." [2]
The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple has a total of 11,980 square feet, four ordinance rooms, and three sealing rooms.
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Updates
The Buenos Aires Mormon Temple was renovated and due to be rededicated in summer 2012. Before the rededication of the temple, an open house was scheduled so that the public can tour the House of God. The open house was scheduled for August 4 through 25th, every day but Sundays, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets are free, but help make sure that the crowd is manageable, allowing each person to feel the spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The temple will be formally rededicated on Sunday, 9 September 2012, in three sessions. The rededicatory sessions will be broadcast to all stakes and districts in Argentina. A cultural presentation will be held on Saturday, 8 September 2012.
Renovation of the temple includes two new wings, new art glass throughout, with triple-paned insulated glass incorporating the colors of the Argentine flag. Landscaping and gardens were redesigned which includes a new entry way fountain. New decorative painting and gold leafing reflect patterns taken from historic architecture in Buenos Aires and enhanced decorative wood trim and paneling feature Anigre and Makore hardwoods from Africa.
Another building adjacent to the temple was constucted to house temple leadership.
Notes
- "The Kingdom Rolls Forth in South America", Ensign, May 1986, 12
- "The First 100 Temples", Chad Hawkins, 2001, 106.
