Coban Guatemala Temple
On 5 October 2019, during the 189th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held in October 2019, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Cobán Guatemala. The temple will be the third Latter-day Saint temple built in Guatemala. The two temples that are currently operating in Guatemala are the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple and the Quetzaltenango Guatemala Temple.
Missionaries first arrived in 1947 to the Central American country, which today is home to nearly 290,000 Latter-day Saints comprising 51 stakes and nearly 439 congregations. There are now seven missions.
On 25 May 2020, the location of the Cobán Guatemala Temple was announced. The temple will be a single-level building of approximately 8,800 square feet and will be built on a 5.4-acre site in the highlands of central Guatemala adjacent to 4a. Avenida 4-48 Zona 8, Barrio Bella Vista, in Cobán, Guatemala, on the site of the meetinghouse for the Cobán 2nd Ward. Plans also call for a replacement meetinghouse and a temple patron housing facility to be constructed on site.
Also, on 25 May 2020, an official exterior rendering of the Cobán Guatemala Temple was released.
Contents
Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Cobán Guatemala Temple
Elder Brian K. Taylor, president of the Central America Area, presided at the groundbreaking for the Cobán Guatemala Temple on November 14, 2020. Due to local government social-distancing guidelines, attendance at the site was by invitation only.
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Taylor prayed, "Wilt Thou accept our offering and may Thy grace and presence abide here and in our lives always is our humble prayer and earnest petition."
Open House and Dedication
A public open house for the Cobán Guatemala Temple will run in 2024 from Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, May 11, excluding Sundays. Before the public open house, a media day will be held on Monday, April 22, 2024. Invited guests will tour the temple April 23–24.
Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in two sessions on Sunday, June 9, 2024. The dedicatory sessions at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. CST will be broadcast to all units in the Cobán Guatemala Temple district.
