The Asunción Paraguay Temple is the 112th operating

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church). Although there were already eleven other dedicated temples in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, the Asunción Temple was the first temple to be built in Paraguay. The Asunción Temple will serve more than 68,000 members in the area.

History

In 1949 Paraguay was officially opened to

Mormon missionaries Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and commu ...

under the mission headquartered in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. In 1977 Paraguay became its own mission area and soon after converts to the LDS Church began to increase. The average number of baptisms per year in Paraguay up to that time had been just over 200. In the year following the announcement 400 people were baptized into the church. On April 2, 2000 an announcement was made that the LDS Church was planning to build a temple in

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. At the time the temple was announced, there were approximately 152,000 church members in Paraguay. On February 3, 2001 the site for the Asunción Paraguay Temple was dedicated and a groundbreaking ceremony was held. Despite it being a rainy, cloudy day, many members came to be a part of the building of the temple. An open house was held from May 4–11, 2002. This allowed both church members and those not of the faith to see the inside of the temple and learn more about what takes place inside. On Sunday May 19, 2002 four dedicatory sessions were held, with LDS Church president

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

offering the dedicatory prayer. The temple has a total of , two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms. On April 10, 2017 the LDS Church announced that the temple would close in November 2017 for renovations that were anticipated to be completed in 2019. Following completion of the renovations in 2019, a public open house was held from October 12 through 19 (except for Sunday, the 13th). The temple was rededicated on November 3, 2019, by D. Todd Christofferson. In 2020, the Asunción Paraguay Temple was closed temporarily during the year in response to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

.Stack, Peggy Fletcher
"All Latter-day Saint temples to close due to coronavirus"
'' The Salt Lake Tribune'', 26 March 2020. Retrieved on 28 March 2020.

References

External links

*
Official Asunción Paraguay Temple page

Asunción Paraguay Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Asuncion Paraguay Temple 21st-century Latter Day Saint temples Buildings and structures in Asunción Temples (LDS Church) completed in 2002 Temples (LDS Church) in Latin America Temples (LDS Church) in South America The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay 2002 establishments in Paraguay

History

See also

References

External links