Ground Broken for Trujillo Peru Temple
Contributed By Heather Whittle Wrigley, Church News and Events
An artist’s rendering of the Trujillo Peru Temple, first announced in 2008.
“The start of construction could mean the beginning of building our lives on the basis of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—Rafael E. Pino, South America Northwest Area President
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ground for the Trujillo Peru Temple on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, at 9:30 a.m. local time.
Elder Rafael E. Pino of the Seventy, South America Northwest Area President, presided. His counselors were also in attendance—Elder Juan A. Uceda, First Counselor, and Elder W. Christopher Waddell, Second Counselor, who conducted.
In his remarks, Elder Pino urged members to spend time prior to the temple’s dedication to help less-active members return to full activity and prepare to enter the house of the Lord.
He emphasized the blessing the temple will be to new Church growth and to the spiritual development of individuals and families in and around Trujillo.
He urged members to help the less active during this time of construction.
“Please put a picture of the temple in a visible place at home and talk often with your children about the many blessings that come from living [to be worthy] to enter the house of the Lord,” Elder Pino said. “The start of construction could mean the beginning of building our lives on the basis of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Elder Waddell compared the temple to the nearby Morro Carretas lighthouse, as a place that will warn of hazards, guide the children of God, and help them arrive at their final destination safely.
Those who attend the temple, implementing and applying the lessons taught there, will be better fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, owners and employees, neighbors and citizens, he said.
Elder Uceda based his remarks on Jeremiah 7:3: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.”
The temple, he said, is needed to help heal those wounded by the evil things in the world.
Members of the Area Presidency and their wives initially turned the dirt, followed by the mayor of Trujillo, Cesar Acuña, and the mayor of the Huanchaco District, Fernando Bazán. Also participating were the honorary consul to Peru in Utah, David Utrilla, and several representatives of the regional president of Piura.
The seven stake presidents from Trujillo attended the groundbreaking, as well as presidents from the other stakes within the temple district, according to Guillermo A. Estrugo, local director of public affairs. The stakes in the temple district that attended are from in and around Trujillo, Chiclayo, Piura, Tumbes, and Chimbote.
Plans to build the temple were first announced by the First Presidency on December 13, 2008. The announcement letter to ecclesiastical leaders read, “We are confident that this will be a blessing to the many faithful Saints in this and surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of the temple.”
The temple will sit on ground previously occupied by a meetinghouse on Teodoro Valcárcel Street in Urbanización Primavera, Trujillo. It will serve more than 88,000 Latter-day Saints in the region.
An accommodation center will be located just north of the temple site that will provide temple visitors who have traveled long distances a temporary place to stay.
A meetinghouse is planned for construction north of the accommodation center and temple.
This will be Peru’s second temple. President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) dedicated the Lima Peru Temple, located 345 miles (556 km) away, in 1986. It currently serves more than 100 stakes and districts.
