President Hinckley Dedicates Santiago Chile Temple By Brittany Karford, Church Magazines President Gordon B. Hinckley re-dedicated the Santiago Chile Temple over the weekend, traveling to the same grounds where he dedicated the original temple 23 years ago. During dedicatory services on Sunday, he reminisced about his previous visits to the country and asked the Lord to bless both the nation and Church members living there. The event caused Julio Jaramillo, president of the Santiago Chile Temple, to recall the first time President Hinckley, then Elder Hinckley of the Quorum of the Twelve, visited Chile. It was in 1969, and the nation was drought-stricken. “He gave a blessing to the country,” President Jaramillo recalls. “The next day, it was raining from the northern part of Chile to the southern part of Chile.” The experience is remembered by many Chilean Saints. President Hinckley's return to the country, especially in view of his recent surgery, was heralded by Church members who anxiously awaited both the re-opening of the temple and the prophet's visit. “For us, it is a real miracle,” said President Jaramillo prior to the prophet’s arrival. “Because of his age, the loss of his wife, his operation—all those things could amount to too much for one man. It is wonderful to have him back.” The 95-year-old president of the Church underwent surgery for colon cancer earlier this year. Members in Chile prayed in earnest for his speedy recovery so that he might attend the re-dedication. The prophet's last visit to Santiago was April 25, 1999, where he spoke to more than 57,000 members of the Church—the largest gathering of Church members in South America up to that time. President Jaramillo recalls that special event, in addition to President Hinckley's other visits. He came in 1972 to organize the first stake, when at the time there were 3,000 members in the country; in 1983 to dedicate the Santiago Chile Temple; and now for the rededication of the temple. “We have been waiting for him,” President Jaramillo said. “And we waited anxiously because he comes not only to dedicate the temple but to bless Chile, for the Church to grow and for the people of Chile to be closer to the Lord.” The temple serves 535,000 members in 106 stakes and districts in Chile and Argentina, and is now well-equipped to do so, with a 30 percent increase in size under the recent renovations. It will be among 122 operating temples around the world, standing in Chile's largest city and capital, where the population numbers nearly 6 million. Tens of thousands of members gathered on Saturday to greet President Hinckley at the local soccer stadium, where he, Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other Church leaders spoke. In turn, they were welcomed with a cultural celebration featuring the talents of 4,000 Latter-day Saint youth in dance and traditional costume. Throughout the weeks of the temple's open house, more than 60,000 visitors came to see the building and the unique finishing touches, such as the floor and baptistry, both inlaid with the deep, blue Chilean stone, lapis lázuli, which President Jaramillo said exists in only two places in the world. The doors in the temple also have ornate detail, with hand-carved motifs of the bell-shaped copíhue, Chile's national flower.