Rendering of the Bengaluru India Temple.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The location of the Bengaluru India Temple site in relation to the rest of the country.Screenshot from Google Maps
The Bengaluru India Temple site in relation to the rest of the city.Screenshot from Google Maps
Groundbreaking of the Bengaluru India Temple
The groundbreaking of the Bengaluru India Temple was presided over by Elder Robert K. William, an Area Seventy, on Dec. 2, 2020. President NithyaKumar Sunderraj — president of the Bengaluru India Stake — was also in attendance, and he likened Church members to building blocks of the temple, with each person playing a significant role.
Among those Elder William prayed for in his dedicatory prayer on the site, the Area Seventy prayed for Saints who had lost loved ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic: “We pray that they will find peace and hope and that the ordinances of the temple will assure them of Thy plan for them and that the hope of eternal families may shine brighter in their lives.”
The Bengaluru India Temple groundbreaking ceremony was held on Dec. 2, 2020, with Elder Robert K. William, an Area Seventy, presiding. To adhere to COVID-19 safety guidelines, in-person attendance was limited to invitation only, but a video of the event was made available to those in the temple district.
The Bengaluru India Temple was announced April 1, 2018, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Dec. 2, 2020, and presided over by Elder Robert K. William, an Area Seventy.
Architecture and Design of the Bengaluru India Temple
The Bengaluru temple will be approximately 38,670 square feet and have a white exterior with several tall, arched windows. Above the center of the building is a pointed spire on a square base, with four smaller spires around it.
The edifice stands on a 1.62-acre site, with a two-level meetinghouse, administrative offices, a distribution center and a patron housing facility sharing the grounds.
Groundbreaking Photos of the Bengaluru India Temple
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A small group of leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints break ground for the Bengaluru India Temple on Dec. 2, 2020, in Bengaluru, India. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Robert K. William, Asia Area Seventy, speaks during the Bengaluru India Temple groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. He presided at the event and offered the dedicatory prayer. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Shovels stand ready at the Bengaluru India Temple groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President NithyaKumar Sunderraj, president of the Bengaluru India Stake, comments on the historic day for Latter-day Saints in India during the Bengaluru temple groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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India Bengaluru Mission President Ted A. Thomas and his wife, Karen K. Thomas (left); and India Bengaluru Stake Executive Secretary Sharath Prasad and his wife, Hema Prasad (right), turned the soil together for the Bengaluru India Temple in Bengaluru, India, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President Robert Anthony, first counselor in the India Bengaluru Stake Presidency, and his wife, Usha Anthony (right); and Stake Clerk Rohit Nagaraj and his wife, Diana Nagaraj, turned the soil together for the Bengaluru India Temple in Bengaluru, India, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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President NithyaKumar Sunderraj and Sister Christina Sunderraj coordinated details for this groundbreaking ceremony in Bengaluru, India, on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Robert K. William, an Asia Area Seventy, and his wife, Sister Anne William, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Bengaluru India Temple on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Additional Facts
Fact #1
This will be the first Latter-day Saint temple in India.
Fact #2
It was the second house of the Lord announced by President Russell M. Nelson as President of the Church. He announced it in his first general conference as President of the Church.
Fact #3
In April 2018, the same month that President Nelson announced this temple, he traveled to Bengaluru as part of a global ministry across four continents and visited potential temple sites in the city.
Fact #4
This temple for India was originally not going to be announced. “Our plans were to announce six new temples at conference time,” said President Nelson in his 2018 ministry to the country. “The Lord told me on the eve of conference: ‘Announce a temple in India.’ ... That was the Lord's doing.”
Fact #5
Existing Church offices and a meetinghouse were removed from the site to make room for the Bengaluru temple.
Fact #6
The first mission in India was established in 1993. By the time of the Bengaluru temple’s groundbreaking at the end of 2020, the country had 14,528 members in 46 congregations.
This will be the first Latter-day Saint temple in India.
Fact #2
It was the second house of the Lord announced by President Russell M. Nelson as President of the Church. He announced it in his first general conference as President of the Church.
Fact #3
In April 2018, the same month that President Nelson announced this temple, he traveled to Bengaluru as part of a global ministry across four continents and visited potential temple sites in the city.
Fact #4
This temple for India was originally not going to be announced. “Our plans were to announce six new temples at conference time,” said President Nelson in his 2018 ministry to the country. “The Lord told me on the eve of conference: ‘Announce a temple in India.’ ... That was the Lord's doing.”
Fact #5
Existing Church offices and a meetinghouse were removed from the site to make room for the Bengaluru temple.
Fact #6
The first mission in India was established in 1993. By the time of the Bengaluru temple’s groundbreaking at the end of 2020, the country had 14,528 members in 46 congregations.
