Dedication of the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple
Just a few miles outside of Hermosillo, Mexico, the first five converts in Mexico were baptized by a group of missionaries sent by President Brigham Young. Those converts were baptized in 1877, just over 120 years before ground was broken on the temple that would stand in that same region.
In the days preceding the dedication of the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple, the doors to the temple were open to all who wanted to see the interior. The open house ran from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19, 2000, with 10,543 people attending.
President Miguel Enrique Puga Becerra, president of the Hermosillo Mexico Stake, said, “In the past it was not possible for all to go to the temple because they didn’t have time or funds to travel. Now more, including youth, will participate in vicarious work.”
He said that each ward collected names for temple work. “There is a good spirit here and they have worked, and for this reason they are already blessed by the presence of the house of the Lord.”
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the house of the Lord on Feb. 27, 2000, with four dedicatory sessions being held. This marked the 50th temple that President Hinckley had either dedicated or rededicated.
President Hinckley and his wife, Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley, were accompanied by Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Kathleen J. Eyring; and Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Mexico North Area, and his wife, Sister Jeanine Mickelsen.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “May Thy divine presence be felt here. May Thy Holy Spirit touch the hearts of all who serve here. May it be a place of refuge from the noise and tumult of the world. May it be a place of quiet peace to all who come within its portals.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple here.
Timeline of the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple
The Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple was announced on July 20, 1998, and the groundbreaking took place on Dec. 5, 1998, with Elder Eran A. Call of the Seventy presiding. The public open house ran from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19, 2000. President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the house of the Lord on Feb. 27, 2000, with four dedicatory sessions.
Architecture and Design of the Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple
The Hermosillo Sonora Mexico Temple stands on a 2.07-acre property at 10,700 square feet. The exterior of the house of the Lord is white marble veneer. There are two instruction rooms, two sealing rooms, a celestial room and a baptistry in the temple.