Dedication of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
In the early 1850s, Elder Parley P. Pratt, one of the first Apostles of the latter-day dispensation, prophesied a great spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout Peru: “Should Peru sustain her liberties, a field is opened in the heart of Spanish America, and in the largest, best informed and most influential city [Lima] and nation [Peru] of South America, for the Bible, the Book of Mormon and the fullness of the gospel to be introduced.”
This prophecy rang true as the country’s first branch was organized in 1956, its first stake organized in 1970 and its first temple, the Lima Peru Temple, dedicated in 1986. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Peru in 2013 to preside over the organization of the country’s 100th stake. It became the fourth country — alongside the United States, Mexico and Brazil — to reach this milestone.
Just over a decade later, Elder Christofferson returned to Peru to dedicate the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple on Jan. 14, 2024, in Spanish. This was the city’s second house of the Lord, marking the third city — the first outside of Utah — to have two operating temples. “This is a day to pause and give thanks for the miracle the Lord has wrought in Peru,” the Apostle said of the dedication. “Prophecy has been and is being fulfilled.”
Elder Christofferson was joined by Elder Jorge F. Zeballos, president of the Church’s South America Northwest Area; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, executive director of the Church’s Temple Department; and Elder Juan Pablo Villar, Temple Department assistant executive director, all General Authority Seventies.
“The latter-day gathering of Israel is well advanced in this nation and continues to gain momentum,” Elder Christofferson told the Church News. “All that has transpired since the creation of the first small branch in 1956 has occurred in one lifetime — less than 75 years. No one can deny that God, our Heavenly Father, has had his eye on this nation and on the Church of Jesus Christ in this nation.”
Despite already having a temple since 1986, Lima’s busy metropolitan area causes some Saints a travel time of more than an hour and a half to the house of the Lord. Such was the case for Karen Surichaqui from northern Lima, who assisted dedication attendees as a volunteer usher. After the dedication of this temple, travel time shortened to just 15 minutes.
“The Lord has responded to our prayers, because the members wanted more opportunities to attend and to serve more in the temple,” said Surichaqui. “... Here dwells the Spirit, and it really is a house of the Lord. I believe people should know that through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they are going to receive everything necessary in order to have a happy family through the eternities.”
Carlos Virrueta — the supervisor of support services at the Peru Missionary Training Center — attended the dedication of Lima’s first temple in 1986. “The Church in Peru is growing so fast,” recalled Virrueta in 2024. “The people who are going to be in the temple, they’re going to have the best experience of their lives.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We pray that Thou wilt accept this offering and put Thy name and the name of Thy Son upon this house, that it may indeed become the house of the Lord. We pray that the presence of Thy Holy Spirit may be here continually. We pray that the sacred ordinances performed here for the living and the dead may further sanctify the temple.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple here.
Timeline of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The Los Olivos temple was announced April 3, 2016, by President Thomas S. Monson. The temple’s groundbreaking and site dedication were held June 8, 2019, and presided over by Elder Enrique R. Falabella, president of the South America Northwest Area.
After a public open house from Nov. 10 to Dec. 9, 2023, the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple was dedicated Jan. 14, 2024, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
The 47,413-square-foot Los Olivos temple is a symmetrical precast concrete structure in a simple art deco architectural style, with a white-granite exterior. Atop the temple is a flat-roofed, windowed tower, reaching 81 feet tall, over the celestial room. This house of the Lord was designed without a central spire to better fit the semi-urban feel of the neighborhood.
The interior of the temple features carvings and paintings of olive branches, as well as the symbol of the scroll, a baroque motif commonly found in the city’s civic and religious architecture. Materials include solid travertine quarried in Peru, rugs in the shades of beige and white, and stained cherry wood doors and millwork. Hand-sculpted carpets and art-glass windows include the design of the cantuta — or climbing trumpet flower — with its scarlet buds and blossoms.
Landscaping on the 2.46-acre temple grounds include evergreens, palm trees, succulents, perennials and cantutas, as well as four mature olive trees to reflect the temple’s Spanish name “Los Olivos,” or “The Olive Trees.” Near the temple are two housing structures — one for missionaries and one for temple patrons — as well as an underground parking garage.
Interior Photos of the Lima Peru Los Olivos Temple
