Dedication of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple
Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Montevideo Uruguay Temple on March 18, 2001.
President Huber Chineppe of the Rivera Uruguay Stake was one of the 7,600 Latter-day Saints at the dedication. President Chineppe — who lost his 15-year-old son, Matias, in a tragic accident in 1999 when a group of Uruguayan Saints were traveling to the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple — said that upon “entering the celestial room [of the Montevideo temple], our feelings were very close to our loved ones who are not with us now in life; we will not forget them this day.”
Sister Mirta Da Rosa de Duarte, who lost a daughter in the same accident, also felt blessed by the new house of the Lord in Montevideo at the dedication. She said, “Today, we are in the temple at last, and this has been a sweet experience, and we have had an opportunity to be close to President Hinckley and feel that he is a representative of the Savior on this earth.”
The Montevideo temple reduced difficulties for Uruguayan Church members to attend the temple due to cost or distance, a blessing for which many attendees at the dedication expressed their gratitude.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Dear Father, wilt Thou accept this temple as the gift of Thy sons and daughters. It has come through the faithful payment of tithing by Thy Saints across the world. May it grace this land. May the nation of Uruguay be blessed because of its presence on this soil. May it stand as a testimony to the world of the knowledge of Thy people concerning the eternal things of God.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple here.
Timeline of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple
The First Presidency of the Church announced a temple for Montevideo, Uruguay, on Nov. 2, 1998. Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the house of the Lord on April 27, 1999.
Nearly 25,000 people attended the temple’s open house from Feb. 28 through March 10, 2001. Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Montevideo Uruguay Temple on March 18, 2001.
Architecture and Design of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple
The 10,700-square-foot Montevideo Uruguay Temple was built on 1.59 acres of land in metropolitan Montevideo. Palm trees and foliage native to the area adorn the temple grounds, which are located near the shoreline of the Río de la Plata river.
The exterior finish of the temple is made from granite, and the interior features two instruction rooms and two sealing rooms, as well as the baptistry and celestial room.