Dedication of the Oaxaca Mexico Temple
At the Oaxaca Mexico Temple groundbreaking on March 13, 1999, Elder Carl B. Pratt of the Seventy and president of the Mexico South Area observed: “It is impossible to really understand the greatness of this day. I wish we were able to comprehend the existence of a temple standing here, for which we have prepared the way.”
The new house of the Lord in Oaxaca made regular temple access for the Saints feasible. Before the new temple, Saints had to save and sacrifice immensely in order to attend the temple on an infrequent basis. President Rafael Ortiz Santiago of the Oaxaca Mexico Monte Alban Stake spoke of a young woman who, in order to have money to attend the temple, sold matches, oil and boxes.
The temple also caused many to think more of missionary work. Josefina Sanchez, a longtime member who was baptized in 1956, shared a brief testimony. “Because we have a house of the Lord, we should not be weary in preaching the gospel,” she said.
As the temple was mostly erected, on Sept. 30, 1999, a three-minute long, 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck Oaxaca. Jay Erekson, project manager for Okland Construction Co., was in front of the temple at the time.
“I saw the building shake,” he said. “The tower was whipping back and forth about a yard, and I watched the windows going in and out of plumb.”
The miracle of the earthquake was that, while many buildings in the area were damaged and later condemned, the temple was undamaged, and construction was able to continue.
The temple was dedicated by President James E. Faust, second counselor in the First Presidency, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Ruth Faust, and Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “When they leave here, having served Thee according to Thy pattern, may they return to their homes with an added sense of their great responsibilities as husbands and wives, and as parents who have a binding responsibility to bring up their children in light and truth.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Oaxaca Mexico Temple here.
Timeline of the Oaxaca Mexico Temple
The Oaxaca Mexico Temple was announced on Feb. 23, 1999, by President Gordon B. Hinckley. The groundbreaking ceremony was held less than a month later, on March 13, 1999.
The doors of the temple were opened to the public with an open house from Feb. 28 to March 4, 2000. President James E. Faust dedicated the Oaxaca Mexico Temple on March 11, 2000.
Architecture and Design of the Oaxaca Mexico Temple
The 10,700-square-foot house of the Lord stands on a 1.87-acre property. The location is on a major boulevard near a university in Oaxaca. Trees, shrubs and other greenery adorn the landscape. The temple features a wide base and a single spire. A meetinghouse is next to the temple.
The interior of the temple includes two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms, with a baptistry and a celestial room as well.