Dedication of the Puebla Mexico Temple
In the backdrop of the Puebla Valley stand the twin volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl, both exceeding 17,000 feet in elevation, more than 10,000 feet above the city. An old Aztec legend says Iztaccihuatl was a princess who had fallen in love with Popocatépetl, one of her father’s warriors who was sent to war.
Falsely told that Popocatépetl had perished in battle, Iztaccihuatl died in grief, believing the news. When the warrior returned, he took her body and knelt by her resting place — there they were covered with snow and changed into mountains, with Popocatépetl becoming an active volcano and still raging at the loss of his beloved Iztaccihuatl, which lies dormant.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said their towering presence represents “that universal yearning, a symbol of eternal love and a reminder that every heart yearns for the deepest family relationships to be eternal.”
A little over a hundred years after the first baptism occurred in the city, Elder Gong dedicated the Puebla Mexico Temple on May 19, 2024.
The first branch in Puebla was organized in 1925, and despite their humble circumstances, members saved money to make the 96-hour bus trip back to and from the Mesa Arizona Temple when it began offering Spanish-language ordinances in 1945. Since 1983, they had been making the two-hour drive to the temple in Mexico City.
Among those who made the sacrifice to go to the Mesa temple were Ruben Mejía Mora and Arelia Rocío Cruz de Mejía, directors of the temple open house and dedication committee, who were married there in 1980. After the Puebla temple was dedicated, they needed to walk only eight minutes to the house of the Lord.
The strength of the membership in Puebla comes both from hundreds of multigenerational families — like 97-year-old dedication attendee Ramiro Gaona, who was the first president of the Puebla México Valsequillo Stake — and thousands of new converts, said Elder Hugo Montoya, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Mexico Area.
The multigenerational stability and the increasing membership growth are “a good balance for the Church’s strength in this area,” Elder Montoya said, citing a line from the Book of Mormon parable of the lord of the vineyard — “and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof” (Jacob 5:73).
Elder Gong focused his message during the dedicatory service on holiness, saying the purpose of the temple is for members to make covenants and receive ordinances that bring holiness into their lives.
“We are to come, to learn, to be sanctified and to become more like our Father in Heaven and His Son,” Elder Gong said. “It is a very real invitation to bring holiness into our lives through the Atonement of Christ and service to others.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Please let this temple be a beacon of gospel light and hope. Please let this temple be an inviting place of serenity and faith, of comfort and healing.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Puebla Mexico Temple here.
Timeline of the Puebla Mexico Temple
The Puebla Mexico Temple was announced Oct. 7, 2018, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Nov. 30, 2019, and presided over by Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela, Mexico Area president.
After a public open house from March 29 to April 20, 2024, the Puebla Mexico Temple was dedicated May 19, 2024, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Puebla Mexico Temple
The Puebla Mexico Temple is a one-story building of 35,861 square feet with a central tower and domed cupola above the entrance. Its designs and details draw from the city’s Hispano-American heritage, colonialist baroque aesthetic and local flowers, as well as the area’s well-known and well-recognized Talavera ceramics.
Inside the temple, the flooring and base consists of marble such as Crema Luna and Crema Devas for the main, neutral tones and Rojo Alicante and Amarillo Mares for the accents, with decorative details based on the Talavera motifs. The exterior and interior art glass shows the Mexican geometric motifs and patters of the local ceramics as well as the traditional colors — the graduated scheme of blue, yellow, orange and green, with cream and white accents.
The outdoor fountain features such a ceramic interior, a limestone exterior and Pizarra Stone Blanco Olivo framing the pool area at ground level. Landscaping of the 6.81-acre temple grounds includes main walkways that are lined with sage, rosemary, lavender and local flowers such roses and birds-of-paradise.
Interior Photos of the Puebla Mexico Temple
