Dedication of the Salta Argentina Temple
Sixty years after helping construct the first Latter-day Saint chapel in Salta, Argentina, as a full-time missionary in the mid-1960s, Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Salta Argentina Temple on June 16, 2024.
Elder Christofferson was accompanied by his wife, Sister Kathy Christofferson; Bishop L. Todd Budge, second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and his wife, Sister Lori Budge; Elder Alan R. Walker, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the South America South Area presidency, and his wife, Sister Inés Walker; and Elder Juan Pablo Villar, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director in the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Carola Villar.
While his presence at the dedication was a major homecoming for him, replete with reunions with converts he taught and other friends he made as a young missionary, Elder Christofferson focused his message on the purpose and blessings of temples — to perform sacred ordinances and make sacred covenants with God, receiving eternal blessings made possible because of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
“This temple and all latter-day temples constitute our visible, tangible testimony of the living reality of the Redeemer, since without His Atonement and Resurrection, the temple would serve no purpose,” he told the Church News.
Elder Christofferson reiterated counsel from Church President Russell M. Nelson during the April 2018 general conference that members find a quiet place — like the Prophet Joseph Smith did — to “pour out your heart to your Heavenly Father” and find answers, comfort and strength.
He turned again to counsel from President Nelson, given in the October 2021 general conference. “I plead with you to seek — prayerfully and consistently — to understand temple covenants and ordinances,” the President of the Church said. “Spiritual doors will open. You will learn how to part the veil between heaven and earth, how to ask for God’s angels to attend you, and how better to receive direction from heaven. Your diligent efforts to do so will reinforce and strengthen your spiritual foundation.”
The temple in Salta saves Saints in northern Argentina and southern Bolivia hours of travel. Members in Salta previously had to take 10- to 15-hour car or bus rides to the Córdoba Argentina Temple, which was dedicated in 2015. Before that, they traveled over 900 miles to the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple, dedicated in 1986.
Tricia Baird of Gilbert, Arizona, like Elder Christofferson, also served part of her mission in Salta. Returning 30 years later to what she and many others call “Salta la linda,” or “Salta the beautiful,” Baird was a witness to the growth of the Saints in the area.
“It’s the strength of the people, the descendants of the people that we knew, who are now running the wards. It’s incredible that their strength has brought in more growth and made this possible,” she said, pointing to the Salta Argentina Temple.
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We pray that Thou wilt bless and preserve this temple through generations. May it ever remain a place of solitude and peace, a place of holiness and joy, a place of revelation and renewal.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Salta Argentina Temple here.
Timeline of the Salta Argentina Temple
The Salta Argentina Temple was announced April 1, 2018, by Church President Russell M. Nelson. The groundbreaking and site dedication were held on Nov. 4, 2020, and presided over by Elder Benjamín De Hoyos, South America South Area president.
After a public open house from May 3 to May 18, 2024, the Salta Argentina Temple was dedicated June 16, 2024, by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
Architecture and Design of the Salta Argentina Temple
The 27,111-square-foot Salta temple is built on a 17.66-acre site across from the airport in the city’s southern area. Complementing the temple’s rectangular windows is a multiarch entrance, with main-entry archway flanked by smaller ones.
A concrete structure with Portuguese Moleanos stone cladding and a central tower with a domed cupola on top, the single-story building features architecture influenced by the heritage of the Salta region and design based on the local environment and cultural motifs.
Design elements include the cardon cactus flower and the “guarda pampa” pattern from regional costumes and handicrafts. The color palette features blue, green, yellow, red and ocher. An accommodation center and meetinghouse have been built on the property, as well as a residence for the temple president and matron.
Interior Photos of the Salta Argentina Temple
