Announcement of the Toluca Mexico Temple
President Russell M. Nelson, 17th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced the Toluca Mexico Temple on Oct. 2, 2022, during the Sunday afternoon session of October 2022 general conference. A house of the Lord for the capital city of the state of Mexico was among 18 temples announced worldwide by the Church — and one of four new sacred edifices to be constructed near Mexico City, which has the dedicated and operating Mexico City Mexico Temple and the previously announced Mexico City Benemérito Mexico Temple. The other three new temples will be constructed in Cuernavaca, Pachuca and Tula.
With some 900,000 residents, Toluca is the fifth most populous city in this Central American nation. Formally known as Toluca de Lerdo, the city is located about 40 miles west of Mexico City. On Nov. 5, 2023, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, as part of a nine-day ministry to Mexico, spoke at a stake conference in Toluca, then that evening addressed members during a panel discussion broadcast to meetinghouses across the nation. A live audience of some 2,100 attended the event at a multistake center adjacent to the Mexico City Mexico Temple.
Speaking of additional houses of the Lord under construction or planned for Mexico — including the announcement during October 2023 general conference of a temple for Cancún that will bring the total number of sacred edifices in the nation to 24 — the Apostle admonished: “Mexico has been richly blessed by the announcement and construction of so many houses of the Lord. This is a great blessing that also brings a requirement to properly prepare and worthily make sacred covenants and worship in the house of the Lord.
“We need to help each successive generation,” Elder Bednar continued, “become more focused on the Father’s plan of happiness, Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer, and the role of Christ in the Father’s plan.”
Speaking of the increasing number of temples being constructed both in Mexico and throughout the world, he added, “We cannot take this blessing for granted.”
Timeline of the Toluca Mexico Temple
The Toluca Mexico Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on Oct. 2, 2022. A site location was announced by the Church on Nov. 20, 2023, for a house of the Lord at the northwest intersection of Calle Guadalupe Victoria and Calle Uruapan in Colonia Las Jaras in Metepec, southeast of Toluca. Details about the temple’s groundbreaking have not yet been released.
Architecture and Design of the Toluca Mexico Temple
According to site plans released by the Church on Nov. 20, 2023, the Toluca Mexico Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 19,000 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 4.87-acre site in Colonia Las Jaras in Metepec, just southeast of Toluca.