The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the locations of three temples to be built in South America: the La Paz Bolivia Temple, the Natal Brazil Temple and the Teresina Brazil Temple. The temple to be built in La Paz was first announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson in October 2021. The two temples being built in Brazil were announced earlier this year during the April 2023 general conference.
In addition, it was announced that the Orlando Florida Temple will be renovated during an extended closure.
La Paz Bolivia Temple Site
The La Paz Bolivia Temple will be built on a 3.8-acre site located near Avenida Los Sauces and Calle 8 de Calacoto in Calacoto, La Paz, Bolivia. Plans call for a temple of approximately 18,850 square feet. This will be the third temple in Bolivia.
La-Paz-Bolivia-Temple
A map showing the location of the La Paz Bolivia Temple.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.More than 220,000 Latter-day Saints live in Bolivia, a landlocked country in central South America. Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ arrived in Bolivia in 1964. The first temple constructed in the country was the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple, which was dedicated in April 2000 by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley. There are also plans to build a temple in the city of Santa Cruz.
Natal Brazil Temple Site
Natal-Brazil-Temple-map
A map showing the location of the Natal Brazil Temple. 2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Natal Brazil Temple will be built on a 5.53-acre site located at Av. Senador Salgado Filho (BR-101), Nova Parnamirim, Parnamirim, Rio Grande do Norte. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 19,800 square feet. This will be the first temple in Rio Grande do Norte, a state on Brazil’s easternmost Atlantic coast.
Teresina Brazil Temple Site
The Teresina Brazil Temple will be built on a 3.60-acre site located at Av. Cajuína and Rua Pedro Conde, Noivos, Teresina, Piauí. Plans call for a temple of approximately 25,420 square feet. This will be the first temple in the northeastern state of Piauí.
Teresina-Brazil-Temple
A map showing the location of the Teresina Brazil Temple.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.There are 10 operating temples in Brazil in the cities of São Paulo, Campinas, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Recife, Manaus, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, Belém and Brasília. The Brasília Brazil Temple is currently open for public tours. Besides today’s annnounced sites of temples in Natal and Teresina, there are eight additional temples planned or under construction in Brazil. They are located in Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Londrina, Maceió, Ribeirao Preto, Santos, Vitoria, and a second in greater São Paulo.
Nearly 1.5 million Latter-day Saints, spread throughout more than 2,100 congregations, call Brazil home. Missionary work began in Brazil in 1928.
Orlando Florida Temple Renovation
Renovation work on the Orlando Florida Temple is expected to begin in April 2024. It is unknown how long this renovation will last.
orlando-temple-at-dusk
The Orlando Florida Temple.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The Orlando Florida Temple was dedicated by Church President Howard W. Hunter in October 1994. It was the 46th dedicated temple in operation and the first temple in Florida. The Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple was dedicated in May 2014. A temple in Tallahassee is currently under construction, and the Church also plans to build temples in Tampa and Jacksonville.
The first Latter-day Saint missionary to preach in Florida likely arrived in 1845. For many decades Church growth was gradual. The number of Latter-day Saints in the state increased significantly once Church members from the western United States moved to Florida for its growing aerospace and other industries. Today, Florida is home to nearly 170,000 Latter-day Saints in over 280 congregations.
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.