Mérida Mexico Temple
The Mérida Mexico Temple is the 92nd operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and is located in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. The intent to build the temple was announced on September 25, 1998, by the First Presidency. The temple is the first in the Yucatán Peninsula and the ninth in Mexico. The temple has a single spire with a statue of the angel Moroni. The structure was designed by architect Alvaro Inigo and church architectural personnel, using a classic modern design and Guardiano white marble from Torreón, Mexico. A groundbreaking ceremony, to signify the beginning of construction, was held on January 16, 1999, conducted by Carl B. Pratt, a general authority and president of the church's Mexico South Area. Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the temple on July 8, 2000, the day before the Veracruz Mexico Temple dedication.
History
The church established a presence in the Yucatán Peninsula on February 7, 1959, when the region was dedicated for missionary work. The temple was announced by the First Presidency on September 25, 1998.On January 16, 1999, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on the 1.53-acre property located at Calle 70, number 527, between streets 65 and 67 in Colonia Centro in Mérida. The ceremony was attended by approximately 550 people, and took place on the same day as the groundbreaking for the Memphis Tennessee Temple. Carl B. Pratt, a general authority and president of the Mexico South Area, presided at the ceremony. Pratt expressed his desire to establish a culture of temple attendance in the region, stating that the construction would strengthen homes, marriages, and bring peace to the Yucatán Peninsula.
Fermin Herrera, president of the Mérida Central Stake, spoke at the groundbreaking about the eternal hope members had received through the temple. Abel Ordaz, the first president of the Mérida stake, recalled the 1959 dedication of the first meetinghouse and later dedication of the first stake center. Church members in the Yucatán Peninsula had previously traveled long distances to attend temple services, sometimes requiring four days of travel to reach a temple, four days of worship, and four days to return home. During one such trip, a bus carrying members tumbled into a gully along the highway, though no one was severely injured. They also recounted that three men planned to rob the bus, but after the accident, they walked away.
The preliminary plans called for a single-story structure of 10,700 square feet. The project manager was Dean Fife, with PyCSA and Okland Construction Company serving as contractors. Following construction, the church held a public open house from June 24 to July 1, 2000, where approximately 14,150 visitors toured the building.
The Mérida Mexico Temple was dedicated on July 8, 2000, by Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency. Four dedicatory sessions were held, with a total of 5,478 church members in attendance. It was dedicated the day before the Veracruz Mexico Temple.
Design and architecture
The building uses classic modern architecture, as designed by Alvaro Inigo and church personnel. The temple is on a 1.31-acre site in the Yucatán, on the north end of the Yucatán Peninsula near the Gulf of Mexico, in the heart of Mesoamerica amid renowned archaeological ruins including Uxmal and Chichén Itzá.The structure is one story, is 77 feet by 149 feet, with a total floor area of 10,700 square feet. The exterior uses Guardiano white marble from Torreón, Mexico. It has a single spire with an angel Moroni statue on its top.
The temple has two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, and a baptistry. As of 2010, the temple served nine stakes, two districts, and three branches on Yucatan Peninsula.
A distinctive feature of the temple is its quarterly endowment sessions conducted in the Mayan language. Church members of Mayan descent who are fluent in the language travel from rural communities such as Valladolid, Motul, Baca, Izamal, Uayma, and Ticul to participate in temple ordinances in their ancestral language. Fernando R. Gómez, a previous temple president, wrote about member Sixta Martinez, who joined the church in 1974. She saved pesos in a milk can to afford bus fare for her family's six-day journey to the temple in Mesa, Arizona so she could be sealed. After the Mérida Mexico Temple was dedicated, instead of saving for a trip yearly, she was able to attend the temple weekly.