Caracas Venezuela Temple

The Caracas Venezuela Temple is the 96th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Caracas Venezuela Temple
Number 96
Dedicated 20 August 2000 (20 August 2000) by
Gordon B. Hinckley
Site 0.5 acres (0.2 hectares)
Floor area 15,332 sq ft (1,424 m2)
Preceded by Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple
Followed by Houston Texas Temple
Official website • News & images

History

In 1995, LDS Church president Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans to construct an LDS temple in Venezuela. Immediately following that announcement, a search was conducted to find a suitable site on which to build. Several properties were considered over the next eighteen months but none was chosen. It was finally decided the temple would be built in the city of Caracas on land that the church already owned.[1] The groundbreaking of the Caracas Venezuela Temple took place in 1999.

Unexpected obstacles occurred during the construction of the temple. When digging the foundation, excavators discovered an underground spring. When the water was diverted, the excavation continued. However, the digging caused two major landslides. The first landslide did not cause any damage, but the second did. Eight tons of earth and materials were shifted in the slide. Despite these setbacks, the work was completed in just over a year and a half.

When Hinckley dedicated the temple on August 20, 2000, nearly six thousand members of the LDS Church were in attendance.[2] The Caracas Venezuela Temple has a total of 15,332 square feet (1,424.4 m2), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.[3]

In 2020, the Caracas Venezuela Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Choosing the Land", by Flora Ruscitti
  2. "Caracas Venezuela: 'This most significant gift from Thee'", Church News, Aug 26, 2000
  3. "Facts and figures: Caracas Venezuela Temple", Church News, Aug 26, 2000
  4. Stack, Peggy Fletcher. "All Latter-day Saint temples to close due to coronavirus", The Salt Lake Tribune, 26 March 2020. Retrieved on 28 March 2020.

Additional reading
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