The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released information regarding the groundbreaking date for the Salta Argentina Temple.
The groundbreaking will be held Saturday, August 15, 2020. Elder Benjamín De Hoyos, South America South Area President, will preside at the event.
The event will follow local social distancing guidelines because of current COVID-19 restrictions. Attendance at the event will be by invitation only. The groundbreaking service will be broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple district.
The Salta Argentina Temple was announced in April 2018 by Church President Russell M. Nelson and will be the third temple in Argentina following the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple, dedicated in 1986, and Córdoba Argentina Temple, dedicated in 2015.
The new temple will serve Latter-day Saints living in northwestern Argentina. There are more than 470,000 Latter-day Saints in the South American country of more than 40 million people.
Temples of the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints are considered “houses of the Lord” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make promises to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man. (From the Church Newsroom)
Announcement
1 April 2018
Temple Site
The Salta Argentina Temple will be constructed on a large grassy field across from the airport in southern Salta.
Temple Announcement
As part of a seven-temple announcement at the April 2018 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson named Salta, Argentina as the location for a future temple. The Salta Argentina Temple will be the country’s third after the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple and the Córdoba Argentina Temple. It will serve members living the Argentine Northwest who currently travel to the Córdoba to participate in temple services. Argentina is home to approximately 450,000 Latter-day Saints organized into over 100 stakes and districts.
Temple Facts
The Salta Argentina Temple will be the third temple built in Argentina, following the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple (1986) and the Córdoba Argentina Temple (2015).
Temples of Argentina
| Temple | Dedicated |
|---|---|
| Bahía Blanca Argentina Temple | Announced |
| Buenos Aires Argentina Temple | January 17, 1986 |
| Córdoba Argentina Temple | May 17, 2015 |
| Mendoza Argentina Temple | Announced |
| Salta Argentina Temple | Announced |
Buenos Aires Argentina Temple
39th dedicated temple in operation; temporarily closed
The Church of Jesus Christ in Argentina
In 1923 two German immigrants named Wilhelm Friedrichs and Emil Hoppe began preaching the gospel in Buenos Aires. In December 1925, the Church built on their success by sending Apostle Melvin J. Ballard to dedicate South America for the preaching of the gospel and to establish the South American Mission. “The work of the Lord will grow slowly for a time here just as an oak grows slowly from an acorn,” Ballard prophesied shortly before leaving Argentina. When the work matured, he said, “The South American Mission will be a power in the Church.”
As predicted, the Church grew slowly in Argentina at first. Argentine members gained valuable experience in the 1940s when foreign missionaries were withdrawn from the country and local members assumed leadership of the branches and the mission organization. Growth accelerated after foreign missionaries returned in 1946.
A building program initiated in the 1950s provided local meetinghouses for the rapidly expanding membership of the Church and gave on-the-job training opportunities to young men called on building missions throughout the country. In 1966 a stake was created in Buenos Aires, and several others were created soon after. In 1986 the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple was dedicated. By the beginning of the 21st century, about 1 percent of Argentines were Latter-day Saints. In 2015 a second temple was completed in Córdoba, and a third, to be built in Salta, was announced in 2018.
Argentina is now home to approximately 450,000 Latter-day Saints organized into over 100 stakes and districts.
