| Cochabamba Bolivia Temple | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Number | 82 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dedication | 30 April 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley |
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| Site | 6.51 acres (2.6 hectares) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Floor area | 33,300 sq ft (3,090 m2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Reno Nevada Temple | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Followed by | Tampico México Temple | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Official website • News & Images | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Cochabamba Bolivia Temple is the 82nd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Bolivia's first convert to the LDS Church was baptized in December 1964, a month after missionaries first arrived. Just forty-four years later there are over 158,000 members across the country.[1]
In 1995 the church announced that they would be building a temple in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba. The next year President Gordon B. Hinckley presided over the groundbreaking. He addressed the 4,000 gathered Saints during one of the heaviest rainstorms the area had seen in ten years. He addressed the gathering, "My beloved and wet brothers and sisters".[2]
Before the Mormon temple was dedicated it was open for one week to allow non-members and members to tour the temple. Originally the temple open house had been scheduled for two weeks, but because of civil unrest in the city of Cochabamba due to an ill-fated attempt to privatize the municipal water supply (Cochabamba protests of 2000), the first week was cancelled. Leaders of the Church were pleased when nearly 65,000 people toured the temple, coming close to their goal of 75,000. Because of the open house 2,232 people requested to be visited by the Mormon missionaries.
President Hinckley dedicated the Cochabamba Bolivia Temple in four sessions on 30 April 2000. In his dedicatory prayer President Hinckley recognized the founder of Bolivia, Simón Bolívar, who died the year the Church was organized.
The Cochabama Bolivia Temple is of classic modern design reflecting the Bolivian culture. The exterior is finished with a blend of hand-hewn granite and plaster. A statue of the angel Moroni tops the single tower. It has a total of 33,302 square feet (3,093.9 m2), two ordinance rooms, and three sealing rooms.
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