OAXACA, Mexico — Members' dreams for a temple in this city came one step closer to reality March 13 as ground was broken in Mexico's isthmus for the Oaxaca Oaxaca Temple.
The 500 members in attendance at the March 13 ceremony were overjoyed at the event. To express their feelings, some laughed while others wept; almost all showed emotion as their once-elusive hopes for a temple started to be realized.
The temple, located on Avenida Universidad on the west outskirts, about 300 miles southeast of Mexico City, is the 101st temple announced. Elder Carl B. Pratt of the Seventy and president of the Mexico South Area, who presided at the ceremony, related that in 1863 President Brigham Young declared "that the Salt Lake Temple would not be the only temple built, but there would be hundreds of temples on the earth."
Elder Pratt said, "Today, we are seeing the fulfillment of this prophecy."
Elder Pratt, accompanied by his wife, Karen, led in the groundbreaking and was followed by presidents of the six stakes and one district in the temple district, and Pres. Tomas Concha Martinez of the Oaxaca mission. Their wives accompanied them to the ceremony.
Site preparation for the new temple, which was announced Feb. 23 to priesthood leaders in a letter from the First Presidency, is expected to begin as soon as April. When the announcement of a temple was made in sacrament meetings Feb. 28, the temple committee began working rapidly to prepare for the groundbreaking ceremony.
In his remarks, Elder Pratt observed: "It is impossible to really understand the greatness of this day. I wish we were able to comprehend the existence of a temple standing here, for which we have prepared the way."
He described the sacrifices of the early Saints as they built the Nauvoo Temple, working day and night even though they understood that they would soon leave it behind as they departed for the west.
"They sacrificed all that they had to build that temple," he said. "Today we do not have to sacrifice very much. The Church has the means, and religious intolerance is no longer significant. The Church is respected by those in authority in all the nations of the world.
"The temple will be a great missionary tool and the day will come when there will not be just three stakes in Oaxaca and three in the nearby Istmo region, but dozens of others, and additional temples. It is my prayer that we examine our lives, study the scriptures, that we may have family prayer, family home evenings, and keep the commandments."
He asked the bishops to update their lists of members and to call family history consultants, and to prepare for a great leap forward in missionary work.
"This is a historic day, a great day," he said. "One in which we need to examine our lives and put them in order. I know that all who have temple recommends are vigilant."
Pres. Israel Rubalcava Lopez of the Oaxaca stake encouraged members to "offer an offering of righteousness" including "a book with the information of our ancestors and a greater dedication to the work of the Lord."
Pres. Rafael Ortiz Santiago of the Oaxaca Monte Alban stake observed that, "We are special witnesses of an event of great significance for the members of Oaxaca."
He recalled interviewing a young woman who wanted to go to the temple. In order to help her family, she was selling matches, oil and boxes. "We are grateful for this sacrifice. But now we will have a door here through which we can enter the realm of heavens on the ladder seen in Jacob's vision."
Pres. Jose Luis Alonso Trejo of the Oaxaca Mitla stake noted that his gratitude for the temple was not passive, but active and full of love for the Lord. "I know that the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have been fulfilled," he said. "We must serve our fellow beings, those with whom we speak and walk, and also those whom we do not see, and those with whom we will not walk unless we love them."
A pioneer member, Josefina Sanchez, who was baptized in 1956, shared a brief testimony. "Because we have a House of the Lord, we should not be weary in preaching the gospel," she said.
Another pioneer member, Miguel Sol, who has frequently spoken of having a temple in Oaxaca, also spoke. "Our hearts must grow and be filled with love in order to give love, for none can give what he or she does not have," he said.
