Santiago Chile Temple

1983 Dedication of the Santiago Chile Temple

During his trip for the 1981 groundbreaking of the Santiago Chile Temple, President Spencer W. Kimball met with Admiral José Toribio Merino Castro, the commander-in-chief of the Chilean Navy. During the groundbreaking, President Kimball expressed his desire to also attend the dedication of the temple.

Despite the prevailing poverty at the time, the Chilean Saints not only donated the amount of money they were expected but exceeded their donations. Members sold everything they could to show their gratitude for a house of the Lord being built in the country. From gold rings to gold fillings in teeth, the Saints gladly sacrificed to do their part to build the temple.

The growth of the Church in Chile was accelerated in the years before the Santiago temple’s open house. Only two years before the open house, there were 3,000 Melchizedek Priesthood holders in Chile. At the time of the open house, the number of Melchizedek Priesthood holders tripled to approximately 9,000.

From the announcement of the temple to the dedication, members in the temple district prepared 85,000 names to be taken to the temple from four-generation pedigree charts and 125,000 names from the Chilean records.

President Kimball was unable to make the trip to the dedication due to his health. President Gordon B. Hinckley, then second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the temple in President Kimball’s place on Sept. 15, 1983. President Hinckley also dedicated an adjacent meetinghouse during his visit to Chile.

“As the years pass, you will look back upon this occasion with increasing satisfaction,” President Hinckley said to the Chilean Saints. “I have seen the work of the Lord in this nation. I have seen from modest beginnings the flowering of the work of the Lord.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: "We dedicate unto Thee, our Father and our God, and unto Thy Beloved Son, our Savior and Redeemer, this the Santiago Chile Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We dedicate the ground on which it stands, the vegetation that beautifies it, the building in every part and all of its facilities and equipment, as a temple of God, a house of holiness to which Thee and Thy Son may come as to Thine own abode. May Thy Spirit abide here always, and may all who enter feel of that Spirit."

Read the 1983 dedicatory prayer of the Santiago Chile Temple here.  

2006 Rededication of the Santiago Chile Temple

The rededication of the Santiago Chile Temple and a member meeting the night before were the first public appearances by President Gordon B. Hinckley after receiving surgery to remove a cancerous growth.

“I wondered whether I would be able to get here,” said President Hinckley. “I pondered over it. I prayed about it. I decided I would make the effort. I am so grateful that I have done so.”

President Hinckley had a long history with Chile, as he organized the first stake in Chile in 1972 as well as performed the original dedication of the Santiago Chile Temple 11 years later. When speaking of the growth that occurred between his first visit to Chile with only a handful of members in the country to the time he rededicated the temple, President Hinckley emphasized that there was still much growth to come. “Where we have thousands, we will have tens of thousands.”

President Hinckley was accompanied by Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Elder Richard G. Hinckley, a General Authority Seventy and son of President Hinckley.

Elder Perry spent a large portion of the week talking with missionaries and members. Speaking of the many prayers that were offered in President Hinckley’s behalf, Elder Perry said to the Church President at the member meeting in a nearby soccer stadium, “There was no doubt you would be here, because [the Chilean members] were praying for your safety and health.”

The rededication of the house of the Lord took place on March 12, 2006, in two dedicatory sessions. Despite the recent surgery, President Hinckley was described as having a sharp mind and a strong voice. Elder Perry said after the first rededication session, “President Hinckley was at his best. He conducted the entire session. Gave the dedicatory prayer. You would not know he had ever been ill. His vigor was absolutely amazing.”

Sergio Buleti, a bishop from Concepción, Chile, said of the time during the temple’s remodel, “We remodeled our lives and made them better at the same time the temple was being remodeled so we can enjoy the blessings of the temple.”

Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “All of this has been made possible by the consecrations of Thy faithful Saints throughout the world. Bless them for their expressed love for Thee in observing the sacred law of tithing. Open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them as Thou hast promised. Bless them that they shall never miss that which they have given, but, rather, may they bask in the fruits of Thy generosity toward them.”

Read the 2006 rededication prayer of the Santiago Chile Temple here.

The Santiago Chile Temple was announced on April 2, 1980, with the groundbreaking taking place on May 30, 1981. The dedication of the temple was performed by President Gordon B. Hinckley on Sept. 15, 1983, with Elder Boyd K. Packer and Elder Bruce R. McConkie accompanying him.

The temple was closed for renovations in January 2005. The temple was rededicated on March 12, 2006, by President Hinckley, with over 29,000 people attending the dedication in the temple and in meetinghouses throughout the temple district.

Architecture and Design of the Santiago Chile Temple

The Santiago Chile Temple stands on a 2.61-acre property where a Church school used to be. Native Chilean stone appears in the baptistry and the entryway of the temple. The house of the Lord was originally 14,572 square feet. When the temple was renovated, the edifice was increased by 6,259 square feet for a total of 20,831 square feet. During the renovations, 12 oxen statues, found commonly in temples, were installed in the baptistry to represent the twelve tribes of Israel.

During the renovations, there also were changes to the decor with handcarved wainscoting being installed in the waiting area. Motifs of Chile’s national flower, the copihue, were featured on door handles and art-glass windows. Floor motifs of inlaid Chilean marble and lapis lazuli, a native blue stone, also were put in. The temple has two ordinance rooms, with three sealing rooms and a celestial room.