COBÁN, Guatemala — Before Elder Dale G. Renlund was called as a General Authority Seventy and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, he was a cardiologist and heart specialist.
In preparing to dedicate the Cobán Guatemala Temple, Elder Renlund was delighted to learn that the standard Q’eqchi’ greeting in the Alta Verapaz region is “Ma sa laa ch’ ool.” It means “How is your heart?”
“‘Ma sa laa ch’ ool’ seems like a wonderful greeting that I could have used as a cardiologist,” he said. “It is like asking everyone to evaluate their own health.”
The greeting also has application in the house of the Lord, where the purpose of ordinances and their associated covenants is to change hearts — “From who we are to who we need to become.”
“On this day of temple dedication, a great question for all of us to ask ourselves is, ‘How is my heart?’ If we let Him, God can and will change our hearts,” said Elder Renlund, who had traveled through Cobán once before.
“Once our hearts are changed, we need to periodically assess our heart. When we are greeted with ‘Ma sa laa ch’ ool,’ we should be prompted to ask ourselves, ‘How is my heart?’
“My invitation on this day of temple dedication is that you assess your own heart and change what needs changing. Dedicate your heart to God. ... When God asks you, ‘How is your heart?’ you will be able to answer, ‘All is well.’ Sa’ in ch’ ool. B’ an tiox. There is contentment in my heart.”
Elder Renlund dedicated the Cobán Guatemala Temple — the Church’s 193rd operating house of the Lord and the third in Guatemala — in two sessions on Sunday, June 9, five years since it was announced in 2019.
“Over many years, you have prayed to have a temple here,” he said. “God has heard those prayers. You have made the construction of this temple possible because of your faith and faithfulness. Thank you for your goodness.”
Elder Renlund was accompanied by his wife, Sister Ruth L. Renlund; Elder Taylor G. Godoy, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Central America Area, and his wife, Sister Carol Godoy; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and his wife, Sister Nancy Duncan.
Elder Renlund and the other leaders offered heartfelt greetings and handshakes to members as they entered the temple before both sessions. Elder Renlund also walked a short distance across the temple grounds and personally acknowledged members gathered in a meetinghouse that was also dedicated Sunday.
Both dedicatory sessions were conducted in Spanish, and speakers delivered messages in Spanish, Q’eqchi’ and English with translations offered. Elder Renlund delivered his talks and the dedicatory prayer in Spanish.
River tributaries and covenants
In the entrance of the new house of the Lord is an original painting that depicts the Polochic River in the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala. The painting shows a dramatic view of a prominent horseshoe bend in the river as it flows through a deep valley into Lake Izabal. Many tributaries join the river, each adding more water to make the river more powerful. For the Polochic River to become as strong as it is, it needs all its tributaries.
“In a similar way, for us to become who God intends us to be, we need to make more than one covenant with Him. Indeed, He desires that we make multiple covenants with Him,” Elder Renlund said.
The series of covenants a member makes in coming to Christ is referred to as the covenant path. Why are multiple covenants needed?
“It is because the multiple covenants are not only sequential but also additive in our relationship with God,” the Apostle said. “Each covenant is like adding a tributary to a river. Just like each tributary strengthens a river, each covenant strengthens our connection to God. Covenants are not, in and of themselves, the source of power. The source of power is the Lord Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. Making and keeping covenants create a conduit for their power in our lives. The stronger our connection is with God, the less likely we are to wander off the covenant path.”
Elder Renlund taught that the covenants of baptism, the endowment and the sealing are overlapping and mutually reinforcing.
“For us to metaphorically become a mighty river, we need to add as many tributaries as possible,” he said. “We need to make as many of these sequential covenants as possible to become more fully converted, more consistently faithful, and more deeply committed disciples of Jesus Christ.”
He continued: “Making and faithfully keeping multiple covenants draws us closer to and strengthens our relationship with God, just as multiple tributaries make the Polochic River as strong as it can be as it flows into Lake Izabal. Faithfully keeping multiple covenants qualifies us to receive all that Heavenly Father has.”
This is not the first time Elder Renlund has dedicated a temple near a prominent river. In April 2019, he dedicated the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple and mentioned the nearby Congo River in his messages and dedicatory prayer.
In November 2022, he spoke of the Amazon River when he dedicated the Belém Brazil Temple.
‘Come often to the temple’
Elder Renlund said the new house of the Lord will bless members in the Cobán Temple District, especially the youth and new converts, because it will save them a four- to eight-hour drive to Guatemala City that can sometimes be difficult depending on traffic and weather.
But while more accessible, the new temple is more than a beautiful sight to look upon. The Apostle hopes members will appreciate the opportunity to spend more time inside the house of the Lord and not let little things distract or get in the way of regular attendance.
“Come often to the temple of the Lord,” he said before referencing an April 2018 general conference message by President Russell M. Nelson. “The construction and dedication of the Cobán Guatemala Temple will not, by itself, change your life, but your time in this temple surely will.”
‘It touched lives’
On the eve of the dedication, Benjamin and Hilda Poóu, parents of five young children, reflected on their months of service as coordinators for the open house and dedication.
Not only did they feel greatly blessed for their efforts to plan and carry out the open house, they witnessed miracles as more than 54,000 visited the new temple over a three-week period.
“Many who came were not Church members. They walked away with a feeling of peace, maybe for the first time in their lives,” said Benjamin Poóu, who also serves as second counselor in the Cobán stake presidency. “Some came out asking the missionaries how they could become a member of the Church. One family is already preparing to be baptized.”
Hilda Poóu and her husband both grew up speaking Spanish and Q’eqchi’. She appreciated the opportunity to guide open house temple tours in the Q’eqchi’ language, an experience she will never forget.
“I felt an increase of the Spirit, and I knew they could feel the Spirit too,” she said. “Many said they knew it was the house of the Lord and had a desire to learn more about the gospel. It was very special.”
For the people to hear the gospel in Q’eqchi’ this way was “beautiful” to behold, Benjamin Poóu said.
It was the same during Sunday’s dedication. The couple agreed that it was “beautiful” to hear prayers, messages and the Hosanna shout in the Q’eqchi’ language. Benjamin Poóu was emotional as he reflected on the spiritual experience. “Without a doubt, it touched lives,” he said.
Poóu continued: “The Spirit was very strong. My heart was very touched. You can tell that my voice is not able to express my feelings in words,” he said. “It was wonderful to participate in the dedication and be in the presence of an Apostle in the temple. The Lord has many promises for His people in the dedicatory prayer, but they come with a high commitment to serve.”
‘I am very happy’
Candelaria Tot was 18 years old when she chose to be baptized and waded into the Chixoy River in 1958. Today her legacy includes 14 children, 57 grandchildren and 56 great-grandchildren, all steadfast Church members, she said.
Tot’s daughter, Maria Dolores Pacay, a devoted Latter-day Saint of 47 years, shares her mother’s joy in the gospel.
“We are very grateful to see the temple in Cobán,” she said. “We invite everyone who can to come see and visit it, as it is a sacred place, and we are amazed to see it grow, just as the Church has grown, and now there are temples and many wards. I am very grateful to Heavenly Father because all my siblings and our nephews and nieces are members and have served missions.”
The day before the dedication, Elder Renlund arranged to meet the 83-year-old Tot and members of her family. He knelt in front of her, gently held her hand, and expressed gratitude for her years of faith, dedication, sacrifice and service to the Lord.
Elder Renlund asked for a photo with Tot, who was wearing traditional white-and-blue Guatemalan clothing, and her family. Before leaving, he promised he would tell President Nelson about her.
When the Apostle was gone, the family surrounded their noble mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and took turns pulling her in for an emotional embrace. Tot’s countenance beamed.
“I am very happy,” Tot said. “I never thought I would meet someone so important. I am glad the First Presidency will know that we live the gospel here.”
Pioneers of Cobán
Felix Rosales was 17 years old in 1977 when he left home in search of work and met the missionaries, who introduced him to the gospel. Looking back, he didn’t understand everything right away, but he knew how he felt and had a strong desire to follow the Savior.
Because he was underage, Rosales needed his permission from his parents to be baptized. But after a 20-mile walk home, his father refused to sign the permission slip. “No,” his father said, “we don’t know anything about this religion.”
Rosales kept the paper, continued to meet with the missionaries, and tried again one week later. This time his father signed.
“I left running. I was so happy,” said Rosales, who delivered the document to the missionaries and was baptized.
Rosales later became one of the first Q’eqchi’ missionaries in the region of Alta Verapaz in Guatemala. He will now serve as the first president of the Cobán temple, something he never imagined because for so many years only a small group of members met in a rented building.
“Now [in Cobán] we have a stake center, a mission home and a temple. This is not a dream, it’s a reality,” he said.
Reflecting on the new house of the Lord, Rosales said, “I feel very blessed and grateful to have a temple today. I am seeing all the work of God that is being carried out for our Q’eqchi’ people here.”
Julia Ajanel’s faith journey began on April 5, 1968, with her baptism and confirmation the next day.
“We learned about the gospel in San Juan Chamelco, at the farm with the cabins. And then we came to the Church, and we continued following; at no time have we become inactive,” she said. “I thank my Heavenly Father for having given us that opportunity and that great blessing to be able to know His gospel, and I thank my Heavenly Father for each of the callings that I had within the church and also the callings that my husband had. He was the first patriarch in Cobán. Thanks to my Heavenly Father, I can continue forward in the gospel. My Heavenly Father has always blessed me.”
President Mario Chocooj Pop of the Cobán Stake said the new temple represents a “miracle.”
“It’s an answer to the desires, the actions and the prayer of many pioneers that had the faith that there would be miracles most of them would never see but that future generations would see. The temple in Cobán will be a refuge for everyone to come closer to the Savior.”
Family and community blessings
Sergio and Alejandra Milla, members of the Los Campos Ward in the Cobán Guatemala Stake, served as communications specialists on the temple open house committee.
Expressing what the new temple means to her, Alejandra Milla spoke of the promises that have been made by prophets over many generations about the growth of the Church in Guatemala and the power that flows in the members’ lives through making and keeping covenants in the house of the Lord.
“We are very grateful for this,” she said. “Many have worked hard to have this temple, and we know many souls on the other side of the veil are also happy.”
Her husband spoke of his grandmother, Maria Magdalena, who because of a missionary’s dream received a testimony of the gospel and was baptized in 1985.
“The testimony of my grandmother is the reason we — an entire generation of her family — are in the Church. Her conversion was special,” he said. “The temple has great significance for us.”
Sergio Milla also spoke of the transformation that is taking place in the community. He said the area where the temple now stands was once abandoned property, but since the temple’s construction, there has been progress and improvement in the community. He said some non-member residents who live near the temple even decided on their own to paint their homes to beautify the neighborhood.
“Cobán has been very blessed as the temple was built,” he said.
Cobán Guatemala Temple
Address: 4a. Avenida 4-48 Zona 8 Barrio Bella Vista, Cobán, Guatemala
Announced: Oct. 5, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson
Groundbreaking: Nov. 14, 2020, by Elder Brian K. Taylor, a General Authority Seventy and then president of the Central America Area
Public open house: April 25 through May 11, 2024
Dedicated: June 9, 2024, by Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 2.1 acres
Building size: 8,772 square feet
Building height: 80 feet to the top of the spire
