Praying for Light

For many years, Venezuelan Latter-day Saints had to travel great distances to attend a temple. In 1977, a large group of Venezuelan members journeyed all the way to the Salt Lake Temple, bringing around 20 tapestries to present to Church President Spencer W. Kimball and other Church leaders. The following year, couples from Venezuela were among the first to participate in temple ordinances when the São Paulo Brazil Temple was dedicated. The opening of the Lima Peru Temple in 1986 provided a closer option, but for many Venezuelan Saints, an overland journey to Lima took as long as five to seven days.

On September 30, 1995, Church President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that Church leaders were “working on the possibility” of constructing the first temple in Venezuela. Selecting a site proved more challenging than expected, with centers of Church membership spread across the country in Maracaibo, Caracas, and Valencia. Ultimately, Church leaders felt inspired to build a small temple in Caracas.

Church members who attended the groundbreaking in early 1999 were encouraged to establish solid foundations in their own lives. A year and a half later, more than 28,000 Venezuelans toured the temple during the open house. “Many left the temple in tears,” one local stake president recalled. “One woman walked out and asked ‘What next? How can I be a part of this Church?’” Following the dedication, one local member praised the temple as “the best thing that has ever happened to Venezuela,” and another predicted that it would “leave our people spiritually refined.”

On a fall day in 2004, the temple presidency was preparing for a busy day that would include visits from various groups from throughout the country. One group traveled 10 hours from the Island of Margarita in the Caribbean Sea to perform sealings for eight couples and their 17 children. But when the temple presidency arrived that morning, they were informed that the temple would have no electricity due to a scheduled maintenance power outage. Wondering what to do with the Saints who would soon arrive, the temple workers gathered to pray. Felix Lopez, the 87-year-old gatekeeper, offered the prayer and simply asked the Lord for light. After an impromptu testimony meeting in which many shared experiences of love and unity they enjoyed in the temple, the workers greeted the Saints on the temple grounds. Rather than sending the patrons home, the workers processed the ordinance paperwork by hand, and, after a few hours, they began performing the temple ordinances in a crowded temple without electricity. As the first patrons entered the celestial room that afternoon, electricity was suddenly restored, and the patrons whispered excitedly, “La luz!” The lights revealed the beauty of the temple and brought many patrons to tears as they contemplated the significance of that moment.