Temple Announced for Manaus, Brazil

The First Presidency announced plans to construct a temple in Manaus, Brazil, in a letter to Brazilian priesthood leaders on May 23, 2007.

“We commend the Saints for their devotion and faithfulness, and are thankful for the blessings that will come to them through the construction of this new temple,” the First Presidency said in the letter.

Once completed, the Manaus Brazil Temple will be the sixth temple in Brazil. Stakes to be included in the temple district will be announced at a later date.

With temples constructed near the southern and eastern coasts of Brazil, some members living in the central and northern areas of Brazil must travel more than a thousand miles (1600 km) to attend the nearest temple.

“We are confident that this will be a blessing to the many faithful Saints in this and the surrounding areas who have had to travel long distances to enjoy the blessings of the temple,” the First Presidency said.

There are currently 124 operating temples in the world, with 6 under construction and 6 announced, including the Manaus temple.

The first Latin American temple was built in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1978, when the country’s membership totaled only 54,000. President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) presided at the cornerstone ceremony. President Gordon B. Hinckley rededicated the São Paulo temple in 2004 after renovation.

At the end of 2005 there were 928,926 members in Brazil, which is home to three additional temples in the cities of Recife, Porto Alegre, and Campinas. The Curitiba Brazil Temple, for which construction began in 2005, is expected to be complete by next year.

In a recent visit to Curitiba, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles promised members, “If you prepare to go to the temple and do the ordinances for yourselves and for your ancestors, you will build a testimony of this work, which you would not achieve otherwise.” He also said, “It is perhaps easier to build a temple than it is to prepare the people for a temple.”