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Puerto Rico Temple: Answer to the Prayers of the Saints on that Island
Great joy for the construction of the San Juan Puerto Rico Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Puerto Rico believe that the construction of the temple in their country is an answer to their decades-long prayers, a blessing from Heavenly Father, and a show of love for His children who reside on the island.
“When President Russell M. Nelson announced the temple for Puerto Rico, I was alone in my room, watching General Conference, and the emotion was so great that I cried, I thanked Heavenly Father for answering my forty-year prayer.” expresses María del Carmen Carrasco Caraballo, from the Ponce 1st Ward, Ponce Puerto Rico Stake.
Leaders express the enthusiasm with which members are preparing for the opening of the temple. They work with their family history, search for names to do ordinances, learn indexing, take classes in preparation for the temple, and some travel to the Santo Domingo Temple preparing to serve as ordinance workers in the House of the Lord.
Wilfred Rosa, president of the San Juan Puerto Rico Stake, referring to how the reality of having a temple in Puerto Rico impacts him in a personal way, says: “What it will mean for my children, for my grandchildren, for my country; all the trips that we have made with sacrifice and a lot of effort to the Dominican Republic, Washington, Utah, bearing the names of our ancestors, and now we will be able to do it here.”
The feeling of joy, gratitude, and of being blessed is very visible in the members of the Church when they talk about the temple, the progress of the construction and how they are preparing for the great opening, highlighting their constant prayers and fasts in request of the quick completion and dedication.
“Many are eager to see the temple open because they want to see the finished building and are excited to attend and do ordinances and make covenants,” says Juan José Vázquez of the Rio Grande Branch, San Juan Puerto Rico Stake.
They affirm that with the temple in their territory they will increase their contributions to save lives and work more fully in the gathering of Israel. They reflect that their faith and love for the Lord will grow as they strengthen their testimonies as Latter-day Saints. They also ensure that they will be able to attend the temple more regularly.
Although due to the COVID-19 pandemic the work was stopped in March 2020, they felt confident that everything would be resolved. “I clung, with all my heart, to the knowledge that God’s timing is perfect, and I felt peace,” says Sister Carrasco Caraballo, happy that the work was resumed in May of that same year.
According to some members, the construction of the temple has made it possible to share what the building represents as the House of the Lord and the ordinances that are performed therein to their friends, relatives and neighbors who are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ, who are invited to ask Heavenly Father about the truthfulness of these things. While the members are exhorted to live in such a way that they are always worthy to enter this sacred place.
A testimony of preparation
Sister María del Carmen Carrasco, from the Ponce Puerto Rico Stake, along with a group of her from her Ponce 1st Ward, are preparing in the Santo Domingo Temple and have been set apart to serve as ordinance workers in the temple in her country.
“After forty years of waiting for this great blessing, our sights are on the temple and the ordinances that are performed there. Our goal is to be able to serve in the Puerto Rico Temple,” she says.
While the temple is being built, this sister has focused on teaching Primary children the importance of family history and temple work for a Latter-day Saint. On the other hand, she has increased the search for data to strengthen her family history and strives every day to stay worthy to enter the House of the Lord.