BYU NewsNet - Paraguay Temple to be dedicated May 19

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Paraguay will soon have a new temple to worship in.

Elder Kenny Peterson, a missionary in the Asuncion, Paraguay Mission, from Orem, said more than 4,000 people attended the first day of the open house.

"We expect even more people on the final day of the open house next Saturday (May 11)," Peterson said.

"Everybody is really excited for the dedication," he said. "We've been told that President Hinckley is coming."

Peterson, who has been serving in Paraguay for the past nine months, said the missionaries are using the temple as a reference point to contact and teach people interested in the church.

Peterson said busloads of Paraguayans are coming from all over the country to the temple's open house.

The temple is located in a prominent place in the city, Peterson said. "Most people know what it is, and that makes it easy to get them interested in talking about the church," he said.

Peterson said the church gave the missionaries invitations with a picture of the Asuncion Temple on it.

"We have been passing them out to everybody. We sing on the buses and hand them out there," he said.

The members are looking forward to having a temple in their country, he said.

Seth Smoot, 23, a junior from Provo, majoring in visual arts, and a returned missionary from the Paraguay Asuncion Mission, said Paraguayans have worked hard and are deserving of a temple.

"The temple will show the membership the church is looking out for them," he said.

The open house will continue until Saturday. The temple will be dedicated in four sessions on May 19, and regular temple worship will begin May 20.

Mike Otterson, director of media relations for the Church of Jesus Christ, was unable to confirm whether or not President Hinckley would be going to Paraguay to dedicate the temple. Otterson did say that normally it is the president of the church who dedicates temples.

The new temple will have two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms and is approximately 10,700 square feet. The plans to build the temple were announced during the April 2000 General Conference of the church by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

In President Hinckley's closing remarks, he announced the church's plans to build six more temples. Of the six temples announced during conference, the Asuncion temple will be the fourth temple dedicated, according to the LDS Web site.

The ground was broken on February 3, 2001 and dedicated by Elder Jay E. Jensen, president of the South American South Area for the church.

At the dedication of the temple grounds, Elder Jensen gave thanks that the members of the church would be able to receive the blessings of the temple and to be enabled to do so in their own country, according to LDS church news.

Proximity has become a major reason for the church's emphasis on building more temples. President Hinckley has repeatedly expressed his desire to have temples accessible to all members of the church.

The three temples that were previously dedicated are operating and are located in Snowflake, Ariz.; Lubbock, Texas and Richland, Wash. The other two temples are in various stages of planning or construction and are located in Helsinki, Finland, which is still in the planning stages, and Aba, Nigeria, currently under construction.