Latter-day Saints and invited guests listed to remarks made at the ceremonial groundbreaking of the McAllen Texas Temple groundbreaking ceremony on November 21, 2020. Photo credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
McALLEN, TX — A small gathering of people witnessed the ceremonial Temple groundbreaking on Saturday of the newest temple to be built by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ground was broken in McAllen, Texas, a small city only 10 miles from the Mexican border.
Because of COVID-19 gathering restrictions, fewer than 30 people witnessed the turning of the ceremonial shovels. Regional Church leader, Elder Art Rascon, offered the dedicatory prayer.
“This day is the result of tremendous faith and many prayers by so many who have waited so long — perhaps even all their lives,” said Elder Art Rascon, an Area Seventy, during the groundbreaking ceremony. “God bless you. Your faith and prayers have been recognized by the Lord.”
A rendering of the McAllen Texas Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Temple in McAllen will serve members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that city as well as Corpus Christi, and Laredo. A statement by Church officials said the McAllen Temple will also serve Church members in the northeastern Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon.
By the end of 2020, Church officials will have begun constructing 20 new temples across the globe. The site in McAllen will be the fifth Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple built in Texas. Other locations are in Dallas, Houston, Lubbock, and San Antonio.
By the end of the year, some 20 new temples will have started rising in 2020.
The McAllen Temple site was announced by Church Prophet and President Russell M. Nelson in October, 2019, during general conference.
According to a statement from the Church, “the ceremonies within each temple teach the purpose of life and unite families, past and present.
“As the central spire rises heavenward to this beautiful house of the Lord, might we as God’s children ever increase our faith and look to the heavens for wisdom and not to the ever-shifting values of the world,” Elder Rascon said.
“This temple will bring us closer to God.”
