Mexico City Mexico Temple Fun Facts

The Mexico City Mexico Temple is the 26th dedicated Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the first Temple built in Mexico, built 100 years after the first missionaries were sent to Mexico.

Mexico City's Temples "Manzana del Templo" (Temple Square) houses several other Church buildings including a missionary training center, stake center, patron housing facility, and a visitors center. During Christmas, the grounds are decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights in a festive display of the season. 

During a speech given in an area conference in 1979, President Spencer W. Kimball told the group of an impression he received on a trip to Mexico more than 30 years before saying: "I had great expectations for the Mexican people, and I had a dream about your progress and growth. . . When I had my dream there was not a single stake or ward in all Mexico. I saw a temple, and I expect to see it full of young men and women."

The Mexico City Mexico Temple is the largest temple outside of the United States. It is 117,133 square feet. With twelve sealing rooms, and a chapel that seats 300.

One of the biggest problems getting a temple is Mexico was a Mexican law stating all buildings were required to be open to the public. This law would compromise the sacred nature of the Temple. Over time this law changed and the Church was able to get the necessary building permits in 1979.

Because the proposed site for the temple had once been covered by a lake, the ground was marshy, and local Saints feared it would not support the weight of the Temple. With this concern President Spencer W. Kimball visited Mexico City before construction began and spent several hours alone on the property. He prayed for guidance regarding the site and received a confirmation that it was the will of the Lord for the temple to be built there. Plans were modified to strengthen the foundation, incase of earthquakes.

The Mexico City Temple was dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley on December 2, 1983.

At the dedication of the Mexico City Mexico Temple, Elder Ezra Taft Benson received the distinct impression that God was not pleased with Church members' neglect of the Book of Mormon. Stressing the importance of the Book of Mormon would later become one of the hallmarks of his presidency.

The Mexico City Mexico Temple is one of only five temples featuring an angel Moroni statue holding the gold plates. The other Temples are the Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Jordan River, and Seattle Washington Temple.

By its 25th anniversary, the Mexico City Mexico Temple had dropped at least eight feet in elevation due to the rapid subsidence of Mexico's capital city.

In 2007 and again in 2015 the Mexico City Temple was closed for remodeling and refurbishments. The Temple was rededicated on November 16, 2008 by President Thomas S. Monson and Henry B. Eyring in 2015.

References:

"Temples of the New Millennium" by Chad Hawkins p. 54

https://churchofjesuschristtemples.org/mexico-city-mexico-temple/