Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Construction Status

The Maracaibo Venezuela Temple is currently in the planning stages. No groundbreaking date has been announced.

Temple Rendering

An official rendering of the Maracaibo Venezuela Temple has not yet been released to the public.

Temple Site

No site location has been officially announced for the Maracaibo Venezuela Temple.

Temple Announcement

On April 7, 2024, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Maracaibo Venezuela Temple at the 194th Annual General Conference. It will be the second in the country. The Caracas Venezuela Temple was dedicated by Church President Gordon B. Hinckley in 2000. At the time of the announcement, Venezuela was home to more than 175,000 Latter-day Saints spread over 230 congregations. In the early 1960s, U.S. expatriates working in Venezuela held Church meetings in their homes until 1966 when the first official congregation was organized. The first Venezuelan Latter-day Saint was baptized in 1967.¹

Temple History

At a special fireside held August 3, 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed approximately 5,000 Venezuelan members who had gathered in the city of Maracaibo to hear the prophet of the Lord. He encouraged members in their missionary work, noting that as membership increases, so does the possibility of new temples in the land. He foresaw the growth of the Church in South America declaring, "Where there are now hundreds of thousands, there will be millions and our people will be recognized for the goodness of their lives and they will be respected and honored and upheld. We shall build meetinghouses, more and more of them to accommodate their needs, and we shall build temples in which they may receive their sacred ordinances and extend those blessings to those who have gone beyond the veil of death."

President Hinckley pointed out the construction of the temple in Caracas, an eight-hour drive from Maracaibo. "You really need a temple over here," he said. "I am not making any promises, but I feel satisfied the time will come when we will have a temple in this part of Venezuela. Make your plans to drive that eight hours to Caracas and eight hours back and then look forward to the time when you won't have to drive so far."²