Chile Temple rededication postponed

It remained unknown Monday whether LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley will stick with his plans to attend the Santiago, Chile Temple's rededication ceremony, which has been postponed from late February to March 12.

"We'll wait for him to tell us his schedule," said Mark Tuttle, spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Tuttle said the date change was announced in Santiago Sunday, but no one with the LDS Church's temple department would tell him why or whether it was because of President Hinckley's recent surgery.

"They said, 'We're not commenting,' " Tuttle said.

According to Tuttle, the president is doing "great" after surgery late last month to remove a cancerous growth from his large intestine.

Last fall, the 95-year-old President Hinckley completed a 10-city, worldwide tour in 13 days. His next international visit was scheduled for Feb. 25-26 for the rededication ceremony in Chile.

Public tours of the temple began Jan. 21 and will continue through Feb. 11. The refurbished temple was dedicated in 1983 as the church's 24th operating temple. According to church officials, the temple serves more than 535,000 Latter-day Saints in Chile.