LDS Church sets groundbreaking for Tijuana Mexico Temple

Construction is about to begin on the new Tijuana Mexico Temple. This comes as a relief for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in northern Mexico who must cross the U.S.-Mexico border to worship in the church's San Diego California Temple.

The church's First Presidency recently announced that the groundbreaking ceremony for the new temple will take place on Saturday, Aug. 18 at 9 a.m. local time at the temple site, which is located on Avenida Insurgentes in southeastern Tijuana.

The ceremony will be broadcast via satellite to all of the stake centers in the temple district, which includes 10 stakes and one mission.

"Surely our Father in Heaven has beheld the efforts and sacrifices of those who — until now — have traveled long distances to receive the sacred ordinances of the temple," said members of the area presidency, Elders Daniel L. Johnson, Benjamin De Hoyos and Octaviano Tenorio, in a letter to stake presidents in the temple district. "(He) has heard the prayers of his faithful children and has inspired his servants the prophets to build a holy temple in Tijuana.

"For those church members who reside in the district of this new temple of the church in Mexico," the letter continued, "it will be a transcendent blessing and highly memorable occasion to gather together and be witnesses of the establishment of one of the houses of the Lord near our homes."

Construction of the new temple — the 13th such structure in Mexico — will begin immediately after the groundbreaking ceremony. While the church has not issued a construction schedule, LDS temples usually require 18 months to two years to build and prepare for dedication, which means the Tijuana Mexico Temple should be complete sometime during the summer of 2014.