President Oaks dedicates temple in Brazil during first international trip as church’s top leader
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President Dallin H. Oaks dedicated the Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple on Sunday, marking the 12th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil and the 220th worldwide.
The dedication on Aug. 16 also marked a milestone for Oaks: It was his first trip outside the United States since becoming President of the Church nearly a year ago.
“Our service in the temples is centered on Jesus Christ,” Oaks said before offering the dedicatory prayer. “All that is learned and is done here relates to Him.”
Oaks said he specifically chose Brazil for his first international temple dedication because of his admiration for the country and its people.
“I was anxious to come to Brazil, into any city, because I esteem the nation so highly,” he said during an interview Saturday. “As soon as I saw there was a temple in Brazil, I chose that one because I wanted to come to this nation and feel the spirit of the people.”
Brazil is home to more than 1.5 million Latter-day Saints. In addition to the 12 temples now operating in the country, another 12 are in various stages of planning and construction.
“We rejoice in this growth and maturity of the restored Church in this great nation,” Oaks said.
The Belo Horizonte temple will serve Latter-day Saints who participate in sacred ordinances and make religious covenants there. Unlike regular meetinghouses, where members gather for weekly Sunday worship, temples are considered the Church’s most sacred places of worship.
President Oaks was joined at the dedication by his wife, Kristen Oaks, who described temples as a “connection between heaven and earth.”
“We come here to unite families who have passed and families who are living now,” she said. “It’s a very, very special place for us.”
Elders Steven R. Bangerter and Ronald M. Barcellos of the Seventy also spoke during the dedicatory session, along with Belo Horizonte Brazil Temple President Victor Pereira de Salles and Temple Matron Marcia de Salles. The service was broadcast to Latter-day Saints throughout the temple district.
In his dedicatory prayer, Oaks asked for blessings upon Church members and missionaries in Brazil as well as the country and its leaders.
“Please bless the citizens of Brazil and its neighboring nations that they may enjoy freedom and be prospered in their spiritual and temporal activities,” he prayed. “Also bless the leaders of this great nation. Inspire their minds and motives as they attempt to lead in righteousness and effectiveness.”
Oaks emphasized throughout his visit that temples are centered on Jesus Christ and play a central role in Latter-day Saint worship.
“The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple,” he said, quoting his predecessor, President Russell M. Nelson.