Plans to build a second temple in Mexico, in the northern city of Monterrey, were announced Dec. 27 by the First Presidency.
The temple will be the Church's 62nd temple when the current 14 in planning or construction are completed. (See related story on page 4.) The new temple will serve some 200,000 members in 49 stakes and 20 mission districts. Monterrey itself has some 30,000 members in nine stakes. It is expected that the temple will take two years for construction.Monterrey has a long Church history and part of that has been associated with temples. Missionaries came to Monterrey in 1920 and the first branch there was created in 1922 with 35 members. Growth came slowly for the next three or four decades. In 1949, the Church had grown to two branches with 477 members, and by 1962, 40 years after the first branch was created, the branches doubled again.
Then the growth began to accelerate, and within 14 more years, each of the four branches, still carrying their original names - Monterrey, Libertad, Mitra and Roma - became stakes.
One factor in the growth was the strength of the members who began making annual trips to the Arizona Temple in Mesa in 1947. These trips required great commitment from the members as they saved their money to travel over many miles of hot country roads in rented buses. The blessings they received at the temple lifted them to new levels of service.
Since then, additional stakes were created and members began traveling to the Mexico City Temple when it was dedicated in 1983. Members have submitted thousands of family names for temple work in the past year, according to Elder Angel Abrea of the Seventy and president of the Mexico North Area.
The city of Monterrey has also experienced growth. One of Mexico's most industrialized cities, it has grown from some 100,000 residents in 1920 to about 3 million residents today.