Nine years after President Thomas S. Monson announced there would be a temple in Concepcion, Chile, Church and community members will be able to tour the edifice. According to Newsroom, the open house for the recently finished temple will run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 13, prior to the dedication on Oct. 28.

The temple, announced during the Saturday morning session of the October 2009 general conference, will be the second temple in Chile. The first temple was built in Santiago in 1983 and rededicated in 2006, and is located more than 300 miles away from the new temple.

Located near the Biobio River along the Pacific Coast in central Chile, the 23,000-square-foot temple will be the Church’s 160th temple, and will serve some 122,000 Church members living in southern Chile and southwest Argentina.

The neoclassic styled temple stands at 124 feet tall and is typical of other historic Chilean church buildings. The interior features original art glass, stone from Portugal and Spain, and includes lapis lazuli — deep blue metamorphic rock, that is native to Chile. An Angel Moroni statue stands at the top of a domed spire.

The dedication is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 28, and will include three dedicatory sessions. The services will be broadcast for members throughout Chile, and the evening before the dedication, the youth of the temple district will participate in a special devotional.

During the announcement in conference, President Monson said at that time 83 percent of Church members live within 200 miles of a temple.

“We desire that as many members as possible have an opportunity to attend the temple without having to travel inordinate distances,” he said.

Tickets are required for the temple open house. Guests are invited to tour the temple every day of the week except Sundays (Sept. 16, 23, 30 and Oct 7).

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