Mexico City Temple Cultural Event

What follow are a series of pictures of the cultural event held in connection with the rededication of the Mexico City Temple. Over 9,000 youth participated in the event. Approximately 100,000 members attended. The evening was slightly windy and cool. Hundreds of people worked for months to bring this about. There were songs and dances and costumes representing the history of Mexico, including the pre-Columbian, Columbian, Spanish conquest, quest for independence, and modern times. Here is a picture of Elder Tenorio right before the event. He was placing the final touches on everything. His wife was giving him instructions and he was laughing. He has been very kind to Cindy and me. One of my very first experiences in Mexico was attending a Council of Inter-religious Faiths with Elder Tenorio. He is actually a very funny man. Deeply spiritual, he is a man of many talents. I’ve enjoyed his friendship and confidence. I am certainly blessed to work with the Area Presidency on a weekly and often daily basis.

The stadium began to fill. The stadium holds about 115,000 people and to see it fill was amazing. Some of the first people to arrive were the members of the choir. The choir was comprised of 600 members and was very powerful. My secretary, Tere, was a member of the choir. She is wearing the pink scarf below. Also, my paralegal, Wendy, was in the choir. I took her picture as well. I don’t know what I’d do without their capable help!

As the stadium filled, I wanted to take a few pictures of the “color” of the costumes. The next couple of pictures show some of the color. The seats of the stadium were like threads in a beautiful tapestry of color.

Here are a couple of pictures of the stadium as it is almost full.

President Monson and his daughter, President Eyring and his wife, President Mickelsen and his wife and Elder Grow and his wife (Rhonda) were with the First Presidency and were stuck in traffic. Some day I’ll write a treatise on traffic in Mexico City but sufficie it to say that there between 300-500 buses in the parking lot and surrounding the stadium. It was almost impossible to move anywhere. When they arrived, the entire stadium was waiting for President Monson. He gave everyone a warm welcome and I took this picture.
The Mexican National Anthem was sung by a young lady. Unlike the US, in Mexico, the national anthem cannot be performed without one’s having permission from the Mexican government. Although I had a number of tasks in connection with the event, one of them was to obtain permission from the government for the presentation of the national anthem. We obtained it with two days to spare!!



President Eyring addressed the crowd and told of his grandfather and father, both of whom were Mexican citizens. He related his memories of his grandfather tenderly singing and humming the national anthem. Tears came to his eyes. It was a very tender moment.






What follow are a series of pictures, none of them very good, of the youth and costumes. We were staring into a large bank of lights, television equipment, sound equipment, etc. It was a photographer’s nightmare. Anyway, I did the best I could to record the evening with a few photos. The costumes were absolutely top notch. Note the symbol of the Mexico City Temple on one of the shields.

During the program there was a danc called “The Old Men’s Dance.” At this point in the program, both President Monson and President Eyring stood up and began to dance. It was very funny. I took a photo of their dancing. It didn’t turn out very well so it's not included here.

Toward the end of the program, all of the missionaries serving in the Mexico City Temple District (1,200) filled the stadium floor. They entered the stadium singing “Called to Serve” and it was a MOVING sight. But, I was even more moved when President Monson stood in honor of these full-time representatives of the Lord as soon as they begin to file into the stadium. After singing Called to Serve, and seemingly without cue, the choir (600 members strong), the orchestra, the missionaries and nearly 100,000 attendees, began to sing “We Ever Pray for Thee.” They all removed white hankerchiefs and began waiving them. President Monson took a white hankerchief from his pocket and began waving it in response to the crowd. All my life, the hymn We Ever Pray for Thee has been one of my favorites. Tears came easily as we virtually stood next to a prophet of God and prayed that he may be sustained in the heavy responsibilities that are his to bear.

After the event, when a few of the participants and missionaries were on the stadium floor I took a few photographs in an attempt to show the magnitude of the gathering. Truly, it was a magnificent site and one we won’t forget.