Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with the Mayor of Óbuda-Békásmegyer, Mr. László Kiss, in Budapest, on March 1, 2024, to present the Church and discuss the details of the temple that the Church is preparing to build in the municipal area.
Also attending the meeting were Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Jack N. Gerard of the Seventy and second counselor in the Europe Central Area Presidency, and Péter Borsos, president of the Budapest Hungary Stake.
The Budapest Hungary Temple was announced in April 2019, and the exact location of this house of the Lord was announced in October 2023. This will be the first temple of the Church in the country. Currently, Church members must travel to Freiberg, Germany, to worship in the temple. An artistic representation of the Budapest Temple was recently released by the Church.
Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Scarica foto
During the meeting, Elder Christofferson explained why Latter-day Saints build temples around the world and shared the Hungarian members’ excitement about having a house of the Lord in their country. Elder Christofferson said “the mayor was very supportive. He welcomes all religions and faith groups into the community and has promised to support the contribution of the Church in the local community.” The mayor was invited to attend the public opening which will take place as soon as the temple is completed and ready for inauguration.
“Mayor Kiss and his collaborators gave a warm welcome to the representatives of the Church, and a particularly friendly and cordial spirit prevailed throughout the discussion.
The representatives of the Church gave the mayor a small statue of the risen Christ and thanked him for his gratitude and availability. In return, Mayor Kiss, also a man of faith, presented the elder Christofferson with an extraordinary gift: a 200-year-old emblem that has been part of his family for generations.
“It is a precious object. It is truly meaningful and touching for me to receive such a refined and generous gift from him. Truly meaningful, something I will treasure and take home with me,” concluded Elder Christofferson.
There are more than 5,200 Latter-day Saints and more than 20 congregations in Hungary, a central European country. The first missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ arrived in Hungary in 1885. Missionary work was suspended for several decades after the First World War. The Church was officially recognized by the Hungarian government in 1988, and the country’s first meetinghouse was dedicated a year later.
Latter-day Saint temples differ from chapels and meetinghouses, where members gather for Sunday church services. Temples are considered the house of the Lord, where the teachings of Christ are reaffirmed through sacred ordinances that unite families for eternity. Inside, members are taught the purpose of life and make alliances to serve Jesus Christ and others.