At the 181st semi-annual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Prophet Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of a new Mormon temple in Durban, South Africa.  This will be the second temple for South Africa.  The Johannesburg, South Africa temple was dedicated in 1985.

The first missionaries to South Africa arrived in April 1853, and in August, the first congregation was organized four miles from Cape Town. Two years later, there were three congregations totaling nearly 130 members. Missionaries were not sent to South Africa from 1865 to 1903 because of government restrictions and the inability to speak the Afrikaans language. A few years after missionaries returned to South Africa, the first Church building was built in Mowbray in 1916-17.

An area conference was held for the first time in October 1978, attended by 3,450 of the 7,200 members living in South Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), and South West Africa (Namibia). In February 1992, another conference was held in Johannesburg with 4,200 in attendance. In February 1996, another regional conference had more than 5,000 in attendance. Today, members of all origins work together to overcome cultural barriers that have been prevalent in South African society.  There are around 55,000 Latter-day Saints in South Africa of all races.  The LDS Church does not segregate races in congregations or in the temples.

For information and Mormon news about the other temples that have just been announced visit the newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”)

At the 181st general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Prophet Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of two new temples in Africa, one in Durban, South Africa, and one in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.  These will be the fourth and fifth temples to be constructed in Africa, with existing temples in Johannesburg, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; and Aba, Nigeria.  Members in Congo currently attend the temple in Johannesburg, over 2000 miles away.  The Kinshasa Temple will serve 23,000 Latter-day Saints.

The first missionaries arrived in Kinshasa in February 1986, when the Church received legal status. Meetings were first held in the homes of members. Then the Church purchased a villa and had it remodelled into a meetinghouse. In September 1986, at the first meeting in the 200-seat facility, 208 Church members attended.

The Zaire Kinshasa Mission was created in 1987, and nine years later the Church had grown sufficiently for a stake (diocese) to be organized.

In 1991 a religious education program for youth and young adults was introduced.

For Mormon news and information about the recently announced temples visit the official newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ.

The building of the Accra, Ghana Mormon temple was announced on February 16, 1998. Years before the temple was announced, President of the Mormon Church Gordon B. Hinckley had promised members in the area that if they fellowshipped new members they would be blessed with a temple. When the temple was announced, President Hinckley also told those in attendance that the Church had been trying to find a place to build a temple in Ghana for five years. The Accra, Ghana, temple was the second temple built in Africa and the 117th Mormon temple worldwide.

The first Mormon missionaries came to Ghana in 1978. It took only 25 years for a temple to be built there, which shows how quickly the membership of the Mormon Church has grown in the area. Many of the people present at the announcement of the temple had been some of the first converts in Ghana, and most expressed their amazement at how far the Church had come.

A site dedication and groundbreaking ceremony were held on November 16, 2001. Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, led the ceremony. The vice president of Ghana as well as other officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony, and a radio station and Ghana Television covered the event. The Mormon temple sits on 6 acres on the main avenue that runs through the center of Accra. The exterior of the temple is made of Namibia Pearl Granite. The total area of the temple is 17,500 square feet, which includes two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms. During the construction of the temple, there were numerous problems in gaining the proper permits, which slowed the progress, but all obstacles were overcome.

The temple was opened to the public for guided tours December 3-20th 2003. During the tour people were able to see the exquisite craftsmanship utilized on the interior of the temple. All of the materials used in the building of the temple were from the area. Moldings in the temple were made of the native makore wood, skilled men in the area handcrafted the furniture and art-glass windows reflect the culture. The vice president of Ghana as well as many other officials took tours through the temple.

President of the Mormon Church, Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Accra, Ghana Mormon temple on January 11, 2004. The temple serves members in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin and the Ivory Coast.

Physical Address:
ACCRA GHANA TEMPLE COMPLEX
57 INDEPENDENCE AVE
NORTH RIDGE
P.M.B. CT 209, CANTONMENTS
Ghana

Mailing address:
c/o Africa West Area Office
POUCH
Ghana
Phone:   (233) 21-650-113

Other Links:

Temple: Information from Answers.com
Mormon Temple Ordinances – ReligionFacts.com
Mormanity: Mormon Temples and “Secrecy”
History of Mormon Temples – Lightplanet.com

An announcement was made on April 2, 2000, that a Mormon temple would be built in Aba, Nigeria. This temple was the third temple to be built in Africa and the 121st operating Mormon temple worldwide. The temple site is 6.3 acres on the outskirts of the Ogbor River. A bridge had to be built over the river so that people could get to the temple. The temple is highly visible.

The people of Nigeria received the announcement of the prospective temple in their country with great joy. The members here are strong and active in the Mormon Church. Many people began joining together to worship as Mormons even before Mormon missionaries were able to enter the country. These righteous people sought out any information they could find about the Church from pamphlets that somehow came into the country and from friends who were living in the United States or other places where the Church was available. There were, of course, minor errors in ritual, doctrine, and organization in some of the churches that had formed, but when missionaries were able to come into Nigeria, they found a people yearning to learn more about the Church, be baptized and receive the priesthood.

In the 1960’s the Mormon Church headquarters received more letters from Nigeria and Ghana than other countries combined. In all the letters the people were asking for more information and asking for missionaries to be sent. Representatives were sent from the Church to see what could be done in Nigeria and there they found thousands who had joined together to form churches patterned after the Mormon Church. All were waiting until the time when they could be baptized into the Church. The first missionaries were able to enter Nigeria in 1978. People lined up to be baptized and in just a few short weeks the first branch was organized in Nigeria. Now there are more than 68,000 members in Nigeria

A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication was held on February 23, 2002. More than 2,000 people were present at the ceremony including Mormon members, Church leaders, tribal chiefs from the area, and government leaders. Construction began soon after the site dedication. The plan for the temple included two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms and a total area of 11,500 square feet. The outer walls are made of Namibian pearl granite.

An open house was held June 18-July 2, 2005, to allow people to tour the inside of the temple and learn a little more about the ceremonies performed in the Mormon temple.

On Saturday August 6, 2005, the day before the temple was dedicated, a celebration was held. It told the story of the area through song and dance.  President of the Mormon Church, Gordon B. Hinckley, dedicated the Aba, Nigeria Mormon temple on August 7, 2005. More than 7,000 people were present for the dedication. During the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley prayed for the welfare of Nigeria, “Bless this nation that it may rise in strength and freedom from among the nations of Africa. Bless its leaders that they may look with favor upon Thy Saints and safeguard their rights, property and privileges.”

In late August, 2009, the Aba Nigeria Temple was closed for safety reasons due to ongoing violence in the area.

Physical Address:
Okpu-Umuobo Road
Off Aba-Owerri Road At Union Bank
P.O. Box 12709
Aba, Abia State
Nigeria

Mailing address:
c/o Africa West Area Office
POUCH
Nigeria

Phone:   (234) 803-903-4804

The Johannesburg South Africa Temple is the 36th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Jesse Haven stood on the slopes of Lion’s Head overlooking southern Africa’s Cape Town, already a historic city, on May 23, 1853, and there prophesied that many people who were honest in heart would there come to rejoice in the everlasting gospel. On that occasion, Jesse Haven, William H. Walker, and Leonard I. Smith organized the Mormon Church in South Africa and dedicated the land to missionary work.

Harsh conditions and opposition resulted in slow progress in those early days. [1] In 1865 the missionaries were pulled out, but were sent back in 1903. In 1940 missionaries were again taken out because of WWII, but sent back after the war ended. From that time forward, the membership of the Mormon Church began to grow rapidly; so much so, that the Church leaders announced the building of a Temple in Parktown, Johannesburg, South Africa.

The site was dedicated and groundbreaking took place on November 27, 1982. There was an enormous effort put forth in preserving the area’s historical value. Once the site of estates built by nineteenth-century mining magnates and financiers, the area around the temple now features hospitals, office buildings, and schools, many of which are housed in mansions from the Victorian era. [2]

The Temple is visible from many parts of the city with its six spires reaching into the sky. The edges of the building are finished with tiered layers of face brick, immaculately fitted together, giving it an elegance and distinctiveness. [3] That with the gray slate roof and the indigenous quartzite for the temple’s perimeter walls and entrance archways, allow it to suitably fit in with the historic buildings nearby. [2]

President Gordon B. Hinckley, late Mormon Prophet, dedicated the Johannesburg Temple on August 24, 1985. The temple serves Church members from Congo, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Madagascar.

The Johannesburg South Africa Temple has a total floor area of 19,184 square feet, four ordinance rooms, and three sealing rooms.

Physical Address:
7 JUBILEE RD
PARKTOWN
JOHANNESBURG 2193
SOUTH AFRICA
Mailing address:
c/o Africa Southeast Area Office
POUCH
South Africa
Phone:   (27) 11-645-1540