Durban South Africa Temple Wiki

The announcement was made by church president Thomas S. Monson on 1 October 2011, during the Saturday morning session of the 181st Semi-Annual General Conference.^[1]Monson, Thomas S “As We Meet Again”, Lds.org, October 2011. Accessed 17 December 2011.^[2]Walker, Joseph (1 October 2011). “LDS general conference opens with the announcement of six new Mormon temples”. Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved 1 October 2011

Six new temples were announced at this time. These sacred structures would be built throughout the world, in Provo Utah (in the burned out shell of the Provo Tabernacle), Paris France, Barranquilla Colombia, Star Valley Wyoming, Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Durban South Africa. The Kinshasa and Durban Temples would be the fourth and fifth temples built on the African continent. ^[3]Monson, Thomas S “As We Meet Again”, Lds.org, October 2011. Accessed 17 December 2011.^[4]“Mormon church president announces plans for new temples in Utah, Wyoming, Colombia, Africa”. Washington Post. AP. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2011.

President Monson expressed the central significance of temples in his announcement, saying,

“No Church-built facility is more important than a temple. Temples are places where relationships are sealed together to last through the eternities. We are grateful for all the many temples across the world and for the blessing they are in the lives of our members.”^[5]Monson, Thomas S “As We Meet Again”, Lds.org, October 2011. Accessed 17 December 2011. Temples are a central part of Latter-day Saint theology and religious practice. As such, they are treated with the utmost respect. Great care is taken to ensure that these houses of worship are beautiful and serviceable for Church members.

Although other temples already stood in Johannesburg, South Africa; Accra, Ghana; and Aba, Nigeria, the announcement of two more temples on the African continent was a milestone in a church with more than half of its membership living outside of the United States.

South Africa Temples at Time of Announcement

Announced

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Under Construction

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Dedicated

• Johannesburg South Africa [1985]

A groundbreaking ceremony, to signify the beginning of construction, took place on Saturday, 9 April 2016, with Carl B. Cook of the Seventy and President of the Church’s Africa Southeast Area presiding.^[6]“Ground Broken for Durban South Africa Temple: Construction to begin on the nation’s second temple”, Newsroom, LDS Church, 2016-04-09

Hundreds of Latter-day Saints and other community members gathered to celebrate the event for South Africa’s second temple.

Elder Cook was joined by his wife Lynett,. Elder Stanley G. Ellis and Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, also of the area presidency, and their wives Kathryn and Claudia, respectively, along with dignitaries and community leaders.

Elder Cook commented, “Today the ceremonial shovels will turn the soil, and the construction of the temple will begin. We can likewise begin building. We can build our personal lives in preparation for the temple. Today we can increase our faith, we can increase our obedience to God, and serve Him more fully.”^[7] Ingram, Aleah. “Ground Broken for Durban South Africa Temple.” LDS Daily, 11 Apr. 2016, .

On 18 June 2019 The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the dates for the public open house, youth devotional and dedication for the Durban South Africa Temple.

A public open house is scheduled for Wednesday, 22 January through Saturday, 1 February 2020. An open house will not be held on Sunday, 26 January 2020. The open house will afford peoples of all faiths to step inside the temple and see the beauty of the sacred edifice, as well as provide them with information about why the Church builds temples.

The Durban South Africa Temple will be dedicated in three sessions, 9:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 3:00 pm by Church leaders on Sunday, 16 February 2020. All dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple district.

The Durban South Africa Temple will be constructed on a hillside property near the ocean and the N2 highway in the Izinga development of Umhlanga Rocks, just north of Durban. Umhlanga is one of the fastest growing cities in South Africa, which enjoys a low crime rate and is known for having the largest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere—the Gateway Theatre of Shopping

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