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Durban South Africa Temple

On 1 October 2011, during the opening session of the 181st semiannual general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Thomas S. Monson, then-President of the Church, announced the construction of a temple in Durban, South Africa. The Durban South Africa Temple will be the fifth Latter-day Saint temple built in Africa and the second in South Africa. The Johannesburg South Africa Temple, which was dedicated in 1985, was the first Latter-day Saint temple built in South Africa.

The nation of South Africa has 12 stakes, 4 districts, and 1 operating temple in the city of Johannesburg, over 350 miles (570 kilometres) northwest of Durban. The city of Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. With a metropolitan population of almost 4.5 million people, it is the country's third-largest city, behind Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The design for the Durban South Africa Temple was inspired by the buildings of downtown Durban. The corners of the building and tower employ simple and elegant detail, while fluted stone panels accent the window openings. In the center of the fluting, simple geometric carvings highlight the African roots of the region. Similar to the houses in the surrounding neighborhood, the temple has a pitched red clay tile roof.

The indigenous landscaping brings color and life to the temple grounds. The entire site is 14.49 acres. More than 800 trees dot the grounds, including symbolic king palms and flowering trees such as the coral tree, with its vibrant red flowers. Among the 2,800 square meters of lawn are thousands of shrubs, vines, and flowers, including South African aloes that flower in winter and the striking strelitzia juncea, well known in the region. In addition, decorative motifs of the king protea, the national flower of South Africa, have been used around the temple on the entry gates, stone benches, and art glass.

The Durban South Africa Temple features more than 50 exquisite art pieces, including many scenes from the life and ministry of Jesus Christ and several pieces depicting African landscapes. The temple walls are adorned with scenes of sunsets, rivers, waterfalls, African wildlife, and indigenous flora and fauna.

Early Church History in South Africa

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a long-standing history in South Africa. In August 1853, only 23 years after the Church was officially organized, the first congregation in South Africa was formed four miles from Cape Town. The growth of the Church was amazing. In just two years' time, one congregation became three, and South African Latter-day Saints in the area totaled almost 130. Government restrictions and challenges in speaking Afrikaans led to a period from 1865 to 1903 in which no Latter-day Saint missionaries were sent to South Africa. Just a few years after missionary work resumed there, the first Latter-day Saint church building was constructed in Mowbray in 1917.

The growth of the Church moved steadily onward. By October 1978, there were 7,200 church members in South Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and southwest Africa (Namibia), 3,450 of whom attended the area’s first conference. Fourteen years later, 4,200 church members attended a conference in Johannesburg, and four years after that, a regional conference celebrated the attendance of 5,000 church members.

As of 2014, South Africa had over 59,000 Church members of all races, worshiping in unity and working together to overcome some of South Africa’s cultural challenges. Throughout South Africa, there are 154 congregations, and 61 family history centers, where members and others can learn how to do genealogical research.

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Durban South Africa Temple

The ground was broken for the Durban South Africa Temple on Saturday, 9 April 2016, as hundreds of Latter-day Saints and other community members gathered to celebrate the event.

Elder Carl B. Cook of the Seventy and President of the Church’s Africa Southeast Area presided at the groundbreaking. He was joined by his wife Lynette. Elder Stanley G. Ellis and Elder Kevin S. Hamilton, also of the area presidency, and their wives Kathryn and Claudia, respectively, attended 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."

Today there are more than 61,000 Latter-day Saints in South Africa. The first temple in the country was completed in 1985 in Johannesburg.

The Church has three operating temples in Africa (Aba, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and Johannesburg, South Africa), and two more announced (Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and Harare).

Public Open House and Youth Devotional

A public open house was held for the Durban South Africa Temple from Wednesday, 22 January 2020 through Saturday, 1 February 2020. An open house was not held on Sunday, 26 January 2020. The open house afforded peoples of all faiths to step inside the temple and see the beauty of the sacred edifice, as well as provided them with information about why the Church builds temples.

The Durban South Africa Temple is located about 12 miles north of the Durban city center, in the new and developing Izinga neighborhood at 2 Izinga Drive, Izinga Ridge 4021 Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal.

A youth devotional was held on the evening of Saturday, 15 February 2020, in a meetinghouse close to the temple, and was broadcast to meetinghouses in the temple district. Church leaders spoke to the youth during the devotional.

The Durban South Africa Temple is Dedicated

One day before he was to dedicate the Durban South Africa Temple, Elder Ronald A. Rasband conducted the temple's final public tour, leading the contingent of the Zulu nation’s royal family headed by His Majesty, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, king of the Zulu nation; Her Majesty, Queen Mchiza; Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the king’s uncle; and other members of the royal family. Joined by Elder S. Mark Palmer, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa Southeast Area, Elder Rasband directed the group through the temple similar to the tours given to other guests during the recent open house, explaining the purpose and blessings of temple ordinances and covenants.

The Durban South Africa Temple, the second temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa, was dedicated on Sunday, 16 February 2020, by Elder Ronald A. Rasaband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The temple was dedicated in three sessions, 9:00 am, 12:00 pm, and 3:00 pm. Church News covered the events of the dedication. Accompanying Elder Rasband was Elder Carl B. Cook of the Presidency of the Seventy. Elder Cook lived in South Africa when he served in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency and presided at the groundbreaking of the Durban temple in 2016. He commented:

There was a feeling of awe as we sat on that empty hillside. We looked out over the valley and out to the ocean and realized that in a few short years, a temple would rise up on that ground. To have the sacred privilege of returning for the dedication of the Durban temple that has been built up to the Lord is very humbling. I am filled with joy.

All dedicatory sessions were broadcast to select meetinghouses in the temple district, so Latter-day Saints across the temple district (consisting of the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa and the countries of Lesotho and Mozambique) could participate in the services.

Prior to the dedication, Elder Rasband had been in South Africa for 10 days meeting with members, missionaries, and local kings and queens. Elder Rasband remarked, "And even though I’ve been with two kings, today I had the strong impression that we were here to worship and honor the King of Kings."

The Durban South Africa Temple is the 168th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will serve members in South Africa, Lesotho, and Mozambique. The membership is diverse, but Elder Rasband said the Church has a great way of minimizing the differences and creating a gospel culture.

According to Church News, Elder Rasband said, "What you saw outside was how the doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ unite us, and I felt very at one as a people today. Regardless of how they look, regardless of how they dressed, we were one people today—the people of the Church of Jesus Christ."