Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple

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The Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is among the three temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be built in this African nation. President Russell M. Nelson announced its construction during the 191st Semiannual General Conference in October 2021. The two other temples are located in Kinshasa and Lubumbashi.[1]

As of September 2022, Church membership in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is over 89,000 in 255 congregations.

In the 1960s, several Congolese converts who had been baptized outside the country returned to their homeland and began petitioning Church headquarters to send missionaries to their country. In 1979, after receiving several letters from the country, Church President Spencer W. Kimball sent Oscar McConkie, a Church attorney, to explore the possibility of organizing the Church in Zaïre (later renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Although legal registration took nearly seven years, early converts met together in small groups and shared their faith with neighbors. When the first missionaries, Ralph and Jean Hutchings, arrived in February 1986, there were several groups meeting each week. In June 1986 a district was organized, and the following year a mission was created in Kinshasa. On August 30, 1987, Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles traveled to Kinshasa and dedicated the country for the preaching of the gospel.

The mission closed briefly in the early 1990s, but through the missionary efforts of local members, the first stake in Kinshasa was created in 1996. In 1997 the first stake in Lubumbashi was formed. Civil conflicts continued in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but Church members kept the faith and ministered to each other.[2]

Location

The Kananga Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple is currently in the planning stages. No location has been announced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


Temples in Africa

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