HARARE, Zimbabwe, Dec. 13, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A handful of leaders and invited guests of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held a groundbreaking for the Zimbabwe Harare Temple on Saturday.
Attendance at the ceremony was limited because of local COVID-19 restrictions, said a news release from the LDS Church.
Elder Edward Dube, a General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Africa South Area Presidency, presided at the groundbreaking.
The event was also attended by His Excellency Emmerson Mnangagwa, president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.
Mnangagwa, who spoke at the groundbreaking service, said: “I would like to express my profound gratitude to the church for extending an invitation to me. It is most opportune that this event comes in this month of December, where the majority of Christians from all walks of life and denominations, commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.”
The temple will be the first constructed in the country of Zimbabwe. It joins 12 other temples — seven of which are either announced or under construction — on the continent of Africa. The Johannesburg South Africa Temple, the first to be constructed on the continent, was dedicated in 1985. The most recent temple dedicated was the Durban South Africa Temple, earlier this year. Plans to construct a temple in Harare were announced in April 2016 by former Church President Thomas S. Monson.
The temple will be built on a 6.7-acre site located in the Highlands area of Harare, which is Zimbabwe’s capital city. It will be a single-story building of approximately 17,250 square feet.
Details for the open house and temple dedication, upon its completion, will be announced at a future date.
