RACE, RELIGION + SOCIAL JUSTICE
Groundbreaking held for the Harare, Zimbabwe Temple
Dec 12, 2020, 5:24 PM | Updated: 5:28 pm
Four temples are in the process of building built in East Africa, with two currently under construction. The Zimbabwe Harare Temple will be one of the closest to the Rwanda Kigali mission. Image credit: Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
A small grouping of people, including the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, participated in a groundbreaking for the Harare, Zimbabwe Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday.
Zimbabwe native, and General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Africa South Area Presidency, Elder Edward Dube, offered the dedicatory prayer.
“As we watch the rising of this building from the ground up, may we also turn our hearts upward to Thee and Thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ,” said Elder Dube.
The event was also attended by the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Emmerson Mnangagwa.
In a statement from the Church, President Mnangagwa was reported to have said to the group, “I applaud your church leadership for its strategic decision to construct this temple in Zimbabwe.
“This development is testimony to my Government’s commitment to the protection of the right to freedom of worship as enshrined in our National Constitution,” Mnangagwa said. “The church, just like the family, remains an important institution for the nationalization of social norms, values, and ethics.
According to a statement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been an influence in Zimbabwe since 1930, when Church missionaries from the United States and Europe first arrived. Today there are more than 35,000 Church members in Zimbabwe at 90 congregations, according to the statement.
Image credit: Google Maps
