The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released the locations of two temples to be built in Nigeria. Church President Russell M. Nelson first announced the Lagos Nigeria Temple in October 2018 and the Benin City Nigeria Temple in April 2020.
An updated rendering of the Kona Hawaii Temple has also been released.
Lagos Nigeria Temple Site
This house of the Lord will be built on a 2.7-acre site located at Rumens Road and Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria. Plans call for a one-story temple of approximately 19,800 square feet. An arrival center and patron housing will also be constructed on the site.
Benin City Nigeria Temple Site
The Benin City Nigeria Temple will be built on a 2.17-acre site located at 16 Commercial Ave., Benin City, Nigeria. Plans call for a two-story temple of approximately 30,700 square feet, as well as an arrival center and patron housing.
The first temple in Nigeria was dedicated in the city of Aba in 2005 by former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008). The Aba Nigeria Temple was just the third house of the Lord built on the continent of Africa, following those constructed in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Accra, Ghana. Plans were announced in October 2022 to build a temple in the city of Eket, bringing the total number of temples in Nigeria to four, which is currently more than any other country in Africa.
Nigeria, the most populous country in West Africa, is home to more than 220,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 770 congregations. The Church of Jesus Christ was officially established in Nigeria in 1978. Church members from all over Nigeria serve their communities every year during the All-Africa Service project.
Detailed design plans for these temples are still being developed. Further information, such as exterior renderings and groundbreaking dates, will be made public later. Project leaders continue to work with city officials on preliminary plans for the temples in preparation for construction activities.
Kona Hawaii Temple Rendering
An artist’s rendering of the reconstructed Kona Hawaii Temple has also been released. Extensive renovations for this house of the Lord were announced in August 2022. Kona is located on the western coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
Latter-day Saints consider temples to be houses of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies, such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.
This is an official press release re-published by LDSDaily.com from Newsroom.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
