From their residence in Provo, Francis Nmeribe and his wife Ada Uche Kalu Nmeribe, who previously served as mission leaders of the Nigeria Enugu Mission, were tuned into the general conference on a Sunday afternoon.
As the words of President Russell M. Nelson began to fill the room, the couple felt a compelling urge to listen more attentively. “We were eager to hear the prophet’s words,” Nmeribe shared. “But, our deepest desire was to hear the announcement of new temples, particularly the Abuja Nigeria Temple.” The couple had served in Abuja during their mission leadership and had always felt that the area was in need of a temple.
When President Nelson declared the construction of the Abuja Nigeria Temple as one of the 17 new temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Nmeribes felt their prayers, and those of the saints in that part of Nigeria, had been answered. “We both leapt up, collided with each other in our excitement, and cried out ‘Alleluyah,'” Francis Nmeribe recalled.
For Latter-day Saints, temples are sacred places where they make covenants with God and gain a deeper understanding of His plan for happiness. “Here is my promise to you: Every sincere seeker of Jesus Christ will find him in the temple. You will feel his mercy. You will find answers to your most vexing questions. You will better comprehend the joy of his gospel,” President Nelson assured during his Sunday afternoon conference address.
Latter-day Saints worldwide reacted to the temple announcements with joy and gratitude, believing that God had answered their prayers.
Abuja, Nigeria
Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, will be home to the country’s sixth temple. The country boasts more than 230,000 Latter-day Saints across 810 congregations. The first temple in the country was dedicated in Aba in 2005 by former Church President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Nnamdi Okonkwo, a Nigerian who moved to the states and attended BYU-Hawaii in 1989, expressed his long-held dream and prayers “for the day Nigerians would be free from the bondage of the hardships Nigerians have been under.” He believed it would take a miracle.
“I now firmly believe that that day of miracle has come,” Okonkwo declared. “God is now among us, residing in his temples that are beginning to dot the land.”
Okonkwo believes that temples are places where, when covenants are made, the windows of heaven are opened and God bestows blessings that cannot be hindered. “I fully expect that the saints will become the means through which Nigeria as a whole will be liberated,” Okonkwo stated.
Russell Stevenson, an author who has written about Latter-day Saints in Africa and spent more than a year in Nigeria, described the country as an “immensely diverse country, with over 250 distinct language groups.” He emphasized the importance of these identities to the people of Nigeria.
“Set in the nation’s capital, the Abuja temple offers Nigeria’s many Latter-day Saint communities, regardless of whether they are Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa or Efik, the opportunity to participate in rituals of binding and bonding — even with the memory of conflict fresh in their minds,” Stevenson explained.
The temple provides an opportunity for unity in Jesus Christ, Stevenson added. “This offers a lesson for all Latter-day Saints.”
Kampala, Uganda
Uganda Kampala Mission President Philip J. Mathemara expressed his belief that the Kampala Uganda Temple, the nation’s first temple, will “bring peace, harmony, healing, and blessings to all his (God’s) children, strengthen the roots of faith in Uganda, enrich lives through revelation, healing and covenant-making.”
He envisioned a “new era of community, peace and joy” as the temple is built. It will be a beacon of hope and eternal promise for the people of Uganda, and he said he is deeply humbled to watch as God unfolds his plan for his children in Africa.
“As a melting pot of cultures and nationalities, Uganda’s diverse landscape is now blessed with a symbol of God’s love and redemption,” said President Mathemara. “The temple will stand as a refuge, calming the storms and fostering spiritual growth, peace and joy among the saints.”
It will be the first temple in Uganda, which has more than 22,000 Latter-day Saints in around 40 congregations. There has been a Latter-day Saint presence in Uganda since the 1960s, and the first official congregation was established in the early 1990s.
Maputo, Mozambique
“The people in and near Maputo have been prepared to have the blessings of the House of the Lord close to them,” said Mozambique Mission President David A. Valletta.
President Valletta explained that current and future Latter-day Saints will be able to have increased access to Jesus Christ’s power through covenants made in temples. “As the wonderful Latter-day Saints here open the spiritual doors available only in the Lord’s house, the blessings of heaven will be poured out on this great nation and people,” said President Valletta.
The Maputo Mozambique Temple will be the country’s second temple. The country’s first temple was announced in 2021 and is the Beira Mozambique Temple.
Maputo is the capital of Mozambique where over a million people live. There are nearly 25,000 Latter-day Saints in the country, and missionary work officially began there in 1999.
Read the entire story at Deseret.com.
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