Menu

First Presidency announces dedication, open house dates for Nairobi Kenya Temple

Elder Soares will dedicate the first house of the Lord in both Kenya and all of East Africa on May 18

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced dedication and open house dates for the Nairobi Kenya Temple, the first house of the Lord not only in Kenya but in all of East Africa.

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the temple in one session on Sunday, May 18, with the dedicatory session to be broadcast to all units within the temple district.

Prior to the dedication, a media day for the new house of the Lord will be on Monday, April 14, with invited guests touring the temple on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 15-16. A public open house is planned from Thursday, April 17, through Saturday, May 3, excluding Sundays.

The dates and dedication information were first published Monday, Jan. 13, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

President Thomas S. Monson announced a temple for Nairobi on April 2, 2017, during the April 2017 general conference. It was one of the last five temples he announced before his death in January 2018.

Nairobi serves as the headquarters city for the Church’s Africa Central Area, with one house of the Lord — the Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple — operating within the area, which was announced in 2019 and operational the following year. However, the stakes and wards in Nairobi currently are assigned to the Johannesburg South Africa Temple district — Johannesburg is a flight of more than four hours and more than 1,800 aerial miles or a drive of 2,400 miles and 48 hours from Nairobi.

When the Nairobi temple is dedicated, its temple district will include the countries of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The groundbreaking of the Nairobi Kenya Temple was presided over by Elder Joseph W. Sitati, a General Authority Seventy and Africa Central Area president, on Sept. 11, 2021. A Kenyan Member of Parliament, the Honourable Mr. Opiyo Wandayi, was also in attendance and shared a message written by the Right Honorable Raila Odinga, former prime minister of Kenya.

Elder Josephi Sitati, a General Authority Seventy, and Sister Gladys Sitati stand with a rendering of the Kenya Nairobi Temple at groundbreaking services on Sept. 11, 2021.
Elder Joseph W. Sitati, a General Authority Seventy, and Sister Gladys Sitati stand with a rendering of the Nairobi Kenya Temple during its groundbreaking service on Sept. 11, 2021. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In his remarks to the congregation, Elder Sitati — a native of Kenya who converted to the Church in 1986 — said that temples “usher in peace in the world, because of the effect they have on people’s hearts. That is why this is a special day.”

The first African converts in Kenya were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1979, supported by American United States Agency for International Development, known as USAID, employees and families serving in Kenya who held Church services in their own homes.

The Church received official recognition in 1991, and a decade later, the Nairobi Kenya Stake was organized on Sept. 9, 2001 — the first stake in Kenya.

Today, Kenya is home to more than 19,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 70 congregations.

Related Stories
Nairobi Kenya Temple | Church News Almanac
‘Hope’ and ‘rising generation’ underscore groundbreaking for first temple in Kenya and East Africa
What the Prophet and Apostles have taught about temple covenants
Newsletters
Subscribe for free and get daily or weekly updates straight to your inbox
The three things you need to know everyday
Highlights from the last week to keep you informed