Ground has been broken for Ghana’s second house of the Lord for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the Kumasi Ghana Temple.
Elder Isaac K. Morrison, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Church’s Africa West Area presidency, presided over the ceremony Saturday, Oct. 18. He also offered a dedicatory prayer on the site and construction process.
Information about the Kumasi temple’s groundbreaking — which was broadcast online — was published in an Oct. 19 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
A second groundbreaking for Africa this month is scheduled for next Saturday, Oct. 25, for the Cape Town South Africa Temple.
Elder Morrison, in his remarks at the Kumasi temple groundbreaking, highlighted that houses of the Lord are central in Heavenly Father’s plan of bringing His children back to their heavenly home. Partnering with the Savior and making covenants with God, he said, brings safety, peace, joy and strength during trials.
“The temple is a special place, and the work done in the temple is done out of love. The Kumasi temple will truly impact this community. It will bring spiritual and physical light to this region,” he said.
In his dedicatory prayer on the site, Elder Morrison pleaded with Heavenly Father to “help us to remember this day,” to strengthen attendees as they prioritize their discipleship of Jesus Christ and prepare for His Second Coming.
“May this day be a spiritual groundbreaking for each of us gathered, marking a renewed dedication of Thy gospel,” he said. “Help us draw nearer to Thee and prepare ourselves to enter Thy holy house worthily.”
Planned as a two-story building of approximately 22,750 square feet, the Kumasi Ghana Temple will be constructed on a 2.08-acre site at Y11 Suntreso Road, Bantama, Kumasi. It will stand adjacent to an existing meetinghouse, with an arrival center also to be built.
About this temple and the Church in Ghana
On April 4, 2021, the late Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a house of the Lord for Kumasi, Ghana.
It was one of three Africa temple locations identified in that conference, alongside Cape Town, South Africa, and Beira, Mozambique. The Kumasi temple is the first of the three to break ground.
The Church has one operating temple in Ghana — the Accra Ghana Temple. It was dedicated in 2004 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th President of the Church.
In addition to the Kumasi temple, one other house of the Lord is currently planned for Ghana: the Cape Coast Ghana Temple, announced in 2023 by President Nelson.
Missionary work began in Ghana in the 1960s, after Ghanaians discovered literature about the restored gospel and asked the Church to send missionaries. Missionaries first arrived in August 1978, and the Africa West Mission — which included Ghana and Nigeria — was organized on July 1, 1980. On April 21, 1991, the first two stakes were organized in Ghana.
President Hinckley was the first Church President to visit West Africa, on Feb. 16, 1998, and was met with a gathering of 6,000 Latter-day Saints. It was in this visit to Accra that President Hinckley announced the first temple in West Africa would be built in Ghana.
More than 113,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 390 congregations live in Ghana.
