October 27, 2025, 5:00 AM MDT
One week after the groundbreaking of the second temple in Ghana, groundbreaking took place for another house of the Lord in Africa, the Cape Town Temple in South Africa.
Elder Carlos A. Godoy, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa South Area, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony in South Africa on October 25.
Once dedicated, it will be the third temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the country and the southernmost House of the Lord on the African continent.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Cape Town temple was broadcast online and information about the ceremony was posted on the Church’s South Africa Newsroom on Sunday, October 26th.
Elder Godoy spoke to attendees about the history of ancient temples and the reasons for building them in modern times, including the opportunity to return to the celestial home.
Regarding substitutionary work, he added, “These ordinances are possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ, because of his atoning sacrifice that brought about these blessings, and because of the possibility of uniting what is happening here on earth in heaven.”
Elder Godoy expressed his love and gratitude to his friends and neighbors in the community during the prayer dedicating the site and construction process.
“Give them peace and prosperity,” he prayed. “May this sacred house be a light on the hill, a place of peace, reverence, and inspiration for all who come near it. May everyone feel your Spirit as they approach this sacred place.”
Elder Godoy said, “African temples are being built for an emerging generation,” which is evident by the white stones that border areas of symbolic soil inversion. These stones are decorated with the names of the Primary children of the Belleville South Africa Stake and Cape Town South Africa Stake and were placed to symbolize the faith of future generations who will lay the foundation of the House of the Lord.
The Cape Town South Africa Temple will be an approximately 9,500-square-foot, one-story building that will also include an on-site meeting hall and arrivals center. The Observatory in Cape Town will be built on a 3.79 acre site at 3 Riesbeek Street.
church in south africa
The late President of the Church Russell M. Nelson announced the House of the Lord in Cape Town, South Africa on April 4, 2021. The 20 temple locations he identified at that general conference also included two additional temples in Africa, Kumasi, Ghana, and Beira, Mozambique.
The Cape Town Temple is one of three temples in South Africa in various stages of operation, with the other two still in operation. The first is the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, dedicated in 1985 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, then Second Counselor in the First Presidency. It was also the first on the African continent.
The second home of the Lord in this country is the Durban South Africa Temple, dedicated in 2020 by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
In 1852, Brigham Young directed three missionaries to open a mission in South Africa and preach the restored gospel. They were called up to serve at the Cape of Good Hope in British Africa and arrived in Cape Town on April 19, 1853.
By the end of 1855, six branches had been established in and around Cape Town.
President of the Church David O. McKay arrived in Cape Town on January 9, 1954, becoming the first General Authority to visit the African continent. The first Stake in South Africa, the Transvaal Stake, was organized in Johannesburg on March 22, 1970.
There are currently more than 74,000 members living in approximately 200 congregations in South Africa.
On October 24, the Church announced the creation of 16 new missions in Africa, including a mission to East London, South Africa. These are among 55 mission creations that will come into effect worldwide on July 1, 2026.
