SALT LAKE CITY — Groundbreaking dates for the Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo Temple and the Ephraim Temple have been announced by the LDS Church.
Leaders will break ground for the Lubumbashi Temple on Saturday, August 20, 2022, with Elder Mattew L. Carpenter, Africa Central Area President, presiding.
The Lubumbashi Temple will be the second LDS temple in the Congo, and will be 19,300 square feet, with ancillary buildings of 31,000 square feet that will include a distribution center and patron and missionary housing.
There are nearly 90,000 church members in more than 250 congregations in the Congo; missionary work began there in 1986.
Groundbreaking for the Ephraim Temple will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2022, with Elder Walter F. Gonzalez of the Quorum of the Seventy presiding.
Ephraim's Temple will be built on a nine acre site located at the intersection of 200 North and 400 East, and will be approximately 39,000 square feet over three stories, serving over 31,000 church members in the district.
There are 27 other temples in Utah currently in operation, under construction, or under renovation, including the Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Deseret Peak, Draper, Heber Valley, Jordan River, Layton, Lindon, Logan, Manti, Monticello, Mount Timpanogos, Ogden, Oquirrh Mountain, Orem, Payson, Provo City Center, Provo, Red Cliffs, Salt Lake, Saratoga Springs, Smithfield, St. George, Syracuse, Taylorsvilleand VernalTemples.
Attendance at both groundbreaking ceremonies will be by invitation only.
