The Accra Ghana Temple is the 117th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
The building of the Accra Ghana Temple was announced on February 16, 1998. Years before the temple was announced President of the LDS Church Gordon B. Hinckley had promised members in the area that they would someday have a temple close by. When the temple was announced President Hinckley also told those in attendance that the Church had been trying to find a place to build a temple in Ghana for five years. The temple in Accra is the second of three temples built in Africa.
The first Mormon missionaries came to Ghana in 1978. Many of the people present at the announcement of the temple had been some of the first converts in Ghana.
A site dedication and groundbreaking ceremony were held on November 16, 2001. Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, led the ceremony. The vice president of Ghana as well as other officials participated in the groundbreaking ceremony and a radio station and Ghana Television covered the event. The Accra Ghana Temple sits on 6 acres (24,000 m2) on the main avenue that runs through the center of Accra. The exterior of the temple is made of Namibia Pearl Granite.
The temple was open to the public December 3-20th 2003. During the tour people were able to see the craftsmanship utilized on the interior of the temple. All of the materials used in the building of the temple were from the area. Moldings in the temple were made of the native makore wood, skilled men in the area handcrafted the furniture and the art-glass windows reflect the culture. The vice president of Ghana as well as many other officials took tours through the temple.
President of the LDS Church, Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Accra Ghana Temple on January 11, 2004. The temple serves members in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Benin, and the Ivory Coast. The Accra Ghana Temple has a total of 17,500 square feet (1,630 m2), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.
There is a Stake Center on the grounds of the temple.
Famous quotes containing the words ghana and/or temple:
“While the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man’s humanity to man.”
—Maya Angelou (b. 1928)
“If one doubts whether Grecian valor and patriotism are not a fiction of the poets, he may go to Athens and see still upon the walls of the temple of Minerva the circular marks made by the shields taken from the enemy in the Persian war, which were suspended there. We have not far to seek for living and unquestionable evidence. The very dust takes shape and confirms some story which we had read.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)