See Inside the New Durban South Africa Temple
Contributed By Sydney Walker, Church News staff writer
The Durban South Africa Temple, which will be dedicated on February 16, 2020.
Interior photos of the Durban South Africa Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were released to the public on January 20.
An open house begins Wednesday, January 22, and runs through Saturday, February 1, excluding Sunday, January 26. The temple is located atop a grassy knoll about 12 miles north of the Durban city center at 2 Izinga Drive, Izinga Ridge 4021, Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal. The temple site is 14.49 acres.
The Durban South Africa Temple will be dedicated on Sunday, February 16, in three sessions, and a youth devotional will be held the evening prior. The youth devotional and all dedicatory sessions will be broadcast to select meetinghouses in the temple district.
The temple was announced by President Thomas S. Monson on October 1, 2011. Elder Carl B. Cook, then President of the Africa Southeast Area, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony on April 9, 2016.
Inspired by the buildings of downtown Durban, the temple design features fluted stone panels accenting the window openings. Simple geometric carvings highlighting the African roots of the region can be found in the center of the fluting. Custom-made rugs have a South African basket-weaving design, and the Italian marble flooring contains tribal geometric patterns. The temple has a pitched red-clay tile roof similar to the houses in the surrounding Izinga neighborhood.
The temple landscape features thousands of indigenous trees and shrubs, including king palms, the coral tree, South African aloes, and the strelitzia juncea, a narrow-leaved bird of paradise. Decorative motifs of the national flower of South Africa, the king protea, can be seen on the temple entry gates, art glass, and stone benches.
This temple is the second in the country of South Africa. The Johannesburg South Africa Temple was dedicated in 1985.
The baptistry in the Durban South Africa Temple.
The baptistry font is on the backs of 12 oxen in the Durban South Africa Temple.
An instruction room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
An instruction room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
The celestial room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
The celestial room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
The bride’s room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
A sealing room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
A chandelier in the celestial room in the Durban South Africa Temple.
Detailed decor in the Durban South Africa Temple.
Detailed decor inside the Durban South Africa Temple.
Stained glass windows in the Durban South Africa Temple.
The grand staircase in the Durban South Africa Temple.
Beautiful plants, flowers, and trees are located throughout the grounds of the Durban South Africa Temple.
Detailed decor in the Durban South Africa Temple.
Statue of the angel Moroni on the Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
Entry into the Durban South Africa Temple.
Benches are placed on the beautifully landscaped grounds to sit, ponder, and look at the Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
The Durban South Africa Temple.
