THIS MONTH IN CHURCH HISTORY
February 1998: A Prophetic Promise of a Temple
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, on the afternoon of Tuesday, 17 February 1998. In a large conference room at his hotel, he addressed about 900 members, including some who had traveled from Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda. In areas where members could not afford to travel to Nairobi, they pooled their funds to send representatives who could attend, return and share the experience.
“There is a tremendous bond of love that grows among the Saints of God wherever they may be found,” said President Hinckley in his remarks. “It is a marvelous and wonderful thing. As I look into your faces, I can see the same bond of affection as I do when I look into the faces of people in the Salt Lake Tabernacle. We are all part of this great family—this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”
President Hinckley also said: “There isn’t the slightest doubt in my mind that the time will come, if you will walk in faith and patience, that a temple will be built in this land to serve the needs of this people. Now, don’t count on it for a few years, . . . but it will be so.”
On Saturday, 11 September 2021, ground was broken for the Nairobi Kenya Temple. Elder Joseph W. Sitati, Area President and early member of the Church in Kenya, dedicated the land for the long-awaited temple. President Hinckley’s prophesy of a temple in Kenya is now becoming a reality.