After five years of construction, members of the public are now invited to tour the Harare Zimbabwe Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
An open house for the sacred edifice will run from Jan. 22 to Feb. 7, excluding Sundays. A media day is also being held Jan. 19, and invited guests will tour the temple Jan. 20-21.
Leading the media day tours are two General Authority Seventies: Elder Vaiangina (Vai) Sikahema, second counselor in the Africa South Area presidency, and Elder Erich W. Kopischke, assistant executive director in the Temple Department.
A sealing room inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Information about the open house — including interior and exterior photographs — was published in a Jan. 19 news release on the Church’s Africa Newsroom, in conjunction with media day.
After the open house, Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will dedicate the Harare temple on March 1. The single dedicatory session, at 10 a.m. local time, will be rebroadcast at 2 p.m.
Once dedicated, the Harare temple will be the first house of the Lord in Zimbabwe and the 214th operating temple worldwide.
The temple stands at 65 Enterprise Rd., Harare, Zimbabwe, in southern Africa. Latter-day Saints in the city are currently assigned to the Johannesburg South Africa Temple, about 14 hours away by vehicle.
The baptistry inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Design and features
A single-story building of approximately 17,250 square feet, the Harare temple is clad with corobrik golden wheat travertine bricks. The temple’s exterior draws from the architecture and Indigenous culture of Zimbabwe, including a design motif of simple triangular patterns. The geometric styles in art glass include a floral motif of the national flower, the flame lily.
Inside the building, sculpted carpet designs in neutral tones — with both geometric elements and floral motifs — complement the art glass. Floral patterns carry over to the entry rug, with Harare-native designs of the flame lily, aloe ballii, Yoruba bologi, African lettuce, terracotta gazania, aspilia mossambicensis and wentzel’s sugarbush.
An art-glass window inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Materials used in this house of the Lord include porcelain tile, sultan beige stone baseboards and countertops sourced from Turkey. Doors and hardware use a bronze-brass mix finish, with a French gold finish in the sealing and celestial rooms.
Hues throughout the temple reflect local flora and fauna and the region’s landscape. These are reflected in some art pieces as well, and many of the approximately 45 paintings focus on the Savior. Adorning the 6.7-acre site are locally sourced plants, including feather duster and jacaranda trees.
The celestial room inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
About the Harare temple
On April 3, 2016, then-Church President Thomas S. Monson announced a house of the Lord for Harare, Zimbabwe.
The Harare temple is the only temple announced by President Monson that has yet to be dedicated. That’s been the case since yesterday, Jan. 18, when the Alabang Philippines Temple was dedicated; President Monson had announced it in April 2017.
The recommend desk inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
On Dec. 12, 2020, ground was broken for the Harare temple, with the president of Zimbabwe in attendance. The event was by invitation only to adhere to local government social-distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elder Edward Dube — a General Authority Seventy and then first counselor in the Africa South Area presidency — presided over the ceremony and dedicated the site for construction. Twenty-six years after becoming the first stake president in Zimbabwe, Elder Dube now serves in the Presidency of the Seventy.
At the groundbreaking, he noted the temple “will stand not only as a manifestation of the faith of Latter-day Saints who live close by in this country and the neighboring countries of Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique but also a manifestation of the faith of Saints all around the world.”
The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church in Zimbabwe
Harare’s temple is the first in Zimbabwe, but it will join eight dedicated temples on the continent of Africa. These are the Johannesburg South Africa (dedicated in 1985), Accra Ghana (2004), Aba Nigeria (2005), Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo (2019), Durban South Africa (2020), Praia Cape Verde (2022), Nairobi Kenya (2025) and Abidjan Ivory Coast (2025) temples.
Latter-day Saints lived in Southern Rhodesia — the name of Zimbabwe prior to 1980 — as early as 1925.
The country’s first mission, the Zimbabwe Harare Mission, covered Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. It was organized in 1987 by dividing the South Africa Johannesburg Mission.
A chandelier inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Harare Zimbabwe Stake — the country’s first — was created Dec. 12, 1999. The number of Latter-day Saints in the country exceeded 8,500 at the time. Church membership in Zimbabwe would then triple from 2000 to 2016, reaching more than 27,000.
As of September 2025, Zimbabwe is home to around 49,600 Latter-day Saints across 116 congregations.
The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Harare Zimbabwe Temple
Address: 65 Enterprise Road, Harare, Zimbabwe
Announced: April 3, 2016, by President Thomas S. Monson
Groundbreaking: Dec. 12, 2020, presided over by Elder Edward Dube, a General Authority Seventy
Public open house: Jan. 22 through Feb. 7, 2026, excluding Sundays
To be dedicated: March 1, 2026, by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Property size: 6.7 acres
Building size: 17,250 square feet
Building height: 104 feet (including the spire)
The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints An instruction room inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A design inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A waiting area inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The exterior of the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A couch inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A waiting area inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A sculpted carpet design inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Door handles inside the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints A meetinghouse adjacent to the Harare Zimbabwe Temple. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
