The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has set groundbreaking dates for four houses of the Lord. These include two temples in Nigeria, one in Hungary and one in Brazil.
The Lagos Nigeria, Natal Brazil and Benin City Nigeria temple groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for three consecutive Saturdays in May — May 10, 17 and 24, respectively — and the ceremony for the Budapest Hungary Temple is planned for June 21.
Information about these upcoming groundbreakings, as well as exterior renderings for the Lagos and Benin City temples, were first published in a March 24 news release on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Lagos Nigeria Temple
Elder Alfred Kyungu, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa West Area, will preside over the May 10 groundbreaking of the Lagos temple.
This will be a single-story house of the Lord of approximately 19,800 square feet. It will stand on a 2.7-acre site at the intersection of Rumens Road and Bourdillon Road in the Ikoyi neighborhood of Lagos, Nigeria. Also planned for the site are an arrival center and patron housing.
The Africa West Mission, which included both Nigeria and Ghana, was organized in 1980. Its name was later changed to the Nigeria Lagos Mission in 1985. Three years later, in 1988, the first stake in Nigeria was established.
Today, there are nearly 233,000 Latter-day Saints in 810 congregations in Nigeria.
Benin City Nigeria Temple
Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa West Area presidency, will preside over the May 24 groundbreaking of the Benin City temple.
It will be a two-story structure of approximately 30,700 square feet. Built on a 2.17-acre site, it will stand on a 2.17-acre site at 16 Commercial Ave., Benin City, in Edo State in southern Nigeria. Construction plans include an arrival center and patron housing.
Nigeria currently has one house of the Lord, the Aba Nigeria Temple, dedicated in 2005. In addition to the Lagos and Benin City temples, three other temples are in planning stages, in Eket (announced in 2022), Calabar (2023) and Abuja (2024).
Budapest Hungary Temple
Elder Rubén V. Alliaud, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Europe Central Area, will preside over the June 21 groundbreaking of the Budapest temple.
A one-story building of approximately 18,000 square feet, the temple will be built on 5.92-acre grounds. Its site — located at the intersection of Kocsis Sándor út and Borsikafű utca, in the Harsánylejtő neighborhood of Budapest, Hungary — will include an arrival center and patron housing.
Missionaries first arrived in Hungary in 1885, but because of political restrictions limiting missionary work, the Church didn’t receive official recognition from the Hungarian government until 1988. Missionaries saw so much success in that year that appointments had to be scheduled three weeks in advance.
Today, Hungary is home to more than 5,000 Latter-day Saints in 21 congregations.
Natal Brazil Temple
Elder Mark D. Eddy, a General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the Brazil Area presidency, will preside over the May 17 groundbreaking of the Natal temple.
This edifice will be a single-story temple of approximately 19,800 square feet. It will stand on a 5.53-acre site at Av. Senador Salgado Filho in the Nova Parnamirim neighborhood of Parnamirim, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
Latter-day Saint missionaries began preaching in southern Brazil in 1928. By the time the São Paulo Brazil Temple — the first in both Brazil and South America — was dedicated in 1978, membership in the country had reached 54,000.
Brazil is currently home to approximately 1.5 million Latter-day Saints in nearly 2,200 congregations, with 23 temples dedicated, under construction or announced.
