The Kinshasa DR Congo Temple: A Personal Perspective Part 2: Media Session of the Kinshasa Temple Open House

[This post was originally withdrawn because we learned that “the Temple Department owns the rights and access to what is recorded on the temple grounds during groundbreaking, open house, and dedication.” We are reposting it because we have now received permission to share these experiences.]

After the media session, the cameras continued to swirl around Area President Elder S. Mark Palmer as journalists asked him further questions.

In this segment, we’ll focus on the special open house session that was held for representatives of the media on the morning of March 11, the day before the public open house began. Area President Elder S. Mark Palmer, along with his counselors, Elder Joseph W. Sitati and Elder Joni L. Koch, addressed questions on a range of topics.

We will take a visual tour of the sacred rooms inside the temple. Afterward, we will summarize the heartfelt and spiritually sensitive reactions of a few of the journalists in their own words.

Video Supplements for Part 2

“The calm and the presence of God” (French with English subtitles)

“We all pray to the same God” (French with English subtitles)

“I’m converted!” (French with English subtitles)

“Things I have never seen in other churches” (French with English subtitles)

“It’s like paradise!” (French with English subtitles)

Description of the Series

Over the next several weeks, we will trace the temple’s history from its announcement to the completion of the temple building. And from its completion as a sacred building to its dedication and use as a House of the Lord by the Latter-day Saints in this choice part of the world.

Those interested in a more details about the Church in the DR Congo and its new temple may consult or download an in-depth history that is posted at the Southeast Africa Area website:

- https://africasoutheast.lds.org/church-history-drc-kinshasa-temple?lang=eng-za (English)

- https://afriquedusudest.lds.org/histoire-de-l-eglise-rdc-temple-du-kinshasa?lang=fra-za (French)

Many of the video supplements in this series will complement and personalize the written history: early members will tell fascinating stories of the challenges and blessings of the coming of the Church to the country, some will talk about their roles in temple construction and operation, and others will describe how having a temple in Kinshasa will bless their lives.

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