The Republic of the Congo Saints Travel Day and Night by Bus, Boat, and Van, to Attend Temple

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In the April 2022 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson announced the plan to build a temple in Brazzaville, The Republic of Congo, the Church’s first temple to be built in this African country.  The Republic of the Congo is home to nearly 14,000 members, in nearly 40 congregations, to whom this announcement brought great joy.

Currently, the journey for them to attend the nearest temple in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, is an arduous one.  Although Brazzaville and Kinshasa are the two closest capitals in the world, they are divided by the Congo River, one of the largest on earth.  For members to attend the Kinshasa DRC Temple, crossings must be accomplished by boat, as there are no bridges linking the two cities.  In addition, many members live miles from Brazzaville, taking hours by bus to get there, before they can cross the river and then continue their journey by road to get to the Temple. 

The difficulty of this journey, however, did not deter ninety-four members from five mission branches of the Republic of Congo Brazzaville Mission.  They had heeded the call of their Mission President, President Brian E. Dunn, who had urged the members “to be temple worthy and prepare to enter the temple so that they can continue on the covenant path.” 

After the groundbreaking was announced for the Brazzaville Congo Temple, the decision was made by many to make the sacrifices necessary to attend the Temple in Kinshasa, in preparation for this much-anticipated event.

With the help of the Church’s ‘General Temple Patron Assistance Fund’, which made the trip possible for these members to attend the temple for the first time, plans were put in place and arrangements made for these Saints to travel to Kinshasa and spend two days doing sacred work for themselves and their ancestors. Brother Cacharel Packa, the executive secretary for the Brazzaville Mission, worked tirelessly to bring this dream to reality.  He facilitated the travel, accommodations, temple appointments, assembled all paperwork, verified temple recommends, and accompanied the groups to the temple.

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Three separate trips were made to accommodate the members from the different branches.  On July 7^th, 2025, members from the village of Ouesso travelled 14+ hours by bus to get to the city of Brazzaville.  August 4^th, members of the Dolisie branch spent 6-8 hours reaching Brazzaville, and on August 18^th, Nkayi and Mindouli branch members spent 4-6 hours to reach the same destination.  After travelling through the night to gather in the city of Brazzaville, each group embarked upon the next leg of their journey, spending the next day crossing the Congo River into the Democratic Republic of Congo by boat.  Upon arrival on the opposite shore, they were met by pre-arranged vans or small buses. They then completed their journey to the Temple where they were welcomed in to the patron housing there. 

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Some of these new patrons had only been a member of the church for a year, while others had been waiting many years for the opportunity to attend the temple.  The adults were able to receive their personal temple endowment and several families were sealed during the time they spent in the temple.

Just days following the final group’s return, on Saturday, August 23^rd, 2025, the groundbreaking was held for the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Temple.  Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, Africa Central Area President, presided over the ceremony and testified to those attending that “…something special happens when the house of the Lord is built in a place. The powers of heaven are manifested in the sacred ordinances performed in the temple, and the Republic of Congo will never be the same again, because everywhere temples are built, the influence of the devil diminishes, and the light of Christ is elevated.” 

As newly endowed members these faithful Saints will now be able to light the way for others, as the church grows throughout the country.  President Dunn expresses his confidence going forward stating, “It is such joy to see the growth of the Church in the Republic of Congo.  The members in these mission branches are an example of faith as they accepted the challenge to be temple worthy and continue on the covenant path.  They have sacrificed physically and financially for the blessing of attending the temple and are excited for a temple of their own.  They are the future of the Church in this country.”