Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Open House and Dedication

An open house for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple will begin with a news conference held on Monday, April 28, 2025, followed by two days of tours for invited guests. The public is invited to tour the newly constructed house of the Lord from Thursday, May 1, through Saturday, May 17, 2025. The temple will be dedicated by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles on Sunday, May 25, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. local time. The dedicatory session will be broadcast to all units in the temple district.¹

Groundbreaking Ceremony

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presided at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple on Thursday, November 8, 2018. He was accompanied by his wife Kathy. Also in attendance were Elder Marcus B. Nash, president of the Africa West Area, his wife Shelley, and Elder Edward Dube, first counselor in the Africa West Area, and his wife Naume. A multi-stake choir sung beautiful hymns for the occasion. "This house will be a blessing for the country and the members. This temple is an answer to the prayers of the Saints in Cȏte d’Ivoire," said Elder Andersen.²

Temple Rendering

The official rendering of the Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple was released on October 4, 2018.³

Temple Site

The Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple will be constructed on the site of the stake center for the Cocody Cote d'Ivoire Stake in the commune of Cocody, known for its beautiful residential districts.

Temple Announcement

On April 5, 2015, President Thomas S. Monson announced the construction of the first temple in the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) during the Sunday Morning Session of the 185th Annual General Conference. Côte d'Ivoire is home to approximately 20 million people including over 22,000 members of the Church. Missionary work officially began in Côte d'Ivoire in 1988. Church members in Abidjan, the country's largest city, currently attend temple services in Accra, Ghana, which is a twelve-hour drive. ⁴

Over the past few years, Church membership growth in Côte d'Ivoire has been among the highest in the world. The number of members and congregations has multiplied in this West African nation where 17 stakes and 17 districts operate. Fifteen of the 17 stakes are headquartered in the greater Abidjan region. In 2012, three of the five stakes in Côte d'Ivoire were among the top 25 in the Church in the percentage of adults submitting family names for temple ordinances.

Temple Facts

The Abidjan Ivory Coast Temple will be the seventh temple built in Africa, the third built in West Africa, and the first built in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire).

Temple Design

Exterior

The building features a standard reinforced-concrete-framed structure, incorporating columns, beams, and suspended slabs, with concrete block infill. The building’s height reaches 25.83 meters from the main level to the top of the spire. The spire itself is made of zinc-coated metal, while the angel at the top is finished with palladium leaf matching the color of the spire.

The walls surrounding the temple are designed to match the existing ones, maintaining their white color. The bronze-colored, powder-coated metal pickets not only enhance security but also help define this place as one of peace and purity for all who enter.

Interior

The overall look of this temple draws inspiration from simple mid-century design motifs. The color scheme features blues, greens, and purples, aiming to provide a calming effect, while touches of magenta are included to reflect the vibrancy of Abidjan’s community. Many of the details and motifs are influenced by the patterns and designs used by the local indigenous people, in the local culture, and in mid-century modern style. This style is expressed through simple geometric shapes in repeated patterns, clean angular lines, and texture created by repeated vertical angled lines, known as raking.

The flooring is a combination of Milliken Strato Alto modular carpet tiles and Milliken Obex walk-off tiles. The Strato Alto tiles are featured in the initiatory booths, instruction rooms, and administration areas, and the Obex walk-off tiling is used in vestibule areas. For more decorative spaces, International nylon free-lay rugs are placed in the entry, celestial room, bride’s room, and sealing rooms.

The stone used was sourced from Spain and Brazil and installed by Afrique Marbre CI.

No decorative plaster or wallcoverings were used, but the interior and exterior are painted with Seigneurie paint.

All decorative glass was provided by Holdman Studios. All windows are a combination of clear tempered glass, etched glass, and multifaceted jewels in motifs based on local tribal designs.

The baptistry font railings are a minimal, elegant mid-century style with a stainless-steel finish. They coordinate with the window design, including non-decorative glass between the posts. All other railings in the temple have an antique brass finish.

Sapele wood was used for the doors and doorframes. The hardware has an antique brass finish.

Ordinance rooms have a gypsum-board ceiling, while the non-ordinance areas use acoustic ceiling tiles.

The millwork includes elegant sapele mahogany non-paneled door and drawer fronts that align with the mid-century and African simplicity.

The temple’s original artwork includes “La Dent de Man” by Josh Clare, “Bongo in the Forest” by Michael Coleman, “Noah’s Sacrifice” by Grant Redden, and “Comoe River” by Michael Workman.