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‘And Then They Announced That We Were Getting a Temple in Beira!’
“Church members in Beira, Mozambique share their reaction to the exciting news that they will be receiving a temple in their land.”
On the evening of 4 April, TV Successo in Mozambique aired a show that they had never run before. Instead of the usual lineup of evening television programs, the station aired uplifting musical items and inspiring messages from Church leaders around the globe. For the first time ever, this local TV station aired the Sunday morning session of general conference.
It was close to midnight on the same evening when President Russell M. Nelson addressed members of the Church to end the conference. It was then that he announced that several more temples would be built.
“We want to bring the house of the Lord even closer to our members, that they may have the sacred privilege of attending the temple as often as their circumstances allow,” said the prophet.1
“And then,” says Freeman Dickie, who is currently serving as the Beira Mozambique Stake president, “They announced that we were getting a temple in Beira!”
Despite the late hour, “messages were being sent around on the WhatsApp groups. People were awake and celebrating! First, we were able to watch general conference live on TV for the first time, and then the same night came the temple announcement! You can imagine how exciting it was.”
Sister Emilia Cristina Chaimane Paulino, a member of the Macuti Branch in the Beira Stake, says she felt “overwhelmed with happiness,” when she heard the news. “The moment I heard, I started crying with gratitude for this blessing. I don’t even know how to express what I felt.”
Her husband, Ernesto Paulino, was out of town for work and feeling ill the night the announcement was made. Sister Paulino woke him from a deep slumber by phoning him with the exciting news.
“Truly speaking, I suddenly recovered from my illness!” says Brother Paulino. “When I heard the news, I thought, ‘I’m feeling better now!’
“I felt that amazing grace of the Lord,” he says. “This is a day of celebration for us. It is something very special.”
President Dickie says that Church members in Beira, which is about halfway up the coast of Mozambique, have made sacrifices to attend the temple. Last year, they began flying to the Durban South Africa Temple but before then, members would travel to the Johannesburg temple on bus trips that took 36–40 hours.
“We would leave early Monday morning and arrive in Johannesburg early Wednesday morning,” says President Dickie. “We would worship in the temple for two days, then depart again for Beira on Friday morning and arrive at home on Saturday night.”
Many members believe that this sacrifice helped to prepare them for a temple to be built in their area. “I was just thinking about all the efforts the members had made; those long hours on the road to reach Johannesburg temple,” says Brother Paulino. “Now the news that we will have it nearby gave us the sense that the Lord knows our efforts. He knows that we really need those temple blessings.”
Brother Paulino also says along with the blessings, having a temple in their midst will bring its own challenges: the challenge of not becoming complacent.
“I feel that more important than having the temple nearby is how often we will attend the temple,” he says.
“It’s how we give value to those ordinances we partake in, and how we are willing to serve. Having a temple nearby is a wonderful thing, but how we are personally willing to attend is the most important thing.”
Brother Jequecene Sande from the Macuti Branch says the news has given members a renewed sense of hope. “We feel blessed,” he says. “Beira has been devastated by floods and storms many times, but when the prophet announced the temple in Beira, people have felt joy and hope.”
At the same time, it also means an increased sense of responsibility for the members, he says. “We know that now is a time to make a change in our lives, to be close to the Lord. We must change our lives, live according to the law of the Lord, and increase our spirituality.”
President Dickie shares a similar sentiment.
“We need the temple in Beira, but even more than that, we need that preparation for the temple,” he says.
“We had to do some work and make some sacrifices to help prepare us for the temple to be announced, but there’s still a lot of work and preparation to be done. We’ve been called upon to start that preparation now,” says President Dickie.
“It’s one thing when you are preparing for a trip to the temple; it’s another thing when you are preparing to have a temple in your land.”