South African Latter-day Saints settled in present-day Zimbabwe in the 1920s, but the lack of official missionaries and the restriction on priesthood ordination for men of African descent slowed growth. The end of those restrictions and the achievement of political independence led to increased growth in the 1980s, and a temple in the capital of Harare was dedicated in 2025.
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History of the Church in Zimbabwe
The beautiful land of Zimbabwe has been home to Latter-day Saints since the 1930s. In the early decades of establishing the Church, European settlers traveled long distances to meet with each other in centers such as Salisbury (later Harare), Bulawayo, and Gweru and occasionally made even longer journeys to attend church conferences in South Africa.
The removal of racial restrictions on Church participation in 1978 brought an era of transition. Latter-day Saints of diverse backgrounds strove to create a space for unity amid racial and political tensions. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Church grew among local populations of Zimbabweans speaking primarily Shona and English. In 1999 the Book of Mormon was published in Shona, and the first stake in Zimbabwe was established in Harare. In times of hardship, Latter-day Saints reached out through congregational networks to support each other.
Beginning in 1985, Latter-day Saints traveled to Johannesburg for temple ordinances. In 2020 ground was broken for the Harare Zimbabwe Temple.
The resilience and perseverance of the Latter-day Saints in Zimbabwe, along with the good fruits of their efforts, bring to mind the Savior’s promise: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).