NAIROBI, Kenya — The parents of Elder Ulisses Soares, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, were baptized in Brazil in 1965. At that time, there were no temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Latin America. The closest house of the Lord was in Mesa, Arizona, an expensive, one-way trip of more than 6,000 miles. The couple waited 13 years to receive their ordinances and covenants in the São Paulo Brazil Temple after it was dedicated in 1978.
As a young missionary, Elder Soares labored for most of his mission without receiving his temple endowment. In January 1980, his mission president authorized him and his companion to travel all night by bus to the São Paulo temple, arriving at 7 a.m. He received his endowment, was sealed to his parents who had come, then boarded a bus back to his mission for his final two months.
Elder Soares was reminded of these and other personal experiences as he met the faithful Church members of East Africa and dedicated the Nairobi Kenya Temple — the Church’s 204th dedicated house of the Lord and the first in East Africa — on Sunday, May 18.