Laying the Cornerstone of the Temple in West Africa
A Photo Essay
By Scot and Maurine Proctor

Part 2

click photos to enlarge

The choir sings “Now Let Us Rejoice” with that unique Ghanaian accent—a blending of the proper King’s English, inherited from their years as a British colony, with an African flair.

Long view of the temple with the choir gathered to sing.  The sky is obscured from Sahara dust, for which the members are grateful, since in this way they are shielded from the beating sun.

The temple dedication is held in three separate sessions so more can attend.  During the first session President Hinckley and Elder Russell M. Nelson leave the temple to cement the cornerstone.

President Hinckley waves at the crowd who has been eager to see him.

“I’m not without experience,” President Hinckley says of sealing up the cornerstone.  “I’ve done this 80 something times.  But I never get any good at it.”

This choir sings with the utmost enthusiasm, and their accents sound nothing like singers from Orem, Utah.  The Church is truly international.

President Hinckley exclaimed to the choir over his wireless mike, “That was beautiful.”

Click here to go to Part 3 of Laying the Cornerstone of the Temple in West Africa

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After receiving her education from University of Utah and Harvard, Maurine Jensen Proctor, the Editor-in-Chief and co-founder of Meridian Magazine, began her writing career with McGraw Hill Magazines and the Chicago Sun-Times. She has created award-winning television documentaries, has written a radio show for more than six years that played on 300 radio stations, and was a long-time writer of The Spoken Word for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

She, and her husband, Scot, have written several books together, including Witness of the Light, Source of the Light, Light from the Dust and The Gathering. They also edited a new version of Lucy Mack Smith’s biography of her son called The Revised and Enhanced History of Joseph Smith by His Mother and The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt. They were formerly the editors of This People magazine.

Maurine has been a part-time Institute teacher for the past 13 years and is the mother of eleven children and grandmother of three.

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