Standing by Bishop was Alex Ituma, who lives in Lehi, but who grew up in Nigeria until he came to the United States when he was 15. His father, Uduka Ituma, was the first president of the Aba Branch.

"I used to go pick up people with my Volkswagen and take them to church," he recalled, smiling. "Just seeing this means a lot to me."

These sentiments were repeated by many wandering the grounds of the newly dedicated temple, especially those who have watched the church grow here to more than 66,000 members. There are currently some 120,000 members in West Africa.

The history of the LDS Church in Nigeria goes back as far as the 1950s, when some Nigerians learned about the church through magazine articles. After acquiring some church literature, groups of people began meeting unofficially in the church's name. After the 1978 revelation that extended the priesthood to every faithful, worthy man in the church, the first missionaries were sent to Nigeria and Ghana.

Less than 10 years later, membership in Nigeria approached 10,000. Aba, Nigeria, was the site of the first stake in west Africa, created in 1988. On April 2, 2000, President Hinckley announced a temple would be built in Aba.

Nnenem Pepple of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, may well have described the feelings of many Nigerian Latter-day Saints when asked her feelings of finally seeing a temple in her homeland.

"Very terrific, very, very happy."

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E-mail: julied@desnews.com