Tribute by a Famous Zulu Prince

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, left, before turning the soil in the groundbreaking ceremony, pauses to
share his tender thoughts and feelings about the Church, as a non-member, with Elder Carl B. Cook,
Africa SE Area President and with the approximately 1,500 attendees gathered for the occasion

We thought you would all enjoy reading the remarks shared by a very prominent South African politician and son of a Zulu king at the Durban Temple groundbreaking event. Dr. mangosuthu Buthelezi is 88-years old and is a Zulu tribal leader who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in 1975 and served as Chief Minister of the KwaZulu bantustan (under apartheid) until 1994, when he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs of South Africa by President Nelson Mandela, where he served on the President's cabinet from 1994 to 2004.


Throughout much of the apartheid area, Dr. Buthelezi was considered one of the foremost black leaders. He played a key role in creating a framework for a negotiated solution to South Africa's racial conflict, signing the landmark Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith in 1974 with Harry Schwarz. During the CODESA negotiations of the early 1990s, he represented the IFP. Following the introduction of the universal franchise in the 1994 general election, Prince Buthelezi led the IFP to join the government of national unity, led by Nelson Mandela. He continues to serve as both leader of the IFP and a member of South Africa's Parliament, retaining his seat in the 2014 general election.


In 1964, he played King Cetshwayo kaMpande (his own maternal great-grandfather) in the film Zulu.Read what he said on Saturday:

Groundbreaking of the Durban South Africa Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Remarks by

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP

President of South Africa’s Inkatha Freedom Party

IQembu leNkatha Yenkukuleko

 

Durban, 9 April 2016

________________________________________________________

 

I extend my gratitude to the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for inviting me to witness this afternoon’s groundbreaking ceremony.

 

You are indeed breaking new ground, for this will be the second temple built in South Africa, following the first in Johannesburg, which was the first on the African continent. We therefore have reason to mark this significant moment as we celebrate the beginning of construction.

 

I look forward to seeing this temple, for I know that throughout the world the temples of the latter-day saints are magnificently designed and beautifully constructed. Visually, they convey the idea that this is a sacred place.

 

The presence of this temple will prompt those outside the church to ask questions about faith – what they believe. For those inside the church, it will provide a place where marriages and families can be sealed, baptisms conducted, and knowledge expanded. It will be a reminder to all to be mindful of the kind of life we are leading.

 

I appreciate the emphasis on marriage and family throughout the doctrine of the latter-day saints. I married my wife, Princess Irene, in July 1952, and we have remained committed to one another for almost 64 years. The Lord blessed our marriage with eight children, and I am a proud grandfather to many children. I know what it is to be family-focused.

 

I also know what it means to lose family members, for my wife and I have buried five of our children who preceded us into eternity. We take great solace in believing that this separation is temporary, and we look forward to being reunited with our children in the presence of the Lord.

 

This life, undoubtedly, is a testing experience. When I consider the hardship, trials and battles I have endured throughout more than sixty years in leadership and public life, I find it difficult to agree with the hedonists that the primary purpose of life is pleasure. I have had many moments of joy, and I consider myself happy. But I know that my happiness is a gift from God, for only He could bring me through the life I have lived with a smile on my face!

 

Nevertheless, I would do it again. It was all well worth it. This, I think, is a sentiment that all believers have the satisfaction of expressing, for we live not according to our own dictates, but according to the leading of the Lord. This has allowed me to have no regrets, for, faced with difficult choices, I have simply done what moral conscience dictated.

 

I know that this too is a central tenet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: to live a morally upright, ethical life, faithful to one’s spouse and family. It is admirable that so many young members of this church are called into full-time mission work and spend a considerable amount of time as missionaries at a young age.

 

There are so many temptations for your youth to follow, and they are so quickly led astray into greed, substance abuse, criminal behavior, and damaging relationships. By focusing young people on mission work first, before they embark on their own careers, they are being taught the principle of seeking first the Kingdom of God. In this way they will be better equipped to face temptations and turn away.

 

We need to give our youth an alternative to despair and destruction. These are very difficult times in South Africa, in which widespread unemployment, poverty and hardship are taking a toll on human dignity. Young people are looking forward to something they can believe in, for someone to follow. They want to believe that they can create change with their own actions.

 

That is the promise of democracy: that every individual has a voice and every voice has significance. Throughout this weekend, I am going from community to community encouraging people to register to vote in the coming Local Government Elections. This is about protecting democracy and seeing its promises fulfilled.

 

In this final Voter Registration Weekend, the Electoral Commission has set up stations across South Africa to enable you to register, to check whether you are on the voters’ roll, to see where you will vote on election day, and to record any change of address.

 

As patriots who believe in doing the right thing for our families and our country, we who are present at this groundbreaking must surely involve ourselves in securing good governance. I have never considered my Christianity separate from my work in politics. I am a Christian who believes in serving my country. As I walk this road, it is good to spend time with fellow believers and to share celebrations like this.

I wish you well as you build the Durban Temple, in the hope that the principles of moral living, commitment and family values will deepen in South Africa.