Laie Hawaii Temple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple is the fifth oldest operating Mormon temple in the world. It is also one of only three temples designed to look like Solomon's Temple in scripture.

Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple is the fifth oldest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still in operation. It is also the oldest temple still operating that was built outside of the state of Utah.

Located in the town of Lāi, thirty-five miles from Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, the site of the Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple was dedicated by LDS President Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915. The temple was known as the "Hawai'i Temple" until a standard naming convention for temples was adopted in the early 2000s.

The site for the temple is on 11 acres of land that was a part of a 6,000 acre sugarcane plantation the Church bought in 1865 as a place of gathering for the Saints of the area. Native materials were used such as crushed lava rock and coral blocks. The building's gleaming white finish was created by pneumatic stone cutting techniques. The design of the temple resembles the structures that once stood in the South American forests where only ruins of ancient civilizations are found today. The front exterior was designed in the form of a Grecian cross but lacking a tower (a rarity in LDS Church temples). In total, President Joseph F. Smith wanted the Lāʻie Hawaiʻi Temple to resemble Solomon's Temple referred to in holy scripture. Apart from Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple, only two other church temples share the distinction. The exterior of the temple exhibits four large friezes depicting God’s dealings with man. The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west frieze shows the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament and apostasy are depicted on the southern frieze of the temple, and the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east frieze.

During construction of the temple, builders ran out of wood, a scarce commodity on the islands. The local members were able to procur the needed lumber when ship ran aground and needed to unload some of its cargo of wood. The temple builders volunteered to help and were given the lumber out of gratitude. The lumber taken from the ship proved to be just enough to finish the temple.

Though he spent much of his presidency overseeing the construction of his beloved Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple, Smith died before its official opening. On November 27, 1919, LDS President Heber J. Grant presided over the church temple's dedication. After extensive remodeling, President Spencer W. Kimball rededicated the temple on June 13, 1978.

The Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple is 47,224 square feet and houses three ordinance rooms and six sealing rooms.

1 Mormonism in Hawai'i
2 Latter-day Saint temples in the Western United States
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Mormonism in Hawai'i

LDS President Joseph F. Smith spent most of his presidency overseeing the construction of his beloved Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple. He died one year before it was completed.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in the islands in 1850 following the Edict of Toleration promulgated by Kamehameha III, giving the underground Hawai'i Catholic Church the right to worship while at the same time allowing other faith traditions to begin establishing themselves. After the construction of the Lāʻie Hawai'i Temple, the Latter Day Saints founded Church College of Hawai'i, now the Brigham Young University of Hawai'i. The Hawai'i LDS population continued to flourish becoming one of the world's largest LDS communities today. The Kona Hawai'i Temple, a second LDS temple for Hawai'i was completed in Kailua Kona on the island of Hawai'i in 2000.