The concrete for the temple is made of native crushed lava rock and coral.
The couple missionaries were from South Jordan, had been there three days and had served a previous mission in India.
Temple design is shaped like a Grecian cross with no tower.
Beautiful pools and landscape surrond the temple and it was tempting to take tons of pictures. I restrained myself.
Site Dedication: 1 June 1915 by Joseph F. Smith
Dedication: 27–30 November 1919 by Heber J. Grant
Our friends moved to Hawaii while the temple was closed. They helped with the open house. Lucky!
Public Open House: 22 October–13 November 2010
Rededication: 21 November 2010 by Thomas S. Monson
We scheduled a time to go inside and do proxy baptisms. Very kind temple workers! One was from Provo, Ut. She strongly suggested my kids go to school at BYU-Hawaii. "What's to beat? School in the morning and surfer in the afternoon!"
Down the street is Church-owned Brigham Young University–Hawaii and Hawaii's number-one paid attraction, the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Temple Facts:
- The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built in Polynesia.
- The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built outside of the continental United States.
- The Laie Hawaii Temple sits on the original Mormon landholdings of Hawaii known as Laie Plantation. The 6,000-acre parcel was purchased in 1865 for $14,000.
- President Joseph F. Smith was in Hawaii on business in the spring of 1915 when he was moved by a spiritual impulse to dedicate a site for the Laie Hawaii Temple. The action was later ratified by the brethren and publicly sustained in the October 1915 General Conference.
- Construction of the Laie Hawaii Temple came to a standstill when the supply of lumber ran out. Prayers were uttered, and two days later, a freighter was discovered stranded on a nearby coral reef. The captain offered his entire cargo to the saints if they would unload it for him. His cargo? Lumber—enough to complete the temple.
- Carved friezes decorate each side of the top of the temple, depicting four dispensations of time: Old Testament Dispensation (west), New Testament Dispensation (south), Book of Mormon Dispensation (north), and Latter-day Dispensation (east).
