Kona Hawaii Temple
The Kona Hawaii Temple is the 70th operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church of Jesus Christ became established in Hawaii in the 1850s after Kamehameha III signed an edict allowing other faiths on the islands. Following the edict the first Latter-day Saint missionaries were quickly sent to the islands on December 12, 1850. In 1855, the missionary work in Hawaii was furthered by the publication of the Book of Mormon in the Hawaiian language. In 1857 missionaries were asked to come back to Utah because of problems with the U.S. government, but the Church continued to grow in Hawaii. Missionaries soon returned, and by 1913, 22 percent of the Hawaiian population were members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Because of the large population of members, the Church built a temple in Laie, Hawaii, in 1919. As of 2023, approximately 75,000 members of the Church live on the Hawaiian islands.
The announcement to build a Latter-day Saint temple in Kona, Hawaii, was made on May 7, 1998. A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on March 13, 1999. The ceremony was presided over by John B. Dickson a member of the Seventy. The temple site, 180 miles southeast of the Laie Hawaii Temple, is 7.02 acres, which includes a meetinghouse. The site is near the city of Kailua-Kona, overlooking the ocean and with a beautiful view of Mount Haulalai. The exterior of the temple is finished with white marble veneer and the grounds are beautifully landscaped.
The Kona Hawaii Temple was open for tours to the public on January 12-15, 2000. Those who toured the temple were able to see the two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, baptistry, celestial room, and other facilities used to carry out temple ordinances according to Latter-day Saint belief.
The Kona Hawaii Temple was dedicated on January 23-24, 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley.
The Kona Hawaii Temple was the sixth temple built in Polynesia and the second built in Hawaii, following the Laie Hawaii Temple (1919). A temple will be built on the island of Maui and will be the third temple in the Hawaiian Islands.
Renovation
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on August 29, 2022, that the Kona Hawaii Temple would close in October 2023 for extensive renovations. The upgrades are expected to be completed by late 2025. The square footage of the temple will increase from 9,500 to approximately 12,000.
See also
External Links
- Official Kona Hawaii Temple page
- Kona Hawaii Temple page
- Kona Hawaii Temple dedicatory prayer, 2000
- A Temple for Kona
- Latter-day Saint Temples - Wikipedia
- What is the Purpose of the Temple
- What Are Temples?
- FamilySearch RootsTech, Temple Invitation by Russell M. Nelson
