Laie Hawaii Temple is a temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located on the northeast shore of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The temple sits on a small hill, half a mile from the Pacific Ocean, in the town of Lāie, from Honolulu. Along with Brigham Young University–Hawaii and the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Laie Hawaii Temple plays an important role in the town of Lāie, with the Visitors' Center attracting more than 100,000 people annually.
In addition to initial building and construction, the temple has been dedicated for use by several church presidents. The temple site was dedicated by Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915, with Heber J. Grant dedicating the completed structure on November 27, 1919. Spencer W. Kimball rededicated the temple after significant expansion on June 13, 1978. Following seismic upgrades and remodeling, Thomas S. Monson rededicated the temple on November 21, 2010.
The Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple built by the church outside the contiguous United States.
History
Sandwich Islands Mission
During the California Gold Rush, the first ten Mormon missionaries to Hawaii departed San Francisco on the ship Imaum of Muscat. After 20 days at sea, the ship arrived on December 12, 1850, in Honolulu Harbor at what was then known as the "Sandwich Islands" (Hawaiian Islands). A week later, nine missionaries received their assignments; two headed to the island of Kauai, three to Lahaina on the island of Maui, two to the Big Island of Hawaii, and two stayed behind in Honolulu. These nine missionaries formed the basis of the Sandwich Islands Mission. The church's first congregation in Hawaii was established on the island of Maui in 1851. George Q. Cannon, one of the original ten missionaries, visited Lāʻie in 1900 and became revered as a prophet for promoting the idea of a new Hawaiian temple among his congregations.
thumb|The Laie Hawaii Temple in 1922, two years after it was dedicated.
In 1915, Joseph F. Smith, then sixth president of the church, announced plans for the first temple outside the contiguous United States and chose Lāʻie for its construction.
Church president Heber J. Grant presided over the Hawaiian Temple's dedication on November 27, 1919. Grant called the Hawaiian people "descendants of Lehi" (a prophet in the Book of Mormon), and saw the future of the new temple in Lāʻie as a magnet for Polynesian converts. Some stories suggest that the Japanese pilot who attempted to attack the temple was converted to the church after he saw a picture of the temple in the possession of the faith's missionaries in Japan. Norfolk pines suffering from termite infestation were replaced with royal palms, new decorative lighting was added to the terraces, and landscaped roundabouts were put in place. At the same time, the Visitors' Center was upgraded with interactive kiosks and new displays.
In December 2008, the Laie Hawaii Temple closed again for structural and seismic upgrades and to restore the ordinance rooms to their original appearance and progressive-style presentation of the endowment (still using film). The baptistry was repaired and renovated. The temple was rededicated on November 21, 2010, by Thomas S. Monson.
In 2020, like all the church's other temples, the Laie Hawaii Temple was closed in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Architecture
thumb|View from the temple's descending pools looking towards Hale Laa Boulevard and the Pacific Ocean
Church president Joseph F. Smith wanted the architecture of the Laie Hawaii Temple to resemble Solomon's Temple referred to in the biblical canon. The temple is often compared to the Cardston Alberta Temple, designed by young architects Hyrum Pope and Harold W. Burton. Pope and Burton's design was also used for Laie, and their work is rooted in the Prairie style architecture made popular by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the early twentieth-century. The temples also evoke Mesoamerican architectural motifs, a favored theme of Burton's.
The temple sits on an site that was once part of a large sugarcane plantation. Modeled four-fifths lifesize and cast in concrete, including Joseph being blessed by his father and one of the Prophet Lehi in a scene from the Second Book of Nephi in the Book of Mormon.
The landscaped temple grounds contain tropical gardens, with plants such as hibiscus, Brazilian plume, birds of paradise, lantana, red ginger, bougainvillea, plumeria, Ixora, and others. At the base of the temple grounds is a fountain separating a Family History Center and a Visitors' Center, where a ten-foot sculpture replica of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus stands inside the entrance. Landscape artist LeConte Stewart designed many of the murals found inside the temple.
Admittance
Laie Hawaii Temple is not used for regular Sunday worship. As temples require church approval to enter, only church members who are recommended by their local bishop are allowed to enter for the purpose of participating in ceremonies such as endowments, baptism for the dead and marriage. Because of these guidelines, those without an active recommend are not allowed inside temples, but public tours of the grounds outside and of the visitors' centers are available.