By JOE HOLLENBAUGH
hollenbaugh@newsroom.byu.edu
Eighty years ago the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints dedicated its first LDS temple outside of Utah in Laie, Hawaii. Jan. 12-15, the second LDS temple in Hawaii opened its doors to public view in preparation for formal dedication next week.
The new $6 million edifice, named the Kona Hawaii Temple, is the 70th LDS temple worldwide. Located on the Big Island of Hawaii, the white marble building is set off by a 66-foot white spire, topped with a gleaming gold statue of the Angel Moroni.
The temple site, planted with lush gardens and over 150 palm trees, overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
The new temple opened to public tours from January 12-15. Nearly 9,000 people toured inside the temple, and many more toured the grounds.
Local church leader Lane Cameron said that the open house drew tremendous local interest. For example, he told how local missionaries collected thousands of small marble pieces from the exterior construction, which were passed out to visitors as a keepsake.
'At one point we had eight people washing and labeling the pieces, and we couldn't keep up,' Cameron said.
Local church members sought to make visitors feel welcome by preparing Hawaiian pu-pu's and other local delicacies as refreshments. Nearly 10,000 artist's renderings of the temple were handed out.
One non-member visitor, Nellie Madieros, was so impressed with the temple that she filled out a missionary referral card for her family, which had recently been named the Big Island family of the year, Cameron said.
Local media quotes Madieros as saying of the celestial room, 'I love the symbolism, that family life goes on and on into infinity....'
Family life makes up the central LDS doctrine relating to temples. The church teaches that marriage and family can continue into eternity through ordinances performed in the temple.
Many of the visitors came from the local church membership.
'We had a lot of people fly in whole families from the other islands,' Cameron said. 'People took vacations just to come. They seemed to be drawn.'
The formal dedication Jan. 23-24, kicked off with a public cornerstone ceremony. The first dedicatory session followed, led by President Gordon B. Hinckley.
After the temple is formally dedicated, only selected LDS members may enter. To receive this privilege, church members must meet established standards of personal conduct and church service.
The opening of the new temple marks a milestone for the LDS Church in Hawaii. The church began its work there in 1850, when ten missionaries arrived. By 1913, LDS missionaries estimated that 22 percent of the Hawaiian population belonged to the LDS Church.
The temple in Laie opened six years later, serving Hawaii, Japan and the South Pacific. The church continued to flourish there, and membership in Hawaii now numbers approximately 56,000.