It sometimes surprises people to learn that one of the earliest LDS temples was built in Hawaii, in part because the Mormon story is so entrenched with the Old West in so many peoples’ imaginations. But Hawaii and Europe were places of large growth in the early days of the Church. ’Tis true.
Built in 1919 on the island of Oahu (adjacent what would later become BYU-Hawaii), the land for the temple was dedicated by Joseph F. Smith, one of the early missionaries to the Hawaiian islands. Joseph, the nephew of Joseph Smith, Jr., was called to serve as a missionary in 1854, when he was just 15 years old. Ten years later, he was called back to Hawaii to rectify a certain problem that had arisen surrounding Walter M. Gibson.
I’m not really certain of the details of what he was up to—I read a few sketches of his life, but it seems that his post-excommunication life was far more interesting than his time as renegade Mormon leader, because that era of his life is usually relegated to a one-paragraph blurb, something that must be mentioned before getting to the meat of his life of political intrigue in the Kingdom of Hawaii. From what I was able to glean, he:
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| Joseph F. Smith at 19 |
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| Walter M. Gibson, frequently described as the most flamboyant contributor to Hawaiian history |
- sold Church positions
- made purchases of land in his name using Church funds
- encouraged the Hawaiians to worship him? This point is a little bit fuzzy, but I did find an article that suggested as much
Anyway, it was a bit of a mess that Joseph had to clean up, but everything turned out: it seems that the Hawaiian Saints turned away from Gibson, who was excommunicated, and to this day Laie is among the bastions of strength in the Church. My mother, who was not really raised with a religion, joined the Church in Laie, and she always spoke of how impressed she was by the strength and faith of the Hawaiian people.
The Laie temple was rededicated recently, providing me with access to the press media package, including some of these excellent photos of the interior.
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| Photo courteously hijacked from Rick Satterfield via ldschurchtemples.com |
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| Part of the relief sculptures that span the central tower of the temple |
Here is the recommend desk, the first place you will see. Turning left(?), you will see the waiting room, the one room in the temple where non-recommend holders (including non-members) may visit.
For some reason, I want to say there are miniatures of the relief panels that adorn the central tower exterior somewhere in this room.
Ah, there we are. Wait, different room. Maybe this is the waiting room? I am confused now. I have never actually visited this temple, so I am guessing a lot here.
This is the baptistry of the temple. I enjoy the simplicity of the white stone finish. Also, those paintings and the stained glass panels are beautiful. Let’s take a closer look.
The scenes are of several scriptural stories, prominent among them Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. The tree in the stained glass is reminiscent of the Tree of Life from Lehi’s vision recorded in 1 Nephi 8:
“And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy. And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.”
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| Oh, dear! What happened here? Looks like the file didn’t download properly. And the Church has removed the images from the website! Well. I’ll try to right that one later. |
These ordinance rooms represent the progression of mankind’s journey from before the Fall back into the presence of God, which is represented by the Celestial Room:
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| Though architecturally far simpler than the previous temples we’ve looked at, I just love how, well, bright and cheerful this one feels. |
Moving along, we find ourselves in a sealing room, where the ordinances of sealing (on earth as in heaven) are performed both for weddings and to seal children to their parents for eternity.
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| As I recall, Elizabeth Smart was married in this temple, in a room much like this one (quite possibly this actual one). So glad everything turned out so well. She is an inspiration to me. |
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