page_title: Laie Hawaii Temple
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Laie Hawaii Temple / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: The Laie Hawaii Temple maternity fountain — in Lā'ie, Hawai'i. Photographer: myself, Gh5046 Taken 2005/01/16 Other than a possible "auto levels" being done, this photo is in its original state. Summary Laie Hawaii Temple (formerly the Hawaiian Temple) is the fifth oldest temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still in operation. It is also the oldest temple still operating that was built outside of the state of Utah. Located in the town of Lāie, thirty-five miles from Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu, the site of the temple was dedicated by Church President Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915. The temple was known as the "Hawaii Temple" until a standard naming convention for temples was adopted in the early 2000s.
context_page_description: 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 Oʻahu. The temple sits on a small hill, a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean, in the town of Lāʻie, 35 miles 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 Lā'ie, 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 presidents of the LDS Church. 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 LDS Church outside the contiguous United States. The temple is also the oldest to operate outside Utah, and the fifth-oldest LDS temple still in operation.
context_section_description: LDS 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 11-acre (4.5 ha) site that was once part of a large sugarcane plantation.  Construction of the temple first began in February 1916.  Native materials consisting of crushed lava rock were used to build the temple, along with reinforced concrete.  The building's gleaming white finish was created using pneumatic stone-cutting techniques.  The temple has the shape of a cross when seen from the air; the highest point of the temple is 50 ft (15.2 m), and it measures 102 ft (31.1 m) from east to west and 78 ft (23.8 m) from north to south.  The front exterior was designed in the form of a Greek cross, but lacks a tower, a rarity in LDS Church temples.  Apart from the Laie Hawaii Temple, only three other church temples lack towers or spires: the Cardston Alberta, Paris France and the Mesa Arizona temples.
  The exterior of the temple exhibits four large friezes planned by American sculptor J. Leo Fairbanks and built with the help of his brother Avard Fairbanks.  Modeled four-fifths lifesize and cast in concrete, the bas-relief friezes depict  God’s dealings with Man. The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west frieze shows the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament and the Apostasy are depicted on the southern frieze of the temple, and the restoration of the Church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east frieze.  On the grounds of the temple are statues also designed by the Fairbanks brothers, 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.
  As visitors approach the temple and pass a number of reflecting pools, a maternity fountain sits in front of the uppermost pool.  Designed by the Fairbanks brothers, this bold relief honors Hawaiian Motherhood and depicts a Hawaiian mother holding a giant clam shell while pouring water over her children.  The act is supposed to symbolize mothers pouring their love, hope and care onto their children.
  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 an LDS Family History Center and a Visitors' Center, where a ten-foot sculpture replica of  Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus stands inside the entrance.
  The Laie Hawaii Temple is 47,224 square feet (4,387.3 m²) and houses four ordinance rooms and six sealing rooms.  Landscape artist LeConte Stewart designed many of the murals found inside the temple.
caption: Maternity Fountain
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