Laie Hawaii Temple
The Laie Temple Open house has finally begun. For the last month this small community has taken a great deal of pride in community clean up, so that the whole town looks well-kept. The Temple Grounds and the three blocks leading up to the Temple are lighted and as beautifully manicured as the rest of the Temple grounds. There are beautiful fountains and reflection pools that lead to the Temple.

We took a tour through the Temple last Saturday. I was surprised at how small it was. The rooms are all beautiful, they have refurbished the original murals. There is wonderful art work, mostly of the life of Christ hanging in the halls. The Baptistry has many original paintings around the top of the walls. We have been asked to be tour guides for a 4 hour shift on Saturday, the 6th of November. We are excited to have that opportunity to serve. When the Temple opens on November 22, we will work in the Temple one day a week.

Maybe you will notice that above the front doors of the Temple, the words: "Holiness to the Lord, House of the Lord" Those are the words that you will see on every LDS Temple. Now look at the picture on the top of the temple. "House of the Lord, Holiness to the Lord" is the way this temple has always been. They are trying to decide whether to leave it, or change it to match all of the other temples. The Laie Temple was the first one constructed off of the mainland (and outside of Utah). It was the fifth temple built. It was originally dedicated in 1919.

During the VIP tours, I talked with the Construction Superintendant. His father had done some work on the Laie Temple back in 1949 and had told him where several of the original workers had written their names in pencil on the cement beam in the top of the Temple. He had gone back in and found them and more names and dates were added. He said that the 1949 remodel had involved taking a planter box off the top of the Temple. He also said that in 1919, cement walled buildings had just started to become feasible and that he how this temple was built.
The walls are between 8 and 24 inches thick.

If you have time for a great article on the Laie Temple & its history, go to http://www.meridianmagazine.com/photography/category/80