The Hawaii Temple: a Special Place in a Special Land
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joseph H spurrier THE HAWAII TEMPLE A SPECIAL PLACE IN A SPECIAL LAND aloha kakahiakaKakahi aka laia oukousoukou a pau I1 think I1 have been conscious had left the islands the five who of the temple in hawaii even longer stayed however began preaching than I1 have been associated with teaching and baptizing the church before myroymoy baptism in the account of the 1942 I1 saw and admired photographs establishment of the mission with of this taj mahal of the pacific the stories of elder george Q on coming to laie in 1955 to live cannon napela and others again and teach we went to the temple has already been told by myself and often and I1 was asked in 1957 to others in gatherings like this become an ordinance worker from was in the early yearstheyears the that time until the present with yearsit of the sandwich islands time off for a couple of sabaticalsabasabbaticaltical missionthatmission that the first reference leaves I1 have worked in the to a temple in hawaii is made in temple A year and eight months october of 1852 after their ago I1 was called as second october conference of the mission counselor in the presidency it is the elders gathered in the home of a very real pleasure therefore to david rice a haole convert at share with you some history of this waihee maui to share their special place testimonies before resuming their the hawaii temple was regular work As elder john dedicated in november 1919 closed stillman woodbury arose to express for renovation and remodeling in himself he spoke in tongues As 1976 and reopened and rededicated is required on such occasions one in 1978 to begin the story stood to interpretelderinterpret eldereiderfrances however it is necessary to look A hammond As recorded in the back many years before 1919 by journals of elders hammond bigler way of a general statement the and farrer elder hammond beginning occuredoccurred in nauvoo in 1843 interpreted as follows when joseph smith called the first 11 part of which ran the elders of the sandwich islands lord is well pleased with the they never arrived here but went to labors of his servants on the the society islands instead that islands and angels of the lord are is another story already told near us that the people we are capably by george ellsworth in laboring among are a remnant of the the summer of 1850 elder charles seed of joseph that they would be C rich visited the gold diggings built up on these islands and that on the middle fork of the american a temple will be built in this river in california and called ten land more elders from that temporal this statement would be mission to the sandwich islands remarkable even if the temple had these did arrive on december 12 not been mentioned in a day when 1850 but only half stayed within the hawaiians were dying like six weeks five of the ten flies with almost no children including the mission president being born and with prospects so 28 poor that consideration was being laie he stayed overnight at the given to closing the mission to ranch house after his visit and say they would be built up on the early the next morning in leaving land sounds somewhat less that he retired to a small grove of hau reasonable especially then but trees nearby for this morning they were built up on the land and prayer As he prayed he reports that also is another story the that brigham young and heber C statement so far as I1 can kimball appeared to him showed him determine is the first mention of the foundriesboundriesboundries of the ahupuaa of a temple in hawaii is regarded laie and told him that this would by many as propheticit and as a be the central place for the church prophetic statement it does not in hawaii and that a temple would stand alone be built here in connection with the public this event is recalled in the announcement regarding the temple dedicatory prayer of the temple the improvement era for september given by president heber J grant 1916 printed inan article by elder in 1919 it runs as follows john A widstoe entitled A we thank thee 0 father this remarkable fulfillment of that the promise made in a dream to prophecy he cited a quotation of thy servant william W cluff by brigham young made at the time of the prophet brigham young that the laying of the cornerstones for the day would come when a temple the salt lake temple april 6 should be erected in this land is 1853 in reply to the question fulfilled before our eyes what will the temple look like by the time elder cluff had president young answered that it reported his mission in salt lake would have six towers and that the city elders frances A hammond and brethren should not apostatize george nebeker had been dispatched because joseph built only one he to hawaii to secure a site for the went on to say that a templetempiewould establishment of a colony in hawaii shortly be built with no towers at as had been done in a number of all but with an elevated central places in the intermountain west portion on which would grow plants elder hammond without further and shrubs this account was communication with salt lake city buried in the journal of purchased the laie property in discourses and unknown to the january of 1865 for the sum of architects who drewdrawthe plans for 14000 the 6000 acres with its the hawaii temple but the plans three and half miles of beach called for concrete plants to be frontage contained an inventory of placed atop the central section of five buildings 500 head of cattle the building anyway and this 500 sheep 200 goats 26 horses was the first of three temples several thousand centipedes and an built with no towers undetermined number of cockroaches A second supporting statement even before the discovery of was made during the mission of hawaii laie had been a significant william W cluff in 1864 he was place a puuhonua or sanctuary one of the elderseiderswho was assigned for the koolauloaKoolauloa area the largest to survey the mission and to try to settlement of hawaiians between revitalize the church in hawaii waiteawaimea and lanikai on this coast in after the gibson experience he the 19th century it now became the visited the branches on windward headquarters for the church in oahubahu including the small branch at hawaii in june of 1865 forty 29 colonists including children came patriarch reed smoot but had not to laie led by elder george consulted with the rest of the bakerbekernebekerNe the colonists were joined first presidency or the council of shortly by a number of hawaiian the twelve on his return to salt families who had been defrauded of lake city president smith secured their hopes and homes in the gibson the unanimous approval of the experience on lanai conditions at twelve providing that the the settlement were less than proposition by presented to the ideal the place was barrennotbarren not a church in conference assembled tree in sight except in the hills three months later on october the winds were salt laden the soil 3 president smith proposed to the was sandy the water supply october conference that a temple be inconstant few crops would grow pulit in hawaii and called for a well and insects were numerous and sustaining vote the liahona a voracious church periodical reported in the by 1885 times had become even next days issue harder and many of those who had the decision reached at the gathered were ready to leave for general conference of the church other pastures which might seem yesterday to proceed with the greener joseph F smith formerly erection of a temple in the a young missionary to hawaii hawaiian islands is one of the most returned to laie now as a member interesting and significant events of the first presidency of the in church history in many a day church he urged the residents to the great forest of uplifted hands endure and to remain sayingthatsaying that which gave affirmation to the upon this place the glory of the proposal was also a most impressive lord will rest to bless the saints and eloquent feature who believe 11 many have work commenced three months later interpreted this as prophecyprophecya a on january 12 1916 first the old temple would be built at laie chapel had to be moved from the this is not a clear statement but site the ninety by thirty foot the interpretation does seem ninetonnine ton wooden I1 hemoleleHemolele was likely especially since when moved under the dldirectionrect1lon of the george Q cannon also of the first architects with brother hamana presidency returned for the golden kalili as foreman it was located jubilee of the mission in 1900 he at the present site of the laie spoke in very clear terms with north stake center where it stood mission president samuel E woolley until 1941 when it was destroyed by about a temple to be built here fire there is a scripture which ground was broken for the says much tribulation temple on the ath8th of february after 11 cometh the blessing and so 1916 but curiously there were no after the hard times at laie and cornerstone laying ceremonies the the desolation of skull valley construction proceeded under the joseph F smith once again in laie supervision of president samuel E and this time as president of the woolley with the firm of spaulding church stepped out behind the construction company of honolulu as historic old chapel I1 hemoleleHemolele contractors pope and burton of and dedicated that site for the salt lake city were the architects building of a temple he was and ralph E woolley was accompanied by charles nibley of superintendent of construction the presiding bishopric and ralph was the son