Architectural Design of the La'ie Hawaii Temple

To watch on Youtube click here:
https://youtu.be/UxzdyY1Io-s

To listen on Spotify click here:

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/krystine-stephenson/episodes/Laie-Hawaii-Temple-Interior-Design-of-The-Church-of-Jesus-Christ-of-Latter-day-Saints-e376tf0

The La'ie Hawaii Temple is a special and holy place for visitors and patrons of the area. The Spirit of the Lord is evident. Learning about the history of the first missionaries and converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii can add to the sacred experience. The La'ie temple had beautiful symbolism from the grounds to the temple itself. Learning about the history and the symbolism of this beautiful building can help you appreciate the scope of Gods work.

The La'ie Temple design is a combination of ancient and modern design. The architects drew from ancient temples in Jerusalem, pre-Columbian ruins in America and contemporary buildings such as Frank Lloyd Wrights Unity Temple in Chicago, Illinois.

The most notable difference in the Laie Temple and the other temples before is the removal of the large assembly halls that had been significant in the other temples. The Church had decided to use an architecture design similar to the Alberta Canada Temple. This was a modification of a existing plan, rather then a full-scale proposal and decision process that could easily have taken many months.

The elimination of the large assembly room left the design focus squarely on the four major ordinance rooms and the celestial room, allowing their arrangement to shape the entire building. "As designer Harold Burton pondered this situation he arrived at a brilliant architectural composition that was perfectly logical and simple. The four ordinance rooms would be arranged around the center like the spokes of a wheel, each one a few steps higher than the one before, with the celestial room in the center at the very top of the building. The baptismal font would be in the center of the lower level directly below the celestial room." This arrangement was both practical and symbolic. The patrons ascend to the Celestial room with every ordinance.

"The outside design and orientation of the temple are also symbolic. The shape of the La'ie Temple is a Greek cross. The cross represents Christs sacrifice and Christianity itself, but a Greek cross with four arms of the same length was intended to represent not necessarily the Crucifixion but rather the four directions of the Earth and the spread of the Gospel thereto. Gathering God's Children from the four corners of the earth."

Joseph Smith said "What was the object of gathering the . . people of God in any age of the world?. . . The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom and teach the people the way of salvation."

When originally constructed the size of the Laie temple was considerably smaller than any other temple in operation at the time. The temple was just over 10,000 square feet. At lease ten times smaller than any other temple in operation at the time, an well over twenty times smaller than its predecessor, the Salt Lake Temple. Although the temple was smaller than the other temples in operation, the design of the Temple, with the focus on the ordinances make the ordinance rooms only four times smaller than the other temples in operation at the time. Allowing 50 people per session, with Salt Lake Temple allowing 200 people per session. The Laie Temple was made for efficiency, and the designers did a great job making every square foot useable.

Fifty years after the completion of the La'ei Temple the Harold Burton, one of the designers was asked what he would change if he was to design the temple today he responded "I was twenty-nine years old when I designed that. With all the experience I've had, I couldn't add one thing to that building. Not one thing. I was inspired, pure inspiration, that was way over my head."

Foundation

The ground of the Temple site was excavated with picks, hand shovels, blasting powder, and a mule driven scraper. The excavation revealed coral rock with pockets filled with soil. This was a worry to the builders. Having a strong foundation is paramount and laying a foundation on porous rock is not what leads to a strong foundation. To solve the problem they filled the cavernous trenches with a combination of large lava rocks and cement to form a thick and sure foundation for the Laie Temple.

All previous temples had been built of from quarried stone, but Hawaii is a completely different landscape then all previous temples, quarried stone was not available on the island. The architect of the Laie Temple, Pope wrote "It was quite a problem to determine the material of which it [the Hawaii temple] should be built, for, although highly favored in other respects, the islands are most devoid of building materials."

The builders found the perfect solution to the problem, lava rock. Pope learned that lava rock was "readily obtainable near the [temple] site could be crushed into an aggregate which would make very good concrete," and it was decided that the temple would be built out of reinforced concrete. "It was a very progressive building technique for the time, particularly in such a remote location."

The talk "God’s Intent Is to Bring You Home" By Elder Patrick Kearon Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles says:

"the Father’s plan is not about roadblocks. It never was; it never will be. Are there things we need to do, commandments to keep, aspects of our natures to change? Yes. But with His grace, those are within our reach, not beyond our grasp.

This is the good news! I am unspeakably grateful for these simple truths. The Father’s design, His plan, His purpose, His intent, His wish, and His hope are all to heal you, all to give you peace, all to bring you, and those you love, home. Of this I am a witness in the name of Jesus Christ, His Son, amen."

References:

"A Century of Aloha" by MARLOWE, ERIC-JON KEAWE; CHRISTENSEN, CLINTON D.Chapter 6

https://www.thechurchnews.com/2010/11/18/23227600/building-a-temple-in-laie-hawaii

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/04/45kearon?lang=eng