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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii
The Laie Hawaii Temple is the oldest operating LDS temple outside of Utah.
AreaNA West
Members74,952 (2022)[1]
Stakes16
Wards127
Branches16
Total Congregations143
Missions2
Temples2 Operating
2 Announced
4 Total
Family History Centers26[2]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) was established in the Hawaiian Islands in 1850, 11 years after the Edict of Toleration was decreed by Kamehameha III, giving the underground Hawaii Catholic Church the right to worship, and at the same time allowing other faith traditions to begin establishing themselves.

The church's first missionary to have success among the Hawaiians was George Q. Cannon. Among his earliest converts were men well-versed in the Hawaiian language, such as Jonatana Napela and Uaua. After the construction of the Hawaii Temple, the Latter-day Saints founded the Church College of Hawaii, now Brigham Young University-Hawaii (BYU-Hawaii), along with the associated Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC), the state's largest living museum, and an entertainment center;[3] which draws a million visitors annually. As the Latter-day Saint population in Hawaii continued to increase, a second church temple for the islands, the Kona Hawaii Temple, was completed in Kailua Kona on the island of Hawaii in 2000.

Hawaii has the highest concentration of Latter-day Saints of U.S. states that do not border Utah.[4] The LDS Church is the 2nd largest denomination in Hawaii, behind the Roman Catholic Church.[5]

History

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Honolulu Sunday School ca 1902
Membership in Hawaii[6][1]
YearMembers
1851 220
1920 10,745
1930 14,433
1940 9,789
1950 11,855
1960 18,327
1970 23,377
1980 30,241
*1989 49,000
1999 55,361
2009 68,128
2019 75,009
2022 74,952
*Membership was published as a rounded number.

The church's first ten missionaries departed San Francisco for Hawaii during the California Gold Rush on the ship Imaum of Muscat, arriving on December 12, 1850, in Honolulu Harbor of what was then known as the Sandwich Islands.[7] With Hiram Clark presiding, the missionaries included Henry Bigler, Hiram Blackwell, George Q. Cannon, John Dixon, William Farrer, James Hawkins, James Keeler, Thomas Morris, and Thomas Whittle. A day after their arrival the group climbed a hill above Honolulu (Pacific Heights), constructed a small, makeshift altar and said a prayer. A week later, the ten missionaries received their assignments: Farrer and Dixon headed to the island of Kaua'i, Cannon, Keeler, and Bigler to Lahaina on the island of Maui, Blackwell and Hawkins to the Big Island of Hawaii, with Morris, Whittle, and Clark staying behind in Honolulu. This group formed the basis of the Sandwich Islands Mission.[8] The church's first congregation in Hawaii was established on the island of Maui in 1851.[9] Among the early converts of Cannon were three prominent native Hawaiians: Napela, Uaua and Kaleohano who would later serve as prominent missionaries and leaders in the LDS Church.[10]

Missionaries led a group of Hawaiian Latter-day Saints in establishing a colony on the island of Lānaʻi in 1854.[11] In 1857, the American missionaries left due to the Utah War. No new missionaries came until Walter M. Gibson arrived in 1861. Gibson instituted irregular activities such as selling the priesthood. Some local leaders, such as Napela, sent letters to Salt Lake City asking for Gibson to be replaced. In response, Ezra T. Benson and Lorenzo Snow of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were sent to take over the leadership of the mission, with the assistance of Joseph F. Smith, who had been a missionary in Hawaii for much of the 1850s. Most of the membership followed Benson, Snow, and Smith, but in the process ownership of the property on Lanai was lost. A new colony for Hawaiian Latter-day Saints was established in Lāʻie.[12]

In 1889, Iosepa, Utah was founded as a colony for Hawaiian Latter-day Saints. This colony functioned until 1915 when the saints there were encouraged to return to Hawaii in anticipation of the building of a temple there. The first stake in Hawaii was organized in 1935.[13]

Brigham Young University–Hawaii

In 1937, the Japanese Mission was organized in Hawaii to focus on teaching the ethnic Japanese in Hawaii. This mission existed until 1950 when it was merged into the Hawaiian mission.[14]

County Statistics

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List of LDS Church adherents in each county as of 2010 according to the Association of Religion Data Archives:[15]

County Congregations Adherents % of Population
Hawaii 17 10,422 5.63
Honolulu 97 48,750 5.11
Kauai 6 3,488 5.20
Maui 14 7,212 4.66
A meetinghouse on Lusitana Street in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Stakes

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As of January 2024, Hawaii had the following stakes:

Stake Organized Mission Temple District
Hilo Hawaii 24 Oct 2004 Hawaii Honolulu Kona Hawaii
Honolulu Hawaii 26 Aug 1955 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Honolulu Hawaii West 4 Feb 1962 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Kahului Hawaii 9 Nov 1975 Hawaii Honolulu Kona Hawaii
Kahului Hawaii West 4 May 2014 Hawaii Honolulu Kona Hawaii
Kaneohe Hawaii 21 Nov 1971 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Kauai Hawaii 24 Jul 1977 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Kona Hawaii 24 Nov 1974 Hawaii Honolulu Kona Hawaii
Laie Hawaii Married Student 22 Nov 1981 Hawaii Laie Laie Hawaii
Laie Hawaii North 16 Jan 1983 Hawaii Laie Laie Hawaii
Laie Hawaii 30 Jun 1935 Hawaii Laie Laie Hawaii
Laie Hawaii YSA 1st 23 Jan 1977 Hawaii Laie Laie Hawaii
Laie Hawaii YSA 2nd 24 Oct 2004 Hawaii Laie Laie Hawaii
Makakilo Hawaii 8 Dec 1996 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Mililani Hawaii 20 Jan 1980 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii
Waipahu Hawaii 20 Feb 1972 Hawaii Honolulu Laie Hawaii

Missions

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Mission Organized
Hawaii Honolulu 12 Dec 1850
Hawaii Laie 3 Jan 2022

Temples

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  • = Operating
  • = Under construction
  • = Announced
  • = Temporarily Closed

The Laie Hawaii Temple, formerly known as the Hawaiian Temple or the Hawaii Temple until a standard naming convention for LDS temples was adopted in the early 2000s, is located on the northeast shore of the island of Oʻahu. The temple sits on a small hill a half-mile from the Pacific Ocean in the town of Laie, 35 miles (56 km) from Honolulu. Along with BYU-Hawaii and the PCC, the temple plays an important role in the town of Laie,[16] with the temple Visitors' Center attracting more than 100,000 people annually.[17]

The Hawaii Temple was the first temple the LDS Church built outside of the continental United States. The temple is also the oldest to operate outside of Utah, and the fifth-oldest still in operation. The site of the temple was dedicated by church president Joseph F. Smith on June 1, 1915, and the completed structure was dedicated by church president Heber J. Grant on November 27, 1919.

The Kona Hawaii Temple became the church's seventieth temple, announced on May 7, 1998. Located in the town of Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, the site of Kona Hawaii Temple was dedicated on March 13, 1999. The structure itself was constructed in concrete, white marble and some native materials. Architects used a simple classical design featuring a single spire. The completion and official dedication was celebrated on January 23, 2000, by church president Gordon B. Hinckley.

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Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Dedicated:
Rededicated:
Size:
Style:
Notes: 		Laie, Hawaii, United States
October 1, 1915 by Joseph F. Smith
June 1, 1915 by Joseph F. Smith
November 27, 1919 by Heber J. Grant
June 13, 1978 by Spencer W. Kimball[20]
42,100 sq ft (3,910 m2) on a 11.4-acre (4.6 ha) site
Solomon's Temple, no spire - designed by Hyrum Pope and Harold Burton
Thomas S. Monson rededicated the Laie Hawaii Temple on November 20, 2010[18] following nearly 2 years of renovations that began December 29, 2008.[19] The remodel completed in 1978 expanded the temple from 10,500 square feet (980 m2) to over 47,000 square feet (4,400 m2).
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Location:
Announced:
Groundbreaking:
Dedicated:
Size:
Style: 		Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, U.S.
May 7, 1998 by Gordon B. Hinckley
March 13, 1999 by John B. Dickson
January 23, 2000 by Gordon B. Hinckley
12,325 sq ft (1,145.0 m2) on a 7.02-acre (2.84 ha) site
Classic modern, single-spire design - designed by Church A & E Services, Bob Lowder
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Location:
Announced: 		Kahului, Hawaii
1 October 2023 by Russell M. Nelson[21][22]
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Location:
Announced: 		Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
7 April 2024 by Russell M. Nelson[23][24]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by State: Hawaii", Newsroom, LDS Church, retrieved 28 May 2022
  2. ^ Category:Hawaii Family History Centers, familysearch.org, retrieved March 28, 2022
  3. ^ Polynesian Cultural Center Official Site. Polynesia.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-22.
  4. ^ The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints membership statistics (United States)
  5. ^ "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  6. ^ Windall J. Ashton; Jim M. Wall, Deseret News, various years, Church Almanac Country Information: Arizona
  7. ^ Bureau of Information 1964, pp. 3.
  8. ^ Wallace III 2000
  9. ^ Bureau of Information 1964, pp. 7.
  10. ^ LDS Church Almanac 2010 Edition, p. 331
  11. ^ Bureau of Information 1964, pp. 8.
  12. ^ LDS Church Almanac 2010 edition, p. 331
  13. ^ LDS Church Alamanc, 2010 edition, p. 331
  14. ^ LDS Church Almanac, 2010 edition, p. 331
  15. ^ "The Association of Religion Data Archives | State Membership Report". Thearda.com. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  16. ^ Aikau, Hokulani K. (Winter 2008). "Resisting Exile in the Homeland: He Mo'olemo No Lā'ie". American Indian Quarterly. 32 (1). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press: 70–95. doi:10.1353/aiq.2008.0003. ISSN 0095-182X. S2CID 161421626.
  17. ^ Kayal, Michele (2004-11-27). "Mormons Spruce Up Their Aging Hawaiian Outpost". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
  18. ^ "Laie Hawaii Temple Rededicated by President Monson", Newsroom (News Release), LDS Church, November 21, 2010
  19. ^ "Plans announced for renovation of Laie Hawaii Temple", Deseret News, October 7, 2008
  20. ^ "Dedications at Seattle, Temple Square, Hawaii, and Nauvoo", Ensign (News of the Church), July 1978
  21. ^ Where the 20 new Latter-day Saint temples will be built as Russell Nelson’s record tally continues to rise, Salt Lake Tribune, 1 October 2023
  22. ^ "The Church of Jesus Christ Will Build 20 New Temples", Newsroom, LDS Church, 1 October 2023
  23. ^ Full summary of Sunday’s LDS General Conference: Nelson names temples; Oaks reaffirms wearing of garments; Kearon points to a welcoming God, Salt Lake Tribune, 7 April 2024
  24. ^ "President Russell M. Nelson Announces 15 Temples", Newsroom, LDS Church, 7 April 2024

References

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Further reading

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