The Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple (formerly the Tongan Temple) is the 25th constructed and 23rd operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in the middle of Tonga's main island Tongatapu near Matangiake. The area where the temple is located is commonly known as Liahona, after the name of the church-owned high school there. The temple is several miles south of its namesake city, the capital Nukuʻalofa.
The temple is the only one built in Tonga, and has floor plan similar to the other southern Pacific temples, the Apia Samoa Temple (rebuilt in 2005) and the Papeete Tahiti Temple. It was built with a modern single-spire design, similar to the Bern Switzerland Temple and the London England Temple. Most of the construction work on the temple was done by labor missionaries from New Zealand and other South Pacific Islands.
The Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple was announced on 2 April 1980, and dedicated on 9 August 1983 by Gordon B. Hinckley. The temple was built on a 5-acre (20,000 m2) plot, has 2 ordinance rooms and 3 sealing rooms, and has a total floor area of 14,572 square feet (1,353.8 m2).
The temple was closed for renovation in July 2006. An open house was held September 29 - October 20, 2007 and the temple was rededicated on November 4, 2007 by Russell M. Nelson.
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Famous quotes containing the word temple:
“If one doubts whether Grecian valor and patriotism are not a fiction of the poets, he may go to Athens and see still upon the walls of the temple of Minerva the circular marks made by the shields taken from the enemy in the Persian war, which were suspended there. We have not far to seek for living and unquestionable evidence. The very dust takes shape and confirms some story which we had read.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)