The Apia Samoa Temple (formerly the Samoan Temple) was the 24th constructed and 22nd operating

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). It was the first built in Samoa and the third to be built in

Polynesia Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...

. After it was destroyed by fire, a new temple was built and dedicated on the same grounds.

History

The intention to construct a temple in

Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...

was announced by the LDS Church on October 15, 1977. A groundbreaking ceremony and site dedication were held on February 19, 1981, with church president

Spencer W. Kimball Spencer Woolley Kimball (March 28, 1895 – November 5, 1985) was an American business, civic, and religious leader who was the twelfth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The grandson of early Latter-day ...

giving the dedicatory prayer. The temple was open to the public for tours July 19 to 30, 1983.

Gordon B. Hinckley Gordon Bitner Hinckley (June 23, 1910 – January 27, 2008) was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from March 1995 until his death in January 200 ...

dedicated the new Apia Samoa Temple August 5, 1983, and rededicated it on September 4, 2005. The Apia Samoa Temple serves members from 20 stakes in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

, and the islands of

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approxi ...

and Savai'i. As of 2020, Meliula M. Fata is the

temple president Temple president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A temple president's primary responsibility is to supervise the affairs of an LDS temple in both an administrative and spiritual ...

, with his wife, Pono, serving as temple matron.

Fire and reconstruction

On July 9, 2003, a fire destroyed the temple. Although the cause of the fire is unknown, it is believed to be construction related. The fire occurred in the evening after workers had gone home. Firefighters from Faleolo International Airport were called in to help firemen from Apia fire station."Temple burns"
''Samoa Observer'', 15 September 2018. Retrieved on 27 March 2020. One week later, on July 16, 2003, the

First Presidency Among many churches in the Latter Day Saint movement, the First Presidency (also known as the Quorum of the Presidency of the Church) is the highest presiding or governing body. Present-day denominations of the movement led by a First Presidency ...

sent a letter to the people of the area telling them that the temple would be rebuilt. Three months later, on October 19, 2003, the site was rededicated and a groundbreaking ceremony was held. As part of the construction process, the church demolished a building on the property and built a new chapel across the street from the temple. On January 25, 2005, the

angel Moroni The Angel Moroni () is an angel whom Joseph Smith reported as having visited him on numerous occasions, beginning on September 21, 1823. According to Smith, the angel was the guardian of the golden plates, buried in the hill Cumorah near Smith's ...

statue that had survived the fire was placed on the spire of the new building.

Architecture

The original and the rebuilt temple use a neotraditional design with a single spire, on a site. The original temple was , but with the rebuilding the total floor area is now . The exterior of is finished with

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

. The temple has two ordinance rooms and two sealing rooms.

References

External links

*
Apia Samoa Temple Official siteApia Samoa Temple
at ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org {{LDS-Pacific, state=expanded Temples (LDS Church) completed in 1983 Temples (LDS Church) completed in 2005 Buildings and structures in Apia Religious buildings and structures in Samoa Rebuilt buildings and structures Temples (LDS Church) in Oceania The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Samoa 1983 establishments in Samoa Burned buildings and structures

History

Fire and reconstruction

Architecture

See also

References

External links