| The Laie Hawaii Temple is set in
an extraordinarily beautiful setting. The natural setting is home to many breath-taking
ferns, palms, and other semi-tropical plants. Plans being used for the construction of the
Alberta Temple were modified to create a smaller, distinct layout for the Laie Hawaii
Temple. Its flat roof design received some criticism at first, but President Samuel E.
Woolley of the Hawaiian Mission discovered a prophecy by Brigham Young which caused
reflection on the part of the critics. President Young foresaw the time when temples would
have a central tower with greenery and fishponds on the roof. Architects, oblivious to
this prophecy, had made provisions for flower boxes and ponds on top of the building thus
fulfilling President Young's inspired words. Friezes
on the exterior of the temple depict God's dealings with man in four great dispensations
from the time of the Garden of Eden to the present. On the north, the story of the Book of
Mormon is represented including the departure of Hagoth and others. The panel on the west
presents Israel's history during Old Testament times. The New Testament dispensation
followed by the Apostasy is depicted on the south. And, finally, the latter-day
restoration of the gospel is portrayed in the panel on the east.
The dedication of the Laie Hawaii Temple took place on
Thanksgiving Day of 1919. President Joseph F. Smith had died just one year earlier, and
President Heber J. Grant now served as president of the Church. Speaking at the
dedication, Elder Stephen L. Richards said that "the temple is something more than a
beautiful building. It is a monument to the great truths of the gospel, and stands for all
that is best and holiest in life. While it is a house for salvation of the dead, it should
never be forgotten that it is a house for the living and intended to stimulate us to
higher things."
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