Update: September 14, 2021
The groundbreaking date for the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple has been delayed from October 9, 2021 to October 30, 2021. Elder K. Brett Nattress of the Pacific Area Presidency will preside.
Previously published on July 27, 2021:
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced groundbreakings for the Neiafu Tonga Temple and the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple. Both were announced in April 2019 by Church President Russell M. Nelson.
A rendering of the Neiafu Tonga Temple.
A rendering of the Neiafu Tonga Temple.© 2020 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The groundbreaking ceremony for the Neiafu Tonga Temple will be held Saturday, September 11, 2021. Elder ‘Inoke F. Kupu of the Quorum of the Seventy will preside at the event.
Download PhotoThe Neiafu Tonga Temple will be built at the site of the Church-owned Saineha High School. The single-story structure will be about 17,000 square feet. This will be the country’s second temple, following the Nuku’alofa Tonga Temple. Tonga is home to more than 66,000 Latter-day Saints — roughly 60 percent of the nation’s population.
Pago-Pago-American-Samoa-Temple-Rendering
A rendering of the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple.2021 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Leaders will break ground for the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple on Saturday, October 9, 2021 (see update at the top of this article). The event’s presiding Church leader will be determined based on travel requirements related to COVID-19.
Download PhotoThe Pago Pago American Samoa Temple will be built on Ottoville Road on the site of the Pago Pago Samoa Central Stake Center in Tafuna, American Samoa. The single-story structure will be roughly 17,000 square feet. The temple construction will also include housing for the temple president, matron and missionaries and a distribution center. The temple will be the first in American Samoa. More than 16,000 Latter-day Saints live in this U.S. territory.
Attendance at both groundbreaking ceremonies will be by invitation only. The groundbreaking ceremonies will be broadcast to congregations in the two temple districts.
Church President Russell M. Nelson ministered in the South Pacific in May of 2019. As part of his Pacific ministry tour, he visited the Apia Samoa Temple and the Nuku’alofa Tonga Temple.
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differ from meetinghouses or chapels, where members meet for Sunday worship services. Each temple is considered a “house of the Lord,” where Jesus Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity. In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and make covenants to follow Jesus Christ and serve their fellow man.