The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that the Hamilton New Zealand Temple will close this July 2018 for extensive renovation, including a seismology upgrade.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Once the renovation has been completed in 2021, the temple will be rededicated following a public open house. Details of the rededication and open house will be provided closer to the time of completion.
Plans to construct the temple were announced in February 1955, and Church leaders broke ground 10 months later. David O. McKay, president of the Church from 1951 to 1970, dedicated the Hamilton New Zealand Temple on April 20, 1958. The temple serves Latter-day Saints in New Zealand and the Cook Islands.
Construction of the New Zealand Temple was done by volunteer labor. In 1950, the Church had created the “labor missionary” program so that much-needed Church buildings could be constructed in the Pacific.
People with experience were called as missionaries to supervise the projects, and young local missionaries volunteered their labor. More than 1,500 missionaries were called to assist in building the temple, and many people who were not members of the Church also volunteered.
During the temple closure, Latter-day Saints will travel to other temples in the Pacific and elsewhere. Several temples now dot the Pacific in Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti and Tonga.