The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that the Kona Hawaii Temple will close in October 2023 for extensive renovations.
The upgrades are expected to be completed by late 2025. The square footage of the temple will increase from 9,500 to approximately 12,000.
During the temple’s renovation, Latter-day Saints in the Kona Temple district are encouraged to attend the house of the Lord in Laie, Hawaii.
Dates for the public open house and rededication following the renovation will be announced closer to the completion date.
The Kona Hawaii Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley in January 2000. This house of the Lord is located on the Big Island of Hawaii, about 180 miles southeast of Laie, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated its first temple outside the United States, in 1919.
Latter-day Saints consider each temple a house of the Lord and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies such as marriages, which unite families forever, and proxy baptisms on behalf of deceased ancestors who did not have the opportunity to be baptized while living.
The announcement was made on Church Newsroom.