#5 Do One Last Temple Session

The Laie Temple is another place that holds so much meaning for me and is a place I will never forget.  The Temple is situated right next to BYU-Hawaii which is where I went to school for my Undergrad degree and therefore it became a site that I saw often.  In fact, everyday when I walked to school I would walk right past the temple. And in March of 2011 I was finally able to enter the Laie temple and be sealed to my wonderful husband for time and all eternity.  Since then, we have been back many times, by ourselves and with our ward members and it has become a really special place to me.  So naturally, I wanted to go one more time before we left the island.  And, since Sunset beach is close to the temple, we could kill two birds with one stone on this trip.

 This is a picture of the view of the temple as you are driving up the street.  The house I lived in while going to school is just to the left in this picture.

 Since we watched the sun set before heading over to the temple, we didn't get out of our session until 9 and the Visitor Center had already closed by then.  But we were able to walk around and take a few shots before we had to leave.

The Laie Temple has some history behind it that I love so I'll share it with you.  While he was in Hawaii on business, President Joseph F. Smith in 1915 saw the Laie Temple in a vision and was inspired to dedicate the site for the future temple.  The dedication was sustained in the October 1915 General Conference and construction began shortly thereafter, making it the first temple to be built outside of the continental United States and the fifth temple built ever.  Construction on the temple was delayed when they ran out of lumber to build with but the members in the area prayed and soon the Lord delivered.  Within a few days a freighter became stranded on some coral reef just down the street from where the Temple was being built.  The captain offered his entire cargo to the locals if they would help him unload it and repair his ship.  The cargo he was carrying was lumber, and was enough to complete the construction of the temple.  On the original building, the exterior was made out of crushed rock and coral that came directly from the local waters.  The temple was dedicated in 1916 and was just recently closed for two years for remodeling.  Justin and I were lucky that it had opened just a few months before we were married there. 

It is such a beautiful building and we will always remember the memories and spirit that was felt there.  Check that off our list!