French Polynesian Saints Rejoice After Announcement of Second Temple

French Polynesian members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are celebrating today’s announcement of a second temple to be constructed in their country.

The house of the Lord will be built in Uturoa, a town located on Ra'iātea, the largest island of the Îles Sous le Vent (Leeward Islands) in French Polynesia, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Warren Laufatte, a leader in the Church in Raromatai, French Polynesia, was attending General Conference in Salt Lake City, United States, with his wife, when the announcement was made.

“We cried with joy, filled with emotions all the way out of the Conference Center,” he said.

Renaud Taae, a Church leader in the Pare area, said, “A temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Uturoa, Raiatea, on my home island. What a blessing! One can barely see our little islands on a world map. But the Lord sees us and remembers the islands of the sea. I cried and felt the Spirit very strongly during President Nelson's talk and the announcement of a temple in Uturoa. Thank you, Lord.”

Church communication director in French Polynesia, Noelline Parker, said, “What I can say, my first reaction was a shout of astonishment and tears of joy, of overwhelming gratitude, of feeling so blessed!”

Harold Teivao, a Church leader in the Faaa, Takaoroa area, said, “The announcement of this second temple is a blessing for our Polynesian people.”

Terangi Bouges, a leader in her congregation, said, “Words from general conference gave me comfort and peace. I testify that the Lord is hastening His work and that He needs us to have more Holiness in our lives. In concluding the Sunday afternoon and final session of the April 2024 general conference, Church President Russell M. Nelson announced 15 new temples to be built around the world. And wow, how blessed we are to have a second temple in French Polynesia: Uturoa.”

She added, “President Nelson said: ‘The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has for each of us.’ I know now what I’m supposed to do: Trust the Lord, serve Him, keep His commandments, and frequently worship Him in the temple.”

Elder Peter F. Meurs, Pacific Area President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said that “the Lord is blessing Church members in the South Pacific with more temples so we can more fully and deeply understand God’s magnificent plan for His children; strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ; receive sacred ordinances and make eternal covenants; and be blessed with divine peace, guidance and power.”

“As President Nelson reassured us in General Conference today,” Elder Meurs said, “Here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing! The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has for each of us.”

The Uturoa French Polynesia Temple will be the second house of the Lord in French Polynesia. The Papeete Tahiti Temple was dedicated in 1983 and was rededicated in 2006 following an expansion.

In 1843, missionaries set sail from the North Atlantic to Tahiti. The Prophet Joseph Smith and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles called four missionaries to take the gospel “unto the islands of the sea” in the Pacific. The Pacific Area is celebrating the 180th anniversary of the missionaries’ arrival this month.

There are nearly 30,000 Latter-day Saints in nearly 100 congregations in French Polynesia.