PORIRUA, New Zealand — On Saturday, 2 August 2025, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints formally broke ground on the Wellington New Zealand Temple in Porirua.
The event marked the official beginning of construction on what will be the country’s third temple and will serve a growing community of nearly 120,000 Latter‑day Saints in New Zealand.
The ceremony was presided over by Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, General Authority Seventy and First Counselor in the Church’s Pacific Area Presidency.
More than 500 members of the Church from around the country were joined by local government, community and faith leaders from the surrounding area. At the conclusion of the dedicatory prayer, invited guests and members of the public were invited to symbolically turn the soil of the temple site.
‘Hallowed ground’
In his dedicatory prayer, Elder Wakolo spoke of the temple “not only as a symbol of our membership in the Church, but as a sign of our faith in life after death and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families.”
He also offered thanks for New Zealand's religious freedoms and blessed the nation's leaders, as well the leaders of other nations based in the capital city of Wellington, with “wisdom to protect this land as a haven of peace, with political and economic stability for all.”
A milestone of spiritual and historical significance
Elder Wakolo referenced several significant events in the history of the Church in New Zealand, including the first convert baptism in the nearby Karori Stream in 1854.
Dr Taku Parai of the Porirua Stake also paid homage to the early missionaries and converts of the Church in the area and testified of the blessings the temple would bring. “What we will see and witness from this day forth is a mighty change in our communities and our cities. As we live the gospel, keep the faith, and dedicate ourselves to the work of the Lord, blessings will abound.”
Personal witnesses
Waimarino Ruwhiru, a ten-year-old from the Palmerston North Stake, encouraged other young people to prepare to enter the temple now by making good choices, while Malama Slade, a young adult from the Upper Hutt Stake, shared her personal witness of the blessings of the temple. She declared that “Every child of God deserves to know the same joy that fills my heart”.
The fulfilment of a sacred commitment
The Wellington New Zealand Temple was first announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson during the April 2022 General Conference.
Situated on a wooded, three-acre site that overlooks a nearby lagoon, the completed temple will also include ancillary buildings with arrival facilities and patron housing.
For those present, the groundbreaking was a realisation of the Church’s commitment to making temples more accessible for members throughout New Zealand and the wider Pacific Area.