At the conclusion of the October 2020 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson announced that a temple would be built in Tarawa, Kiribati.
Local Latter-day Saints rejoiced with the news of a temple being built in their homeland, and their excitement continues as preparation for construction begins to take place.
- Standing-at-the-entrance-of-the-site-where-the-temple-is-going-to-be-built-are-four-youths-from-the-TarawaWest-Kiribati-Stake.-They-are-all-smiles-upon-hearing-the-construction-of-the-temple.-May-2021
- Members-of-the-Tarawa-West-Stake-standing-on-the-site-where-the-temple-will-be-built.-Currently-this-sitehouses-the-construction-equipment-but-will-soon-be-moving-out.-In-the-background,-rests-the-building-for-the-Parliament-of-Kiribati-where-the-MPs-meet-every-three-months-a-year.-Some-members-speculated-that-the-Parliament-would-be-more-beautified-with-the-presence-of-the-temple-to-its-eastern-side.--May-2021
- President-of-the-Tarawa-West-Stake,-Peninsula-Mwemwenikeaki-(center)-is-also-among-those-who-are-overjoyed-with-the-news-of-the-new-Kiribati-Temple.--Kiribati,-May-2021
| 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 |
Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses, which are used for Sunday worship services and other meetings and activities throughout the week.
Temples are reserved for the highest sacraments of the faith, all pointing worshippers towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and enabling families to be joined together for eternity.
The 10,000 square foot temple will be built on a 0.80-acre site located at Ambo, South Tarawa, adjacent to the Kiribati Parliament building.
“We wept with joy when we heard the news of the temple [in Kiribati],” said Church leader, Adolf J. Johansson. “This is a realization of the prophecy that the Lord will gather his people from all the ends of the earth.”
“Our temples are the holiest places on earth,” President Nelson has said. “They not only unite us as families but connect us directly to our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I pray that each of us will soon have the opportunity to again fully participate in temple service.”
To learn more about temples, click here.
Watch a virtual tour of the Church of Jesus Christ’s Rome Italy Temple.