Bright and early on Saturday the 2nd of November, the skies and the sea were blue, and the sun was shining.
A group of enthusiastic members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were busying themselves with the final checks and preparations needed for receiving guests at the Tarawa Kiribati Temple Groundbreaking, scheduled for later in the day.
The groundbreaking ceremony formally signals the commencement of the temple’s construction and is a reason for great rejoicing among the more than 28,000 Latter-day Saints living on the coral atolls and islets that make up the nations of the Republic of Kiribati and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
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- Tarawa-Kiribati-Temple-Groundbreaking
- Tarawa-Kiribati-Temple-Groundbreaking
| 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 |
Elder Jeremy R. Jaggi, General Authority Seventy, accompanied by his wife, Sister Amy Jaggi, warmly greeted His Excellency Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati and First Lady Madam Teiraeng Maamau.
Mr. Willie Tokataake, Speaker of the House; Her Excellency Ms. Karen Bray, Australian High Commissioner; His Excellency Mr. André van der Walt, New Zealand High Commissioner; His Excellency Mr. Zhou Limin, Chinese Ambassador; and other distinguished guests also attended the groundbreaking.
Elder and Sister Jaggi visited with distinguished guests, Church leaders, missionaries, Latter-day Saint pioneers, members of the choir, and event volunteers.
Elder Iotua Tune, Pacific Area Seventy, conducted the proceedings. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Maii Toanimatang.
DOWNLOADElder Jaggi’s remarks were filled with hope and inspiration for a future of peace and protection for Kiribati. He said, “Today’s breaking of the ground is symbolic of planting a giant coconut or breadfruit seed. It will produce the greatest harvest we have seen or can conceive for generations to come.”
DOWNLOADContinuing, Elder Jaggi said, “Settlers came to these islands thousands of years ago. They may have come to find a more peaceful place. They may have come for more freedom. They may have come because the rocky reefs provide more protection from the storms and the king tides.”
“The temple that will be built in this spot will provide great protection from the storms of life,” Elder Jaggi promised.
Quoting President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jaggi 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!”
Elder Jaggi said, “Upon this place and upon this temple a sign will be placed, ‘Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord.’”
He extended an invitation to “make our own sign, our own promise to heaven. That we will become better brothers and sisters to each other, following the example of our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
DOWNLOADElder Jaggi pronounced a blessing upon Kiribati, the nation’s leaders, the people, the elements, the Church, and its members.
In the prayer, Elder Jaggi connected the unique location of Kiribati with Heavenly Father’s significant promise, “I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea, and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth” (2 Nephi 29:7).
Under the direction of President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Jaggi dedicated and consecrated the site for the building of the Tarawa Kiribati Temple.
In his address, the nation's leader, President Taneti Maamau, said, “The longstanding partnership between the government and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has allowed us to nurture faith, build communities, and ensure peace and security for our people.”
DOWNLOADPresident Maamau shared that during his visit with President Russell M. Nelson in 2018, he had requested that a temple for Kiribati be considered because he was concerned that “…when our people get married, [and seek] the sacred blessings of the [temple], they normally travel to Fiji or to Tonga.”
He said, “I’m glad to know that the general assembly of the Church has authorized and approved the building of the temple on our tiny country here in Tarawa.”
“At last God has blessed us with a mandate to see the faith and the spirit of the Holy God working through our people,” President Maamau said.
| 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 |
Tamara Ruateiti, 10, from Temaiku 1st Branch reminded the people to “stay on the covenant path.”
Teenager Agnes Temokua, from Buota Branch, spoke about the importance of preparing to receive the temple endowment, making sacred covenants with Heavenly Father and remembering President Russell M. Nelson’s promise that “increased time in the temple will bless your life in ways nothing else can” (Liahona, Nov. 2022).
Obeira Teauoki, a young adult, also from Buota Branch, shared the things he would do to prepare to receive a temple marriage or sealing ordinance, including serving a full-time mission for the Lord, obeying the commandments of God, and seeking counsel from his parents.
The proceedings were broadcast live to people gathered in the Church’s meetinghouses across Kiribati.
The Tarawa Kiribati Temple will be built on a 0.80-acre site located at Ambo, South Tarawa, Kiribati. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 10,000 square feet with an end-spire. Additional ancillary facilities will be located about a quarter mile west of the temple site. Plans for a meetinghouse and patron housing facility are in development.
Missionary work first began in Kiribati in 1975 when students from Kiribati returned to their home country as Latter-day Saint missionaries after attending a Church-owned high school in Tonga. These missionaries helped establish the first branch of the Church. Church meetings were held on the campus of the Auriaria Kokoi Ataria School on the island of Tarawa.
Latter-day Saints consider each temple a house of the Lord and the most sacred place 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.