Description

The Hong Kong China Temple (Chinese: 中國香港聖殿, pronounced Zhōngguó xiānggǎng shèng diàn), formerly the Hong Kong Temple, is the 48th operating temple.  The temple serves church members from parts of India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mongolia, Guam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Micronesia, Majuro, and Indonesia.

History

Location Search

Search for a site had begun in spring of 1991 with several sites being looked at. Finding a site on which to build had been difficult, especially given the high cost of real estate in the area. After an exhausting day looking at locations on 25 July 1992, then Elder Hinckley was unsettled about what to do. He was unable to sleep until a distinct impression came to him that they already had the needed property where the mission home and chapel currently stood, and the temple could be built by placing it into the top floors of a multi-story building. He arose the next morning with that thought in his head and sketched the design of the temple on a piece of paper. The design used the upper floors for the temple, and lower floors for replacement facilities for the Mission home, Chapel, and other offices.

^[1]Monte J. Brough and John K. Carmack, “How the Hong Kong Temple Came to Be,” Ensign, December 2006, Accessed 23 May 2017.

^[2]Sheri L. Dew, “Go Forward With Faith: The Biography of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” p.481.

Announcement

On 3 October 1992, then-First Counselor in the First Presidency Gordon B. Hinckley, announced plans to build a temple in the Hong Kong.

^[3]Gordon B. Hinckley, “Sustaining of the Church officers” LDS.org, 3 October 1992. Accessed 22 May 2017.

The Temple was announced in conjunction with temples for Hartford Connecticut (Later changed to Boston and White Plains) and Mount Timpanogos Utah Temples.

Groundbreaking

Ground for the Hong Kong Temple was broken on 22 January 1994 by Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy.

^[4]“Ground Broken for Temple in Hong Kong”, Ensign, April 1994. Accessed 22 May 2017.

Open House

An open house was held for the Hong Kong China Temple 7-21 May 1996. During that 13 day time period about 13,000 people attended.

Dedication

The dedication of the Hong Kong China Temple took place on 26-27 May 1996. Then President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Temple over 7 Sessions.

Dedicatory Prayer

Dedication Order

The Hong Kong China Temple was the 48th temple dedicated. At the time of its dedication there were 5 other temples under construction (St. Louis Missouri, Mount Timpanogos Utah, Preston England, Vernal Utah, and Bogota Colombia) and another 9 temples announced awaiting ground breaking.

Presidents

Temple President	Years Served
President Richard F. Lee	2016–
President Chung H.P. Wong	2013–2016
President John M. Aki	2010–2013
President Charles W. H. Goo	2007–2010
President Kwok Yuen Tai	2004–2007
President Jerry D. Wheat	2001–2004
President W. Brent Hardy	1998–2001
President Kat Hing Ng	1996–1998

Details

Because of the land shortage in the territory, the temple was ‘built up’ instead of ‘spreading out’. The six-story building houses the temple, a chapel, mission offices, and living quarters for the temple president and several missionaries. The ground floor level of the temple is comprised mostly of a large outdoor courtyard that sits under the bulk of the temple. This method of land usage has since been repeated with the design of the Manhattan New York Temple.

The Hong Kong Temple has a total of 21,744 square feet (2,020.1 m²), two ordinance rooms, and two sealing rooms.

Exterior

Cladding

Windows

Symbolism

Inscriptions

Cornerstone

Spires and Moroni

Spire

Moroni

Sculptor	Karl Quilter
Version	1982
Placed	12 December 1995
Faces	East
Height
Feet
Meters

Individuals and Contractorsr

Architect	Liang Peddle Thorpe Architects
Project Manager
General Contractor

Sources and Links