In preparation for the 100-year anniversary of the Laie Temple, the Temple Visitors’ Center was renovated from Jan. 7 to Feb. 7, 2019. It underwent several changes and renovations including a change of carpet and the removal of the Book of Mormon globe. The sister missionaries shared how the temple grounds kept its spirit, even with the absence of the Visitors’ Center.
The Visitors’ Center was dedicated in 1919, the same year the temple was dedicated, and the current Visitors’ Center was opened in September of 1980. This is only the second renovation or addition since its opening.
Elder Allen, the Laie Temple Visitors’ Center director, said, “The Visitors’ Center is being updated as part of a routine update that the Church does with all of its buildings. The Church also wanted the update done before the 100-year anniversary. It just worked out that it was time for an update and also the anniversary is coming up later this year.”
What are some of the changes?
The large globe with the Book of Mormons in different languages in the Visitors’ Center was replaced with a large cut-out of the Laie Temple, similar to the cut out in the Salt Lake City Temple Visitors’ Center.
The carpets were also engraved. The engravings are Hawaii themed, with images of breadfruit carved into the carpet. The bread in the carpets is a metaphor about how Jesus is the bread of life.
The Visitors’ Center is where the sister missionaries spend three hours a day doing online training and teaching on lds.org. It is the home of a family history center and a Church Distribution Center.
Missionary work without the Visitors’ Center
While the Visitors’ Center was under construction, the 62 sister missionaries got creative with ways to talk to the visitors.
Sister Kirkham, a missionary from Utah, said, “In a way it was kind of nice to not have the Visitors’ Center, because it gave us more time to have the opportunity to walk around the temple grounds with those visiting. The spirit at the temple is so strong and I hope the visitors, both members and nonmembers, felt a similar way.”
Sister Kimura, a missionary from Japan, is Kirkham’s companion. Kimura added, “It was also nice because the Visitors’ Center has a lot of props and there is a lot going on so we were able to talk more one-on-one with visitors rather than following them around and explaining the props.”
Even though their experience without the Visitors Center was positive, both Kimura and Kirkham mentioned how excited they are to have it back.
“We had to be really creative and it's going to be nice to stop having our pamphlets blowing in the wind and getting caught in the rain,” said Kirkham.
Writer: Mackenzie Beaver