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Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

Groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

The groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple was presided over by Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, Asia Area president, on Nov. 25, 2023. Among the 500 attendees in person included community and religious leaders, such as Niaosong District Mayor Hsueh-Hung Lu.

Elder Tai, who had spent several years of his childhood in Kaohsiung, said to the congregation, “As a young boy, I never would have imagined that one day, a temple will be built here, because temples always seemed so distant and few in number.” Having a temple for the city, he said, is a result of a “remarkable legacy of faith and dedication” by Church pioneers who, “at great personal sacrifice, helped to establish the Church here in southern Taiwan.”

Timeline of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

October
03
2021
Announced

Church President Russell M. Nelson announced a temple for Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Oct. 3, 2021, during October 2021 general conference. It was one of 13 temples announced at the conference — and the second sacred edifice for this East Asia island nation.

President Nelson wearing a suit coat and blue tie, smiling and speaking at a pulpit with his arms outstretched.
November
25
2023
Groundbreaking

Ground was broken for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple on Nov. 25, 2023, with more than 500 people in attendance. Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai — a General Authority Seventy and president of the Asia Area — presided over the ceremony.

A row of people in Sunday best holding ceremonial golden shovels with a scoop of dirt.

The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple was announced by Church President Russell M. Nelson on Oct. 3, 2021. The Church released a site location for a sacred edifice in the Niaosong District of Kaohsiung City on Nov. 28, 2022.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Nov. 25, 2023, with Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, Asia Area president, presiding.

Architecture and Design of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

According to site plans released by the Church on Nov. 28, 2022, the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple will be a single-story building of approximately 10,900 square feet. The edifice will stand on a 1.26-acre site in the Niaosong District of Kaohsiung City.

Architectural renderings of the house of the Lord show an off-white exterior surrounded by rectangular windows. A five-tiered tower topped with a steeple extending upward from a small orb stands above the center of the building. Trees, shrubs and flower gardens adorn the grounds.

Groundbreaking Photos of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple

Quick Facts

Announced

3 October 2021

Groundbreaking

25 November 2023

Groundbreaking presided by
Location

Dachang Road and Dehua Street
Niaosong District
Kaohsiung City
Taiwan

Additional Facts

Fact #1

This will be the second Latter-day Saint temple in Taiwan. The Taipei Taiwan Temple, in the capital city on the northern end of this island nation, was dedicated in 1984.

Fact #2

When a house of the Lord for Kaohsiung was announced, Taiwan had approximately 61,000 Latter-day Saints among some 110 congregations.

Fact #3

Because of the difference in time zones from the Far East to Salt Lake City, Taiwan Taichung Mission President Karl J. Fields was able to share the “glorious news” of a temple for Kaohsiung with his missionaries as they were awaking. Learning there was to be a house of the Lord in southern Taiwan was, President Fields related, “the answer to many, many prayers of the faithful Saints” of the region.

Fact #4

At the time of the temple’s announcement, the closest house of the Lord to Kaohsiung was the Taipei Taiwan Temple, a distance of approximately 180 miles away to the northeast.

Additional Facts

Fact #1

This will be the second Latter-day Saint temple in Taiwan. The Taipei Taiwan Temple, in the capital city on the northern end of this island nation, was dedicated in 1984.

Fact #2

When a house of the Lord for Kaohsiung was announced, Taiwan had approximately 61,000 Latter-day Saints among some 110 congregations.

Fact #3

Because of the difference in time zones from the Far East to Salt Lake City, Taiwan Taichung Mission President Karl J. Fields was able to share the “glorious news” of a temple for Kaohsiung with his missionaries as they were awaking. Learning there was to be a house of the Lord in southern Taiwan was, President Fields related, “the answer to many, many prayers of the faithful Saints” of the region.

Fact #4

At the time of the temple’s announcement, the closest house of the Lord to Kaohsiung was the Taipei Taiwan Temple, a distance of approximately 180 miles away to the northeast.