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In 1960, as an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley accompanied the president of the Hong Kong Mission to Taipei to search for a location for a new meetinghouse. They purchased a site that held an old prison, which was later demolished to make room for the meetinghouse.
More than 20 years later, on Aug. 26, 1982, around 1,500 Church members gathered in that chapel for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Taipei Taiwan Temple, which would soon be built on the same site. President Hinckley, then a counselor in the First Presidency, recalled seeing a branch Relief Society president working hard to dig the foundation for the meetinghouse.
“She was barefooted, and as she walked through the mud as slippery as grease, it squeezed up between her toes,” he said. “But she went down into the [foundation] hole and began carrying dirt on her shoulders.”
After he told this story to the gathered Taiwanese Saints, he testified that “when people are working together for a great cause with a common purpose, there is unity among them.”
Stake President Liu Ch’un-Hua of the Taipei Taiwan West Stake also spoke to the congregation, saying that the new temple would have a “very positive effect on members [of the Church] and nonmembers.”
The Taipei Taiwan Temple was dedicated Nov. 17, 1984, by President Hinckley. At the dedication, he spoke of the temple work that the members would do in the house of the Lord, saying, “This house, built on what was once prison property, will open the prison doors of the veil of death.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “There have been many ... who have served faithfully and diligently as messengers of Thine eternal truth, speaking to their own people in their own tongue. Thousands have responded to their teachings. We thank Thee for the firm foundation on which Thy Church is now established in this part of the earth. We thank Thee for this day when those who will use this temple may turn their hearts to their fathers, participating in this, Thy holy house in those ordinances which will make it possible for their deceased forebears to move forward on the way that leads to eternal life.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Taipei Taiwan Temple here.
A temple for Taipei, Taiwan, was announced during a press conference on March 31, 1982, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, a counselor in the First Presidency. He made the announcement representing the First Presidency of the Church, including Church President Spencer W. Kimball; President N. Eldon Tanner, first counselor; and President Marion G. Romney, second counselor.
Ground was broken for the temple on Aug. 26, 1982. Around 1,500 Church members from the temple district attended the ceremony.
The public was invited to tour the completed house of the Lord from Oct. 30 to Nov. 10, 1984. Approximately 16,000 visitors attended the open house during this time.
The Taipei Taiwan Temple was dedicated in five sessions on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, 1984, by President Hinckley, then second counselor in the First Presidency. A total of 2,575 Church members from Taiwan attended a session.
A temple for Taipei, Taiwan, was announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley, a counselor in the First Presidency, during a press conference on March 31, 1982. Around 1,500 Church members from the temple district attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple on Aug. 26, 1982.
After an open house from Oct. 30 to Nov. 10, 1984, the Taipei Taiwan Temple was dedicated by President Hinckley on Nov. 17, 1984.
The 9,945-square-foot Taipei Taiwan Temple was built on 0.48 acres of land. The exterior walls are made of white ceramic tile, and six detached spires surround the temple on the ground, similar to the temples in Lima, Peru; Stockholm, Sweden; and Manila, Philippines.
The temple also features four instruction rooms and three sealing rooms.
31 March 1982
17 November 1984
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This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Taiwan.
The temple location was announced with three others — Guayaquil, Ecuador; Denver, Colorado; and Boise, Idaho — the last of which was built in the same six-spire design.
The temple site was once home to a prison and later a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse before it held the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
It was the third Latter-day Saint temple in Asia. Previous temples in the continent included ones in Tokyo, Japan; and Manila, Philippines.
The Taipei temple was dedicated just under two months after the Manila Philippines Temple, which was dedicated Sept. 25, 1984.
The temple was dedicated less than a month after the Dallas Texas Temple and less than a month before the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple were dedicated.
This was the first Latter-day Saint temple in Taiwan.
The temple location was announced with three others — Guayaquil, Ecuador; Denver, Colorado; and Boise, Idaho — the last of which was built in the same six-spire design.
The temple site was once home to a prison and later a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse before it held the Taipei Taiwan Temple.
It was the third Latter-day Saint temple in Asia. Previous temples in the continent included ones in Tokyo, Japan; and Manila, Philippines.
The Taipei temple was dedicated just under two months after the Manila Philippines Temple, which was dedicated Sept. 25, 1984.
The temple was dedicated less than a month after the Dallas Texas Temple and less than a month before the Guatemala City Guatemala Temple were dedicated.