<P> A $5.5 million renovation, renewal, and beautification project along Hale La ʻa Boulevard leading to the temple began in 2003, lasting 14 months: Norfolk pines suffering from termite infestation were replaced with royal palms, new decorative lighting was added to the terraces, and landscaped roundabouts were put in place . At the same time, the Visitors' Center was upgraded with interactive kiosks and new displays . </P> <P> In December 2008, the Laie Hawaii Temple closed again for structural and seismic upgrades and to restore the ordinance rooms to their original appearance and progressive - style presentation of the endowment (still using film). The baptistry was repaired and renovated . The temple was rededicated on November 21, 2010, by Thomas S. Monson . </P> <P> LDS Church president Joseph F. Smith wanted the architecture of the Laie Hawaii Temple to resemble Solomon's Temple referred to in the biblical canon . The temple is often compared to the Cardston Alberta Temple, designed by young architects Hyrum Pope and Harold W. Burton . Pope and Burton's design was also used for Laie, and their work is rooted in the Prairie style architecture made popular by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in the early twentieth - century . The temples also evoke Mesoamerican architectural motifs, a favored theme of Burton's . </P> <P> The temple sits on an 11 - acre (4.5 ha) site that was once part of a large sugarcane plantation . Construction of the temple first began in February 1916 . Native materials consisting of crushed lava rock were used to build the temple, along with reinforced concrete . The building's gleaming white finish was created using pneumatic stone - cutting techniques . The temple has the shape of a cross when seen from the air; the highest point of the temple is 50 ft (15.2 m), and it measures 102 ft (31.1 m) from east to west and 78 ft (23.8 m) from north to south . The front exterior was designed in the form of a Greek cross, but lacks a tower, a rarity in LDS Church temples . Apart from the Laie Hawaii Temple, only two other church temples lack towers or spires: the Cardston Alberta Temple and the Mesa Arizona Temple . </P>

Laie hawaii temple - the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints laie hi