1983 Dedication of the Apia Samoa Temple
In between dedicatory sessions of the Apia Samoa Temple, two descendants of Ah Mu, an early Samoan convert who donated land for the temple, saw each other in the temple waiting room. They embraced, wept together and then departed without saying a word. Such were the emotions of the historic weekend when President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated Samoa’s first temple in seven sessions from Aug. 5. to Aug. 7, 1983.
The first Latter-day Saint missionaries — native Hawaiians Samuela Manoa and Kimo Pelio — came to Samoa in 1863. Missionaries in 1897 brought a projector to show images of the Salt Lake Temple, likely igniting a greater desire among Samoans to receive temple ordinances. The construction of the Laie Hawaii and Hamilton New Zealand temples made trips easier for some Samoans, but it was still a struggle for most. Sometimes, large poor families had to make the heartbreaking choice of which children to take with them to receive temple ordinances.
They received with immense joy the news in 1980 from Church President Spencer W. Kimball that a temple would be built in Western Samoa. Members in the islands diligently offered their labor, skills and resources to construct the house of the Lord.
With no tall enough cranes on the islands, workers had to use ropes and pulleys to lift the angel Moroni statue into place. The men carried the 600-pound statue on their backs to the pulley and offered a prayer that they would be able to lift it safely to the top, hearing and following the instructions as they came. Their success “was a dramatic demonstration of prayers being answered.”
At the temple open house, Samoan head of state Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili, Prime Minister Tofilau Eti and American Samoa Senator Galea’i Poumele helped cut the ribbon drawn across the temple gates.
“I pray that this temple will be an everflowing source of spiritual blessing for all those who will worship in it,” Tanumafili said.
President Hinckley said during the dedication, “We are met together to sing anthems to God and our Savior, to lift our voices in prayer, to share testimony one with another, and to join together and shout praise to God. There has never been another day quite like this in the history of Samoa. There will never be another day like it again.”
He added, “I am confident God the Father smiles upon us, and the Savior.”
Laiula Stehlin of the Pesega 4th Ward said seeing the temple dedication is a dream come true.
“As I sat in the dedicatory session, I thought of my grandfather, who was the first in our family to join the Church,” Stehlin said. “I know, on the other side of the veil, he is rejoicing. I know many on the other side are as happy as we are.”
Eugene Reid, a regional representative from American Samoa, expressed his joy as well. “We are overwhelmed because of the Lord’s love for us, His children here in Samoa.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “We are grateful for these beautiful islands of Samoa, and for Thy faithful saints who dwell here. Jacob, son of Lehi, declared anciently: 'Great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea.' We have witnessed the fulfillment of Thy covenant, for Thou hast not forgotten them.”
Read the dedicatory prayer of the Apia Samoa Temple.
2005 Rededication of the Apia Samoa Temple
The temple was precious to the Samoan Saints, and they almost always kept it full. On July 9, 2003, while the temple was undergoing extensive renovations, a fire broke out.
Firefighters did everything they could to put out the flames, with the help of about a hundred local people of various faiths who carried buckets of water to the site since no fire hydrants were nearby. Despite their best efforts and prayers, the temple was fully consumed. Many wept.
“I have never in my life felt so helpless about something so important to me,” said Jerry King, the Church’s Pacific Islands public affairs director, who happened to be in Samoa that night.
Miraculously, the angel Moroni statue survived, and the First Presidency announced a week later the construction of a new temple for the nation. The two years without a temple were hard for the Samoan Saints, but “it made people sit back and realize what is important,” noted Albert Niuelua, the Church’s service center manager on the island.
Just a few months before the new temple was complete, Hurricane Olaf, a storm with 120 mph winds, threatened to disrupt all the progress builders had made. The temple still had no permanent roof nor windows, and the storm was expected to directly strike Samoa. But as the temple was battered by 50 mph winds, the storm abruptly veered away from Apia.
The finished temple of the Lord was rededicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on Sept. 4, 2005.
“[God] would not let them go without. ... We prepared for a temple, and look what He has given us,” Apia Samoa Temple President Suauupa’ia K. Pe’a said.
Upon rededication, the temple received the nickname “Pearl of the Pacific.”
During the rededication, President Hinckley told members to stay strong and labor “where the blessings of eternal life will be available to you and your forbearers whom you will serve there.”
Dedicatory prayer excerpt: “Now Father, we pray that Thou wilt watch over this sacred structure and preserve it from the kind of destructive force which destroyed its predecessor building. Wilt Thou sanctify it and hallow it, that all who enter herein may do so with a knowledge that they are in Thy holy habitation.”
Read the rededication prayer for the Apia Samoa Temple.
Timeline of the Apia Samoa Temple
Plans to construct a temple in Apia, Samoa, were announced in October 1977. Six years later, President Spencer W. Kimball conducted the groundbreaking ceremony and offered the prayer to dedicate the site. Two years later, President Gordon B. Hinckley, second counselor in the First Presidency, dedicated the temple in seven sessions.
In July 2003, two decades after the initial dedication, the Apia Samoa Temple was undergoing renovation and was scheduled for rededication in December 2003. These plans were altered when the temple was destroyed during a fire. Shortly after, President Hinckley announced the reconstruction of the Apia Samoa Temple, which would eventually be rebuilt and dedicated by September 2005.