A rendering of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The location of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple site.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple site in relation to the rest of the island.Screenshot from Google Maps
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.”
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.
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.
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
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Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are joined by Church members, community leaders and religious leaders to turn the soil at the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple groundbreaking on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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An aerial view of the site for the groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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About 500 Church members and friends attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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About 500 Church members and friends, including Niaosong District Mayor Hsueh-Hung Lu, right, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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About 500 Church members and friends, including religious leaders from the Tzu Chi Charitable Foundation, attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, a General Authority Seventy and the Church’s Asia Area president, speaks at the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple groundbreaking ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Several members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints perform a musical number during the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple groundbreaking ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Min-Zu Wang, an Area Seventy, conducts the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple groundbreaking ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Kaohsiung Taiwan North Stake President Lee Chun-Chia speaks at the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple groundbreaking ceremony in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, a General Authority Seventy and Asia Area president, right; Sister Naomi Toma Tai, center; and Niaosong District Mayor Hsueh-Hung Lu, left, hold shovelfuls of soil during the groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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Church leaders and invited guests, including Elder Benjamin M. Z. Tai, a General Authority Seventy and Asia Area president; Sister Naomi Toma Tai; and Niaosong District Mayor Hsueh-Hung Lu, center, turn the soil for the groundbreaking of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on Nov. 25, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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.
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.
