Laie Temple & Polynesian Cultural Center

October 28th 2023

Today we went to the temple with the Clark’s. First time doing a session at the Laie Temple. Sister Clark had made the appointments and invited us.  First  we picked them up and got to see their pad (they call apartments pads in Hawaii). It was beautiful. They may not have a large kitchen, but they sure had beautiful furnishings and modern, updated pad. It was at the house of a member. They love their landlord.  He has a boat and takes them out on it. The house is right next to the mountains. It’s about 30 minutes from their wards though. 

The temple is about 40 minutes from their pad on a beautiful, curvy coastal road that is 35 miles an hour. The temple is so beautiful from the outside. It is one of the original temples and it is over a hundred years old. It doesn’t have a spire and it is based on Jerusalem and South American temples with its boxed shapes. The inside is very plain and simple, but it has been remodeled. It was one of the temples that you move from room to room. The murals though were very muted colors. They are probably original murals and they were trying to keep its original historical feel.

The celestial room, sealing rooms, and baptistry were very beautiful. In the celestial room, I was so grateful to be in the Hawaii Temple. I never thought I would actually see it in my lifetime.  

After the session we walked down to the visitor center to look at the replicas and descriptions of the carvings that are found on top of the temple. There are carvings on each side of the top of the temple.

The exterior of the temple exhibits four large friezes Modeled four-fifths lifesize and cast in concrete. The friezes depict God’s dealings with Man. The north frieze depicts the story of the Book of Mormon. The west frieze shows the people of the Old Testament. The New Testament and the Apostasy are depicted on the southern frieze of the temple, and the restoration of the church through Joseph Smith is shown on the east frieze.

As visitors approach the temple and pass a number of reflecting pools, a maternity fountain sits in front of the uppermost pool. Designed by the Fairbanks brothers, this bold relief honors Hawaiian Motherhood and depicts a Hawaiian mother holding a giant clam shell while pouring water over her children. The act is supposed to symbolize mothers pouring their love, hope and care onto their children.^[22

Elder Clark and Elder Whitman are like brothers. They are so much alike. They have have so much fun together.

You can see the visitor center through this pavilion where the description of the friezes are.

Lehi blessing his son Joseph

Next we went to the visitor center. It was a big one. It had a Christus Statue  

Lots of sisters, wearing bright blue mumus, were wandering around greeting visitors. That is the only thing they were allowed to wear. They weren’t flattering, but they did really stand out. 

 A senior missionary showed us the video of the history of the area.

There was a model of the temple so visitors could see the inside of the temple.

Entrance

The senior missionary also showed us the first Hawaiin translated book of Mormon. Lots of vowels in the words. He said his great grandfather was  George Q Cannon and one of the first 10 missionaries that came to Hawaii. 

 After that we went to a restaurant at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

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A wave made out of driftwood.I would love that in our house.

I was surprised that the temple, visitor center, and Polynesian Cultural Center weren’t very busy on a Saturday. Maybe because it isn’t the tourist season.

Then we walked around the shops. I got a Hawaiian handmade scrapbook that I’m going to put some mission pictures in. I also got a cute shell bracelet for 3 dollars and we got a Hawaii license plate so we can start our own wall of places we have lived. 

At the entrance to the Polynesion Cultural Center we took pictures of John doing the Shaka with…..

One of the shops was where they sell ukuleles and had a display of how they make them. I have photos of that 

Artwork of Hawaiin wars

After that we headed to the evening session of stake conference. We were late for conference because we accidentally took the wrong turn after dropping  the Clarks off. We ended up almost in Honolulu. We even went through the long tunnels. The maps don’t give very good directions sometimes. 

Stake conference had a theme where everyone talked about how all members can use the general handbook. The second counselor of the Laie temple  spoke, and his wife. John had met the first counselor while we were at the temple and asked to see the sealing rooms. He was trying to find the one he and his family had been sealed in.