APIA, Samoa — In January of 1982, block mason Joseph Stehlin, then bishop of the Apia Samoa Pesega 4th Ward, laid the first block on the Church's Apia Samoa Temple.
Bishop Stehlin, then 62, told reporters he "felt honored to have the opportunity to lay the first block."
Today, Brother Stehlin, 84, no longer practices as a block mason. Still, he was called upon May 5 to lay the first block for the new Apia Samoa Temple that is being constructed to replace the temple destroyed by fire last summer.
His feelings about laying the first block many years ago have not changed.
Representatives from several newspaper agencies attended this historic occasion and Brother Stehlin has once again been featured in several Samoan news articles.
The new temple will be 18,691 square feet and will be faced with granite stone, according to Bill Naylor, Temple Department project manager.
The original angel statue that stood atop the old temple has been refinished and will be put in its place on the steeple of the new temple. The height to the top of the angel on the steeple will be 212 feet above ground level.
The temple is expected to be completed sometime in 2005.
Merry Jones attended the ceremony holding a copy of the book entitled, Samoa Apia Mission History — 1888-1983. The book pictured Brother Stehlin laying the first temple block in 1982.
She tapped Brother Stehlin on the arm and showed him the picture.
"This is a very special time," she said.
