Neiafu Tonga Temple

Groundbreaking of the Neiafu Tonga Temple

The groundbreaking of the Neiafu Tonga Temple was considered a “momentous” event by Tonga’s royalty. Latter-day Saints living in Neiafu are known to be a “temple-loving people,” said one member after the temple’s announcement.

“They work so hard to travel to the temple in Nuku‘alofa,” said a local resident of Neiafu. “We are all very excited and humbled, and full of gratitude. We understand and know this is the right time for the Lord in fulfilling our dreams of the people of the island. We understand we now have to do our part, and the Lord fulfills [His work] in His time.”

Elder Inoke Kupu, an Area Seventy, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 11, 2021. “This temple is being built next to Saineha High School, a Church-sponsored place of learning, which will soon be bathed in the light of the temple and a beacon of peace and safety to all,” Elder Kupu said.

He continued, “Temples are holy places of worship and a higher place of learning where individuals make sacred covenants with God, which when kept enable people to return to live with God once more. To have the teachings of the world is good; to have the teachings of God is essential.”

Due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions, leaders of the Church’s Pacific Area presidency and other Church leaders were unable to attend the groundbreaking ceremony. Elder Kupu read a letter from Elder Ian S. Ardern — a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Pacific Area — addressed to the King and Queen of Tonga, who were present at the ceremony.

The letter, in part, read: “We are honored that you chose to be at this groundbreaking ceremony for the temple. Your presence only serves to add to the importance and majesty of this occasion.”

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were His Majesty King Tupou VI and Her Majesty Queen Nanasipau’u, Speaker of the House Lord Fakafanua, the Honorable Prime Minister Reverend Dr. Pohiva Tuionetoa and other distinguished guests.

Lord Fakafanua, attending the ceremony with his wife, said, “Fane and I were privileged to be a part of this momentous groundbreaking service. The temple will be an historic monument for the Vava’u Saints and the Kingdom of Tonga.”

A temple for Neiafu, Tonga, was announced April 7, 2019, by President Russell M. Nelson. Just under two and a half years later, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Sept. 11, 2021, presided over by Elder Inoke Kupu, an Area Seventy.

Architecture and Design of the Neiafu Tonga Temple

The Neiafu Tonga Temple will be built as a single-story, 17,000-square-foot structure. This house of the Lord will overlook the Church-owned Saineha High School.

Renderings show the temple with a white-colored exterior and a slender tower and steeple above the middle of the structure. The front walls will be lined with rectangular windows accompanied by an arch leading to the front doors.

The grounds will have a large area of grass in front of the building, with many bushes, flowers and palms trees off to the sides.

An exterior rendering of the edifice was released Aug. 14, 2020. Plans for the temple site also include housing for the temple president and missionaries, as well as a distribution center.

Groundbreaking Photos of the Neiafu Tonga Temple