The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the closure of the Hong Kong China Temple effective July 8, 2019.
The temple will be closed for extensive renovation. While the temple is being renovated, members are encouraged to attend other temples as their circumstances allow.
Gordon B. Hinckley, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1995 to 2008, dedicated the Hong Kong China Temple May 26, 1996. The temple serves Latter-day Saints in China, Singapore and Mongolia.
The temple design came to President Hinckley during a visit to the area in 1991. He and two General Authorities reviewed potential sites but could not settle on one. After an exhausting day, the Church leaders retired to bed for the night. Early the next morning President Hinckley called the leaders together to show a non-traditional temple structure. This is the temple that was ultimately built and dedicated by President Hinckley. Read the story behind the temple from Elders Monte J. Brough and John K. Carmack of the Seventy, the two leaders that accompanied President Hinckley in 1991.
Members of the Church consider temples to be the “house of the Lord,” the most sacred places on earth. Unlike meetinghouses, where Sabbath worship and weekly activities take place, temples are open throughout the week and closed on Sundays.