The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the groundbreaking for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023.

Elder Benjamin M.Z. Tai, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Asia Area, will preside and offer the dedicatory prayer.

The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple was announced in October 2021 by President Russell M. Nelson. The temple will be built on a 1.26-acre site located near Dachang Road and Dehua Street, Niaosong District, Kaohsiung City. Plans call for a single-story temple of approximately 10,900 square feet.

Attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony will be by invitation only. Media will be invited to attend. Additional details will be communicated as the date of the groundbreaking approaches.

The groundbreaking date was first published Monday, Oct. 16, on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

Latter-day Saints consider temples to be the “house of the Lord” and the most sacred places of worship on earth. Temples differ from the Church’s meetinghouses (chapels). All are welcome to attend Sunday worship services and other weekday activities at local meetinghouses. The primary purpose of temples, however, is for faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ to participate in sacred ceremonies which unite families forever.

The Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple will be the island’s second such sacred building. Its first house of the Lord, the Taipei Taiwan Temple, was dedicated in 1984. Today, there are more than 62,000 Latter-day Saints and around 100 congregations across the island.

Site location map for the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints