August 3, 2025, 4:03 PM MDT
Almost four months after the devotion of the Lord’s House of the Second Lord in New Zealand, the ground broke due to the third country.
Elder Taniera B. Wacolo – the 70-person Pacific Regional President of the Church and the first counselor – hosted the groundbreaking ceremony at the Wellington New Zealand Temple on August 2nd.
Over 500 people attended Temple’s groundbreaking stage. This was also aired online. Information about the ceremony was published in a news release on the Church’s Pacific Newsroom.
Once devoted, the Lord’s Wellington house will become the southernmost temple of the church in the world.
In his remarks to the congregation, Elder Wakoro mentioned important events in the history of the New Zealand church, including the first conversion baptism in 1854 on the nearby Karoli River.
He said, “The greatest blessing of God is available in his temple. Having a temple on earth is a witness to God’s love for us. Everything in the temple proves that God is our Father, Jesus Christ is His Son and Savior of the World.”
In his dedication to the site and construction process, Elder Wacolo thanked the city officials and for his response to New Zealand’s religious freedom. He blessed the leaders of other Wellington-based countries with “wisdom to protect this land as a heaven of peace, and with political and economic stability for all.”
Elder Wacolo added that the temple was “not only as a symbol of our membership in the church, but as a sign of our faith after death and after life, and as a sacred step towards eternal glory for us and our families.”
Recognizing the higher purpose of this Lord’s house, owing their testimony to the congregation, the choir sang, “This is Christ.”
About New Zealand temples and churches
The building, which is planned as a two-storey structure of approximately 14,900 square feet, will be built near Okowai Road and Whitford Brown Avenue in Aotea, Porirua, New Zealand. Aotea is a suburban area north of Wellington. Auxiliary buildings with arrival facilities and patronage homes are also projected onto the 3.35 acres of property.
President Russell M. Nelson announced the Temple in Wellington, New Zealand on April 3, 2022. This was the first of the 17 temples presented at the conference, totaling 100 in his time as a prophet.
There are currently two operating temples in New Zealand. The Hamilton New Zealand Temple, first built in the Southern Hemisphere, was dedicated in 1958 by the church President David O. McKay. The Auckland New Zealand Temple was dedicated almost four months ago on April 13 by Elder Patrick Caeron, a quorum of 12 Apostles.
The first branch in New Zealand was created in April 1855 at calories two miles west of Wellington. The New Zealand mission was created in 1898 when the Australian mission split. At the time, there were churches of 4,000 people in the island nation, with 90% being Maori.
Many Maori recognized the efforts of missionaries as the realization of previous prophecies by Maori prophets and accepted the restored gospel.
Today, New Zealand lives in about 220 congregations with almost 120,000 Latter-day Saints.
