Announcement:
5 October 2019Groundbreaking and Site Dedication:
22 April 2023 by Peter F. MeursSite:
3.76 acres | 1.5 hectaresArchitectural Features:
Single attached end spireOrdinance Rooms:
One instruction room, one sealing room, and one baptistryTotal Floor Area:
9,550 square feet | 887 square metersElevation:
82 feet | 25 metersGroundbreaking Ceremony
Groundbreaking services for the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple will be broadcast on Saturday, April 22, 2023. Elder Peter F. Meurs, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Pacific Area presidency, will preside at the event. The 9,550-square-foot temple will be built on Muniogo Crescent in the Badili neighborhood on a site overlooking Walter Bay where a meetinghouse previously stood. An ancillary building with housing and distribution services will also be constructed.1
Temple Design
The Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple will be a single-level building of approximately 9,550 square feet. Lodging for temple missionaries and patrons, a residence for the temple president and matron, and a distribution center will also be constructed on site. An existing meetinghouse will be demolished to make way for the temple complex.
Temple Rendering
On September 15, 2020, the official rendering of the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple was publicly released.
Temple Site
On September 15, 2020, the location of the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple was announced. The temple will be constructed on Muniogo Crescent in the Badili neighborhood of Port Moresby on the site of an existing meetinghouse that overlooks beautiful Walter Bay.2
Temple Announcement
On October 5, 2019, President Russell M. Nelson announced plans to construct the Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple at the 189th Semiannual General Conference. It will be the first temple constructed in the island nation of over 28,000 Latter-day Saints in 80 congregations. Port Moresby is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. Members currently fly to the Fijian islands to participated in temple ordinance work at the Suva Fiji Temple. The Port Moresby Branch, the first nation's first congregation, was organized on October 10, 1979. The Papua New Guinea Port Moresby Mission was created on February 13, 1992.3
Temple Facts
The Port Moresby Papua New Guinea Temple will be the first temple built in Papua New Guinea.
- "News for Temples in Five Nations," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 27 Mar. 2023.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, "Rendering Released and Location Announced for Papua New Guinea Temple," 15 Sept. 2020.
- "President Nelson Announces Eight New Temples During General Conference," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints News Release, 5 Oct. 2019.