By KHT Staff. Photo by James Lee, via FB/ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org.
KAOHSIUNG — Scaffolding has been removed from the steeple of the Kaohsiung Taiwan Temple (台灣高雄聖殿), revealing the pale stone exterior of what will become Taiwan’s second temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (耶穌基督後期聖徒教會).
According to the church’s Taiwan statistics, it had 63,425 members and 97 congregations at the end of 2025. Its missionaries first arrived in Taiwan in 1956.
An Oct. 1 construction update, accompanied by photographs credited to James Lee, shows the steeple exposed while scaffolding and green safety netting remain around the main building. Exterior finishing work continues on the temple and supporting buildings. The update was published by ChurchofJesusChristTemples.org, an independent website that tracks temple construction, rather than the church’s official newsroom.
The temple is being built near Dachang Road (大昌路) and Dehua Street (德華街) in Niaosong District (鳥松區). The church’s site announcement, “教會公布台灣高雄聖殿的地點”, describes a single-story building of approximately 1,013 square meters on a roughly half-hectare property. The project was announced in October 2021, and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Nov. 25, 2023.
For church members in southern Taiwan, the temple will provide an alternative to traveling to Taipei for religious ceremonies. Taiwan’s only operating Latter-day Saint temple was dedicated there in 1984. In a published account of the Kaohsiung groundbreaking, local church leader Lee Chun-chia (李俊佳) described members’ early departures, late returns, and arrangements for group transport and childcare to make those visits possible.
The denomination, widely known as the Mormon church, distinguishes temples from its regular meetinghouses. Sunday services at meetinghouses are open to everyone; temples are used for ceremonies including marriages that members believe unite families beyond death.
The church generally offers free public tours before a new temple is dedicated, allowing nonmembers to see the interior. After dedication, entry is restricted to qualifying church members. No open-house or dedication dates have been announced for the Kaohsiung temple.
