God Is in the Details: Hong Kong, China Temple

Disclaimer: This article is written from my personal perspective, research, and memory with the help of my two brothers and some close friends. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

God Knoweth All Things (Mormon 8:17)

I grew up in Sham Shui Po and often traveled about half an hour by public transportation to reach the quiet neighborhood of the Kowloon Tong mission home where the Hong Kong China Temple now stands. I attended meetings there as a summer missionary and again as a full‑time missionary from October 1979 to April 1981. Each preparation‑day, fellow missionaries and I walked up the long staircase to the mission office to get our mail. Orientation and farewell meetings took place on the ground floor. The mission president's and other leaders’ offices lined the upper level. Across from the mission home was a public park at 18 Dorset Crescent where my siblings and I hung out with friends. In 1985, my husband and I took our engagement photo there. Little did I see how carefully the Lord was preparing that ground for His work.

Read the Church’s Hong Kong chronology entry: June 12, 1956 — mission home at 2 Cornwall Street

A Guided Purchase of a Choice Property 

President H. Grant Heaton arrived in Hong Kong on August 1955 to open the Southern Far East Mission. There were eight missionaries, including Elder Jerry D. Wheat. President Heaton was asked to find a permanent mission headquarter quickly. He found one house and placed earnest money on the property. Then a Catholic abbot named Father Lee, and a trusted friend George Liu, urged him to see another property. It was an older British colonial home, with a small pool, at 2 Cornwall Street. President Heaton immediately felt it was the right place. He went back to the first seller, intending to withdraw honorably. Before he could offer to forfeit his deposit, the seller’s two sons apologized and returned his check. Later, recalling this experience, President Heaton said

I felt like shouting, weeping, and jumping up and down, but I kept my cool. I graciously accepted their apology and took back the check. I also informed them what my intent had been incoming to their home. They were happy but not as happy as I was.

Grateful with the miracle, he purchased the Cornwall Street property on September 30, 1955. On June 12, 1956 the mission moved into its new home. The on‑site pool served for baptisms before the use of Kom Tong Hall in 1963. 

You can read his full account here.

Rebuilding the Mission Home

In 1974 the colonial‑style mission home was replaced by a new three‑story mission home. The swimming pool was covered by a sheet of metal and became a storage unit. The office of Assistant to the President moved from the swimming pool to the main level of the new mission home. 

The Lot the Lord Would Not Let Go

Jerry D. Wheat was the Hong Kong mission president from July 4, 1974 to July 4, 1977. He felt great pressure to sell the swimming pool portion of the Cornwall Street property but he never felt peaceful about selling. After counselling with local leaders, and with encouragement from President Marion G. Romney who attended a Hong Kong district conference on August 13, 1975, a decision was reached. The lot would be kept. Years later that decision made space for the temple pattern that no one could have imagined.

Read President Wheat's personal account, shared at a mission reunion on Dec. 13, 1998; family copy.

I the Lord Will Make Myself Known Unto Him in Vision (Numbers 12:6) 

President Gordon B. Hinckley later recounted that, in the early hours of July 26, 1992, he awoke troubled about where to place a temple in Hong Kong—until “the voice of the Spirit” impressed on his mind that the Church already had “a wonderful piece of property” on Cornwall Street, where the mission home and small chapel stood. The Spirit then outlined a high-rise plan: a building of “seven to ten stories” with chapel and classrooms on the first two floors, temple rooms on the top two or three floors, and offices and apartments in between; the top floor could serve as the celestial room and an angel Moroni would crown the building. He sketched the concept that night and, when leaders later returned to that original design after exploring larger alternatives, government approvals followed quickly. (You can read the fuller account in Saints, Volume 4, Chapter 27 and in an Ensign article published in December of 2006).

He later testified, “If ever in my life I felt the inspiration of the Lord, it was with this building.” The Hong Kong temple pioneered a multiuse high-rise concept. This concept later guided other urban temples, including The Manhattan Temple in 2004. 

Two years after the dedication, Kai Tak Airport closed and the new Chek Lap Kok International Airport opened on Lantau Island (1998). Planes no longer roared overhead, and the skies above the temple grew still. This quiet mercy showed the Lord prepared even the air above His Holy house.

Hong Kong China Temple Dedication and Recognition

Groundbreaking took place on January 22, 1994. The temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley on May 26 and 27, 1996. It became the 48th operating temple of the Church. You can read the dedicatory prayer here:

Hong Kong China Temple dedicatory prayer

The Hong Kong Institute of Architects recognized the design with a Certificate of Merit in 1996.

See a record of the award: HKIA 1996 Certificate of Merit

 

Open House

The temple open house (May 10 - 21, 1996) welcomed over 13,000 visitors, including civic leaders and guests of other faiths. Tickets and brochures remain treasured keepsakes for many Saints. 

Across the Street at 18 Dorset Crescent

The park at 18 Dorset Crescent where I once hung out was eventually made available for Church use in 2010. It felt like a quiet miracle to neighbors who remembered the pavilion and benches. A three-story building was constructed across the street from the temple. It houses a chapel, mission home, and a distribution center. 

All Roads Lead to the Temple

Kowloon Tong is a beautiful and quiet area filled with schools and churches—and it is remarkably connected. The Kowloon Tong MTR interchange links the Kwun Tong Line (opened 1979) and the East Rail Line (connected in 1982), making temple travel from border stations like Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau straightforward. 

 

Current MTR system map

In November 1998, Festival Walk, a major shopping mall with many restaurants, opened nearby, answering early concerns about dining options for temple patrons.

At the time the Hong Kong temple served Latter-day Saints across Asia, including China, Singapore, and Mongolia. 

Hong Kong China Temple Renovation and Rededication

After more than two decades of service, the temple closed on July 8, 2019 for an extensive renovation. The work replaced exterior stone, adjusted window shapes and placements, and reconfigured interior space so more of the building could be devoted to ordinances. An open house was held in May 2022. Elder Gerrit W. Gong rededicated the temple on June 19, 2022.

Official renovation notice: Asia Temple Will Close for Renovation

Renovation details: Hong Kong Newsroom article

Rededication and open‑house report: Church News almanac summary

My miracle picture of the Hong Kong China Temple taken in November 2023. I could hardly see what I was photographing, but the light gathered in one perfect shot. 

 

God in the Details at the Hong Kong China Temple

From a mission home to a chapel to a temple—and then a renewed temple—the Lord prepared this ground step by step. He guided a purchase in 1955. He enabled a mission‑home rebuild in 1974. He opened the way for a chapel in 1979. He gave a prophet a sketch in 1992. He led the timing so the temple stood ready before 1997 and stood renewed in 2022 at the best timing possible.

Thank you for reading this blog post about something dear to me. I would love to hear from you. Please ask questions, share feedback, and add your memories of the Hong Kong China Temple—or any temple that has touched your life. If this story lifted you, please share it with friends and family so more hearts can see God’s hand in the details and His love to us, His Children. 

Sincerely,

Isabella