Gordon B. Hinckley, fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated several improvement projects in Laie on Saturday, December 11.
The improvement projects include BYU-Hawaii's front entrance, the LDS temple visitor center and Hale La'a Boulevard, the wide avenue that leads from Kamehameha Highway to the LDS temple.
President Hinckley recounted that in 1865, when members of the church first encountered Laie, it was a "barren and unfruitful place." Nonetheless, it was a place of refuge and a gathering place, and gradually it has blossomed into the "magnificent beauty" it is today.
"I hope and pray with all my heart that what has been done here has been done to improve it," he said, "as a continued place of refuge where people can find refuge from the noise, the conflict, the stress - all the difficulties of modern living - here to find peace."
"May this be a place where all the thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of people who travel up and down the Kamehameha Highway, may slow done and look up this lovely street to the temple and have come into their hearts some acknowledgment that this is a special place," he continued.
The Hale La'a Boulevard renovation was directed by the property management firm Hawaii Reserves Inc. R. Eric Beaver, president and chief executive of HRI, explained the purpose of the project.
"It was important to expand and extend the beauty, character and influence of the temple through the community, out to the highway and even to the water's edge. It is to invite and draw the visitor and kama'aina alike to the temple grounds and the visitor center where they can learn of the sacred purposes of the temple and there feel the spirit of the Lord that permeates that holy and dedicated ground."
Improvements in the visitor center on temple grounds include updated displays and interactive kiosks, offering visitors both a spiritual and educational experience. Ralph Cottrell Jr., director of the visitor center, hopes that renovations will double its current count of 100,000 annual visitors.
The renovation and landscaping of BYU-Hawaii's front entrance is in preparation for the university's Golden Jubilee, celebrating 50 years of higher education on the Laie campus. Events will take place throughout the year 2005, culminating during a jubilee week, October 16 to 23.
"The new front entrance looks so inviting and brings people into the heart of the campus," said Eric B. Shumway, president of BYU-Hawaii. "The newly enhanced circle of flags accentuates the international mission of the campus. The foyer captures the essence of our past and directs our focus and energy into the future. It is all a tribute to those who went before and all of those who will come after."