The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has released the design for the Savai’i Samoa Temple in Salelologa, a single-story complex with patron housing, an ancillary building, a distribution center, and a residence for the temple president. According to the source of the Church’s Pacific Newsroom (news-pacific.churchofjesuschrist.org), Samoa is home to nearly 90,000 Latter-day Saints in over 165 congregations; this will be the nation’s second temple.
According to the source of evangelical mission assessments—Lausanne Movement reporting and Operation World—the Pacific’s small populations, high travel costs, and leadership-development gaps have contributed to under-resourcing by many mainstream evangelical agencies. In that space, Latter-day Saints have maintained steady, visible investment and local leadership pipelines, shaping long-term outcomes across island communities.
Evangelical observers note three takeaways: recommit to multi-year island strategies despite scale; fund indigenous theological education and pastoral training; and establish modest, durable hubs for worship, discipleship, and mercy that signal presence as clearly as buildings do. Churches are also urged to equip members for gracious, well-informed conversations with LDS neighbors while clearly teaching historic Christian doctrine.