Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Okinawa Japan Temple on Sunday, Nov 12. The temple is the fourth in Japan and the 186th worldwide.
A land of deep spirituality and ancestral connection, Japan is a temple-going society with “some of the most active temple-going, temple-attending, temple-worshipping Latter-day Saints in the whole world,” said Elder Stevenson. Before the Tokyo Japan Temple was dedicated in 1980, pioneering Latter-day Saints chartered airplanes to travel to the Laie Hawaii Temple, said Elder Stevenson.
The first missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan landed in Tokyo in 1901, according to a short history of the Church in Japan. Almost 45 years later, during World War II, American servicemen became the first Church members to arrive in the Ryukyu Islands in Okinawa.
Following are photographs of the temple dedication:
From right, Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson; Elder Takashi Wada, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Asia North Area; and Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and Sister Nancy Duncan walk the temple grounds before the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Alsuko Nakado, 99; Tomihara Sadako, 101; Uechi Toyoko, 98; and Makiya Teru, 97, attend the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. They attended elementary school together as children. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Alsuko Nakado, 99, arrives for the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Chojiro Oshiro greets a friend during the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and his wife, Sister Lesa Stevenson, center; Elder Kevin R. Duncan, a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Temple Department, and Sister Nancy Duncan, left; and Elder Takashi Wada, a General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Asia North Area, and his wife, Naomi Wada. right, stand outside the temple before the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Attendees line up before the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands in the garden during the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Attendees line up before the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Youth pause while covering shoes during the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elephant rock at Cape Manzamo in Okinawa on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. A original painting of the landmark hangs in the entrance of the Okinawa Japan Temple. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints walks with Masato Omine in Okinawa, Japan, on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Mitsuo and Chieko Omine stand in line during the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Hacksaw Ridge cliff in Okinawa on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News The Sea of Japan in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, holds Kiho Uehara, the daughter of one of his former missionaries from when Elder Stevenson led the Japan Nagoya Mission, in Okinawa on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Toyoko Uechi, 98, smiles while arriving for the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Michiko Shingaki and her daughter, Seiko Shingaki, arrive at the Okinawa Japan Temple dedication in Okinawa on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Nettie Francis, Okinawa temple dedication committee, and her husband, President Mark Francis, Okinawa Military District president, look over a temple photo mosaic in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Kensei Nagamine and Akira Yafuso, pioneer leaders in Okinawa, walk on the Okinawa Japan Temple grounds in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Nakagusuku Castle in Okinawa, Japan, on Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Elder Gary E. Stevenson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sister Lesa Stevenson, and Elder Takashi Wada and Sister Naomi Wada at the Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News Okinawa Japan Temple in Okinawa on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
