Since 1958, the Hamilton Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has served over 100,000 members of the church in New Zealand and the wider Pacific, but its doors have closed for three years, for much-needed renovations.
The church has taken the opportunity to upgrade and renovate the interior of the temple, while also making sure the building's seismic strengthening is up to standard. It will reopen in 2021.
It was the first LDS temple in the southern hemisphere, where more than 1500 volunteers and labour missionaries helped construct it and on Wednesday, designs of the upgraded temple were revealed to church members.
The designs included a new baptism chamber and sealing rooms for weddings.
John Kendall, a member of the church, and also the temple's engineer said while it was sad that the temple would be closed for a period of time, it was refreshing to be able to upgrade the services.
"All the services have been a handful to keep the temple operational," Mr Kendall said.