In 1915, Joseph F. Smith, then President of the LDS Church, announced plans for the construction of a temple at Lā'ie, Hawai'i. The first such temple to be built outside of continental North America, the Laie Hawaii Temple brought Iosepa to an end. Although Mormon leaders did not advise the Iosepans to emigrate to Hawaii, the Church did offer to pay the passage of any who wished to move but could not afford it. Most of Iosepa's residents chose to return to Hawaii. By January 1917 Iosepa was a ghost town, and the land was sold to the Deseret Livestock Company. Little remains of the original town other than the cemetery and a fire hydrant.
