Commitment, Sacrifice Key In Moving Forward

Exerpt taken from The Fiji SUN Newspaper dated September 19, 2016

Commitment and sacrifice to family is vital in moving the congregation forward.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake president Solomone Kaumaitotoa highlighted this at the Lautoka Stake Conference in Balawa Chapel yesterday.

“We all need to make sacrifices and commitments to move the stakes, more importantly the families.

“We need to commit and continue to work to build up our faith individually, I as a father in my home need to be committed to my wife and children and move them forward in bringing them to church.

“This why we attend conferences and sacrament to remind ourself about commitment and dedication that we need to make in serving and our family and responsibility.

“At the end of the day it is about family,” he said.

“What do I do to influence change and move them forward by and encouraging them to focus to the father in heaven.

Mr Kaumaitotoa said the meeting showed that 70 per cent of the work was still  needed to be done in the Lautoka stake.

“I thought to myself with the figures given, we have four thousand stakes and 22 per cent is the number that are coming to church and 70 per cent is the amount we have to work towards to bring to the  stake.

“I thought to myself how would this work be done, it is only through the sacrifice that families and commitment that we need to make this work happen.”

Pacific Area Seventy for the Church and Fiji LDS Service Centre manager Elder Adolf Johansson said we hold this conferences not just to be instructed, we are holding this conference to prepare and receive the Lord Jesus Christ.

“That is why we have stake conference and general conferences. They are known as solemn Assemblies’ preparing each heart and mind for the Lord to walk in the door.

“It is to change us and  prepare us to withstand the presence of God. Sometimes we feel uncomfortable when we hear the truth because we feel guilty.

“Guilt is not there to hold us down, but to allow us to know what is holding us down to letting go of those things that are holding us down and start to rise.

“Guilt is a condition for preparation for repentence; it is the ability for us children to know what is wrong so that we can get right.”

The two day conference was held over the weekend whereby members from the western side extending to Rakiraki until Sigatoka came in numbers to attend it.

Edited by Maraia Vula

Latter-day Saints Attend Fiji Constitution Day Celebration with Nation’s Leaders

Elder Adolf Johansson and his wife, Martha Johansson, attended Fiji’s first Constitution Day Celebration last week.

Right to left: Hon. Prime Minister Rear Admiral J.V.Bainimarama; Martha Johansson; and Elder Adolf Johansson. 7 September 2016.

 Among guests at the event were Hon. Prime Minister Rear Admiral J.V.Bainimarama; His Excellency Jioji Konousi Konrote, president of Fiji; New Zealand High Commissioner, His Excellency Mark Ramsden;and Fiji Minister for Sports and Youth, Hon. Laisenia Tuitubou.

“It was a wonderful, historic occasion for the people of Fiji,” Elder Johansson said.

According to one of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Articles of Faith, Church members “believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” 

Left to right: Fiji Minister for Sports and Youth, Hon. Laisenia Tuitubou.; His Excellency Jioji Konousi Konrote, president of Fiji; Elder Adolf Johansson; and Martha Johansson. 7 September 2016.

Left to right: Elder Adolf Johansson; New Zealand High Commissioner, His Excellency Mark Ramsden; and Martha Johansson.

Visiting Chinese Basketball Players Coach Fiji Children

Members of the Chinese national under 18 women's basketball team took time out of their South Pacific tour this week to give some tips to children from the Latter-day Saints' Fiji primary school.

The team is on a three-nation tour of the Pacific.

Students were delighted to have the opportunity to train under the guidance of the Chinese national team which is ranked 9th in the FIBA world ranking.

The hour long clinic was facilitated by Basketball Fiji and interpretation was provided by four LDS Primary School students.

At the end of the clinic the three athletes and their coach were treated to light refreshments and were serenaded by the students who sang the LDS Primary School Song in appreciation for the clinic.

Principal Mereisi Talemaitoga said that the clinic was an ideal opportunity for the students to see the athletes as role models who are all focusing on completing high school while at the same time representing their country in basketball.

The visiting team recently completed an unbeaten six match tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The players and coaching staff return home to China tomorrow.

Latter-day Saints Meet with Fiji Minister and Officials

Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Hon Rosy Akbar, Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation this week in Suva.

The group included senior Latter-day Saint leader, Elder Adolf Johansson; Pacific Area Legal Counsels for the Church, Arthur Edgson and Douglas Matsumori; and LDS National Director of Public Affairs, Sulueti Kama.

Minister Akbar was accompanied by officials from the Ministry.

During the meeting Minister Akbar shared some of the goals and initiatives of the Ministry for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation. She spoke of success stories and areas of focus for the coming years.

The Latter-day Saint representatives shared with Minister Akbar and her colleagues some of the focus areas of the Church, including disaster relief, humanitarian aid, and efforts to help individuals, families and communities become more self-reliant. 

Elder Johansson thanked the Minister for her “kind and gracious” response to the meeting.

“We wanted to thank her and her staff for all they are doing to lift lives and strengthen families in Fiji. As a church we have many of the same objectives and wish to continue to work with government, other churches and groups to bless the people of this nation,” he said.

 

 

 

 

College Ends Celebration With Family Picnic

Exert captured from the Fiji Sun Newspaper Dated July 17th, 2016

Family of current and old students of Latter-Day Saints Church College ended their 40th anniversary celebration with a family picnic at Deuba yesterday.

School principal Salote Maiwiriwiri said: “The week-long activity brought the school community together and strengthened relationship ties with our stakeholders.

“The purpose of the celebration was to celebrate the history and the culture the school.”

She said every decade was responsible for preparing the event. This includes devotion, putting on a fashion show, family fun night, a march and picnic.

Meanwhile, Ms Maiwiriwiri said after the celebrations, total focus was on external examinations.

She said the school goal targeted an 80-100 per cent pass and to get there was still a work in progress.

The school is fully operated and funded by the church.

Edited by Rusiate Mataika

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Fiji LDS Church College

Dignitaries, students, faculty, alumni, families and friends filled the gymnasium of the Fiji LDS Church College in Tamavua Sunday, to attend a special devotional kicking off a week-long celebration of the school’s 40th anniversary.

The purpose of the college is to prepare graduates to attend regional universities and technical schools. It also prepares them for Church missionary and leadership responsibilities, combining both intellectual and spiritual training.

Owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the school was originally named LDS Fiji Technical College and was dedicated on 11 July 1976 by then Commissioner of Church Education, Jeffrey R. Holland, now in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

In his dedicatory prayer on that day, Elder Holland prayed for the students who would attend the school. “Bless them that they will be diligent, that they will work hard, that they will progress and not hide their talents but find and serve and perpetuate them in eternal glory and splendour, for thy great glory is intelligence."

He also prayed, “We bless them to be honest, not only honest in their examinations but in their hearts so they may take their rightful positions in the community, to help bring peace and prosperity to this nation.”

Talica Malani, school principal from 2000 to 2006 told the audience that the school provided an uplifting and well-resourced learning environment for the students, with wholesome development opportunities and a great disciplinary process.

Peter Hussein, who was the first Head Boy of the school, talked about the humble beginnings of the school. He said his class was the first group to move from the primary school to the newly created high school.

On Monday students released over 400 red balloons in celebration. Each balloon contained a note from a student written about what matters most to them--such as their faith, family, etc.

Vice Principal, Sereseini Qalovaki, said, “This was a great initiative from the student body leaders who didn’t realise the time it would take to fill all the balloons with gas. They sacrificed their breaks to do this.”

Principal Salote Maiwiriwiri said she was happy to be with the school as it celebrates this great milestone. “Our celebration marks the strong holistic education endeavours that each of us has contributed in the past 40 years, from the humble beginnings of the Fiji Technical College to the current Fiji LDS Church College.”

A number of activities have been organised by the school and the alumni for this week including a fashion show on Tuesday, a family night on Wednesday, cultural activities on Thursday and a march on Friday. A special picnic for LDS students and their families is scheduled for Saturday to conclude the weeklong celebration.

School March to Celebrate 40 years of Learning and Service

National Youth Band leading the march to celebrate 40 years of learning and service .

Students, teachers, former students, teachers and workers of the LDS Church College today marched to the beat from the Fiji National Youth Band down Ro Koboulevu Road to the school grounds in celebration of the 40th birthday of the school.

The theme of the celebrations was 40 years of service: Serving the Lord in Righteousness and Truth Unto the end. This theme was chosen as it represented the holistic purpose of our school's vision, which is to ensure that students enter to learn and go forth to serve. It is a celebration of our service to our school community over the last 40 years.

Vimal Kumar one of the organisers of the celebrations said that “the purpose of the march today was to take a walk down memory lane using the very same corridors of road that over the last 40 years has been our turf in a spirit of togetherness and unity. It is way of celebrating our spirit of unity and togetherness by marching in solidarity to show our love and support for the school we love and adore” he said.

The purpose of celebrations was to celebrate the 40 years of the school's existence. “It is a celebration of our dedication on July 11th, 1976 when the school was dedicated by the then Commissioner of Church Education, Jeffery R. Holland. It is also a celebration of our unique school culture, our people, our students, our values, and all that we have accomplished over the last 40 years and a reminder of our purpose as a school, which is to help individuals and families become self-reliant through the gospel of Jesus Christ and to help them become productive members of society, spiritually, academically, socially, and physically.”

The march ended at the school grounds with a performance by the National Youth Band before all students and former students filed into the school’s gymnasium for a special devotion. The celebrations end on Saturday with a picnic at Deuba beach for all students, former students, families and friends.