Pacific Area Presidency Reports on Status of the Church, Sets Goals

The Pacific Area is a blessed part of Creation where there are people of great faith and devotion. In many of our island nations, especially in remote villages, we find humble people in humble circumstances, yet they are full of love, smiles and faith. The Church is strong in the Pacific.

We have had missionaries in Australia, American Samoa, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga since the 19th Century; in Fiji and New Caledonia for 50 years; for the last 30 years or so in Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu; more recently in the Solomon Islands. As a result we are blessed with over 438,000 members, 108 Stakes, 31 Districts, 15 missions and 10 operating temples.

Yet, there remains much to do if we are to fully establish the Church in the Pacific Area. The vision that the Lord would have us attain is best summarised in scripture:

“For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.”
(Doctrine & Covenants 82:14)

Specifically we hope that every family, every branch, every ward, every District and every Stake will, during 2009, focus on those things which matter most, those things that will make the biggest difference:

1. Save The Rising Generation: Helping our young people understand and follow Heavenly Father’s Plan and to be morally clean. Encouraging every young man to prepare for and be worthy of missionary service, and increasing the number of sisters and elders serving missions. Young people – stay strong, stand tall.
   
2. Build the Melchizedek Priesthood Base: increasing the number of active, worthy men who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood and who pay a full tithe; so that more families will enjoy the blessings of the Temple; more homes will be blessed with worthy priesthood men; more branches and wards will have priesthood leadership strength. Men – awake, rise up, honour the Priesthood, bless lives.
   
3. Strengthen Families: with more families enjoying the blessings of daily individual and family prayer; daily scripture reading; and weekly family home evening. Strengthening stake and ward auxiliaries so that they can help strengthen families. Families – live the gospel in the home.
   
4. Make Missionary Work a Stake/District and Ward/Branch Priority: reaching out to more of Heavenly Father’s children by finding people for the missionaries to teach; helping in the conversion process; nurturing, caring for and retaining new converts; doing all we can to bring back and welcome back those who have strayed away. Each of us – reach out, lift up, help the Church to grow.

We hope that we will be equally yoked together, in prayer and in effort, to more firmly establish the Church in the Pacific Area – to rise up to the measure of our potential by building faith in Jesus Christ and strengthening families:

“… Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations; And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defence, and for a refuge from the storm …“ (Doctrine & Covenants 115:5, 6)