A Family Tree Grows One Leaf at a Time in American Samoa
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© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Around 2,000 people in Pago Pago, American Samoa, took part in the So’otaga Open House by printing their names on paper leaves and adding them to a growing family-tree display. This event was held in preparation for the opening of the Pago Pago American Samoa Temple. Volunteers gathered about 700,000 names through interviews with elders and village leaders to preserve genealogies traditionally passed down orally. Church members plan to take these names to the holy temple once construction is completed, to perform sacred ceremonies for their deceased ancestors and to help pass on genealogy for new generations. (1 Corinthians 15:29)
Elder Patrick Kearon Dedicated the Auckland New Zealand Temple on Palm Sunday
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated the Auckland New Zealand Temple on 13 April 2025, which fell on Palm Sunday. He described the temple as a sacred symbol of God’s love and a place meant to help people focus on their purpose. Members across the temple district joined the service in person and by livestream and participated in the Hosanna Shout as part of the dedication. The temple provides a sacred space for worship and for ordinances to be performed, strengthening the faith of members and offering a focal point for community and spiritual growth in the region.
Fiji Latter-day Saints Celebrate 70 Years of Faith in Jesus Christ
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Church members 70 years of the Church in Fiji.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the island of Viti Levu recently celebrated 70 years since the establishment of the Church in Fiji in 1954. The celebrations held on15-16 May 2025, began with members worshipping in the Suva Fiji Temple. Events included a cultural gathering at the National Gymnasium, a sports and activities day at Church College Fiji, and a concluding devotional at the Vodafone Arena in Suva. Elder Paul B. Whippy, an Area Seventy, said, “This is truly a miracle that started with 14 members of the Church in 1954. Seventy years later, we have 24,000 members, and [the Church] continues to grow.”
Clean Water is Flowing in Kiribati
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A 14-year-old I-Kiribati young man saved the day by bringing more fuel containers so volunteers would have enough fuel capacity to get to and from their remote worksite. March 2025© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Clean drinking water has begun to flow in five outer islands in Kiribati thanks to a humanitarian project launched by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in partnership with the Kiribati government. Now the islands of Aranuka, Onotoa, Beru, Abemama, and Arorae each have a solar-powered desalination plant supplying their freshwater needs. Previously, these communities suffered as their wells became contaminated by rising sea levels making the water unsafe to drink. Local Church and humanitarian teams managed the construction of the purification plants, then trained islanders to operate them. Once operational, freshwater production yielded 25-50 litres per person, per day.
'From Canyons to Coastlines': Highlights from BYU Chamber Orchestra's Visit to Australia
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The BYU Chamber Orchestra in Australia.© 2025 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The BYU Chamber Orchestra toured Australia in May 2025, and performed in Melbourne, Hobart, and Perth. One highlight came when they played to an audience of over 800 people alongside the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir at the St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne. The musicians also held workshops at local schools, served in community gardens, and participated in youth and interfaith gatherings. Bailey Minnich, a BYU Orchestra musician, said, “Even on the other side of the world, it still feels like home because we can come together with our similar love for music and our love of the gospel. It feels like home.”
South Australian Latter-day Saints Build on Generations of Faithful Service
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Adelaide, Australia are celebrating two milestones in 2025: the 185th anniversary of the arrival of their first missionary, William Barratt, in the country, and the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Adelaide Australia Temple. Many members are sharing love for God and their neighbours through worship, fellowship, and service. Local missionaries in the Australia Adelaide Mission have averaged about 85 service projects per week in recent months. One missionary said, “The service we give to our friends and neighbours lifts me and helps me to see how serving others is what Jesus meant when He said, ‘love your neighbour.’” (Matthew 22:39)
Why is the Church Doubling its Number of Temples in the South Pacific?
The Church currently has 11 operating temples in the South Pacific and has announced or begun construction on 11 more, doubling the total for the region. Small islands and remote locations like American Samoa, Kiribati, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu have never had a temple, which required Church members to travel great distances to access sacred temple ordinances. In an address by President Russell M. Nelson in April 2025, he said, “That is why we are doing all within our power, under the direction of the Lord, to make the temple blessings more accessible to members of the Church.”
How the Church of Jesus Christ Helps Ensure Safety for a Tongan Community
On the island of Lifuka in Tonga’s Haʻapai group, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped fund and support construction of a seawall designed to protect against tsunamis and erosion after rising seas threatened the coast, the island’s hospital, radio tower, and even an ancestral royal site. With the first two phases of the wall completed in 2025, it will eventually reach two kilometres in length. “The project that has been completed is the project to save lives in the harbour,” Minister Finau said. “We are protecting the waterfront and harbour for the next 50 to 100 years. This seawall will surely help to protect the history of our nation.”
Sharing Noah's Pudding Brings Unity and Inclusion
On 10 August 2025, about 20 Muslim friends from the Affinity Intercultural Foundation and the Galaxy Foundation joined members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Camden, New South Wales, Australia to share their tradition of Noah’s Pudding after church services. The dessert, also known as ashura, commemorates the story of the prophet Noah, who, after surviving the great flood, prepared a simple dish using the remaining ingredients on the ark. Guests brought around 150–200 individual servings, which they offered to attendees at the end of a building tour and fellowship gathering. One visitor, Jeff Adali, described the event as, “filled with joy, togetherness, and kindness,” while Ahmet Polat of the Affinity Intercultural Foundation called the gathering, “a truly heartening expression of interfaith friendship and a memorable moment for all involved.”
President Johnson and Sister Runia visit the Saints in Australia
DOWNLOADRelief Society General President, Camille N. Johnson and Sister Tamara W. Runia of the Young Women General Presidency visited Australia in September 2025. They travelled with their husbands to meet with members and leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ in Sydney, Perth and beyond. Their visit included mission-wide devotionals, leadership training meetings, and gatherings with youth and women to share messages of faith, hope and spiritual growth. “I grew up in California. I live in Provo, Utah, but this feels like my home,” said Sister Runia. President Johnson encouraged Saints to spend more time in the house of the Lord, saying that temple worship can, “change your life.”
Dental Clinics Across the Pacific Create Self-Reliant Smiles
The Church operates three volunteer-staffed dental clinics in the South Pacific, located on high school campuses in Samoa (Pesega), Tonga (Liahona), and Kiribati (Moroni). These clinics prioritise care for full-time missionaries and those preparing to serve full-time missions, then Church school students, and then the public. In 2025, the Church’s humanitarian efforts placed dental self-reliance at the heart of health initiatives. Local young adults are being trained as dental hygienists in courses covering anatomy, medical emergencies, oral pathology and public health, enabling communities to sustain their own dental services. The initiative also includes outreach by student-hygienists visiting schools to teach oral hygiene to over 1,000 children using presentations, songs, and toothbrush giveaways.
Latter-day Saints Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Church in Kiribati
In October 2025, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints marked 50 years in Kiribati with nine days of celebrations, including a major cultural performance and a nationwide devotional. The anniversary also aligned with the creation of the country’s fourth stake. At the event, President Taneti Maamau expressed gratitude to the Church for its valuable contribution to the nation.