Elder Steven E. Snow, of the Seventy and Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been visiting sites of historic signficance to the Church throughout the South Pacific during the month of April.
Earlier this month he visited the Church history centre currently under development in Temple View, Hamilton.
Elder Snow was accompanied by Elder S. Gifford Nielsen of the Seventy and First Counselor in the Church’s Pacific Area Presidency; Elder David J. Thomson, Area Seventy; Reid Neilson, Assistant Church Historian and Managing Director of the Church History Department; and Lindsay Dil, Pacific Area Church History Advisor.
The facility will be the first Latter-day Saint Church history centre in the South Pacific.
Asked why the Church decided to open a Church history centre in New Zealand, Elder Snow noted, “When President Gordon B. Hinckley announced that the Church was going to close the Church College of New Zealand he said that we needed to do something to make sure the legacy of the college is remembered.”
Elder Vic Parker and Sister Rangi Parker, senior missionaries assigned to assist with the project, have been instrumental in collecting and preserving items for the centre.
Speaking on behalf of the Church to those who have been so essential to implementation of the project, Elder Nielsen said, “We are so grateful to all who have been involved in this project. Their work will bless many lives in the coming years as people visit to learn more about the rich history of the growth of the Church in the Pacific area."
The Church has also sent many articles and collections previously housed in Salt Lake City to Temple View for display in the centre.
The centre, scheduled to open within a few months, will include the stories of Pacific area members and missionaries, items of historical significance to the Church’s growth in the Pacific and interactive displays allowing visitors to customize their experience. Story Inc., a New Zealand company, has been instrumental in the creative design of the experience.
As he toured the centre on 15 April 2017, Elder Snow observed, “The centre is coming together just as we envisioned it in Salt Lake City. We are very satisfied. It’s not often that things exceed your expectations, but this certainly does.”
Once open, the Church history centre will be open to the public and there will be no charge for entry. It is one element of the Church’s larger Temple View Project including a Legacy Park, residential building lots and a stake centre all surrounding the Hamilton New Zealand Temple.
Watch a short video titled, "The History of Mormonism."