Elder Craig A. Cardon of the Pacific Area Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with over 1,000 members and friends of the Church last Sunday (13 November) in Papeete, French Polynesia. He was accompanied by local Latter-day Saint leader, Elder Benjamin Sinjoux.
The occasion was one of two annual conferences for the Church’s Papeete Tahiti Stake. A stake is a group of Latter-day Saint wards (congregations) in a geographical area.
Three lay ministers (known as a stake presidency)—Bryson Hapairai, Eddy Johnston and Bruno Ercoli—were released after five years of volunteer service, and a new stake presidency was announced.
The new president of the Papeete Tahiti Stake is Bruno Ercoli, with Eddy Johnston and Yann Hunter as counsellors to President Ercoli.
Guests at the conference included Mr. Marcel Tuihani, President of the Assembly of French Polynesia; Mr Jean-Yves Tallec, President of the Tribunal Administration; and Mrs. Eliane Lechene, Ninth Deputy Mayor of Pirae.
During his remarks, Elder Cardon spoke about the way The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organised, founded on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with prophets, apostles, seventies and others in various leadership callings. He emphasised that opportunities to be a minister in the Church come through inspiration from Heaven, so a calling to lead or serve is “a call from the Lord.”
“It is not the hand of man that governs His Church, but of God,” he said.
Watch a short video about how the Church is organised.
Elder Cardon thanked the government guests for attending the conference, and for their service to the people of French Polynesia.
He stressed that Latter-day Saints strive to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live throughout the world, contributing in meaningful ways to serving their neighbours and communities. Elder Cardon expressed gratitude for the many opportunities Latter-day Saints had in French Polynesia and elsewhere to partner with government agencies to help others, including families, children and youth.
Elder Cardon spoke of “the precious gift of the Holy Ghost” and bore witness that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world.
After the conference Mrs Lechene thanked Elder Cardon for the opportunity to worship and pray with others on the day.
President Tallec commented on the faith of the Latter-day Saints, the beautiful music during the conference, and the way Church members live the law of the land.
President Tuihani acknowledged that the Church and other denominations “are important partners with government for the good of humanity.”
President Bryson Hapairai and his counsellors were thanked for their years of service. Among the priorities of the previous stake presidency was to help individuals and families become more spiritually and temporally self-reliant, including a strong emphasis on supporting people to obtain more education.
During his remarks, President Hapairai talked about each person’s role in God's Plan of Salvation, and his belief that happiness comes from obeying the Lord’s commandments.