Over 2,500 Tongan women overflowed a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Sunday 19 February to hear from Elder Dale G. Renlund of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, his wife Sister Ruth Renlund and other leaders.
Any and all Latter-day Saint women in Tonga over the age of twelve were invited to attend. Women filled the overflow area outside the chapel and some even set up chairs outside of the chapel’s other exits to hear the leaders’ messages.
Elder Renlund delivered a message of God’s love for the women in attendance and reminded them of where to centre their faith.
“Whatever the problem is, the answer is the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said. “It is in Christ that we find joy and happiness.”
A choir sang the Latter-day Saint hymn Have I Done Any Good? Elder Renlund approached the song title as a more literal question. “Have I done any good in the world today? To all of you I want to answer that for you. Yes you have,” he said.
“You have done good in the world today. You‘ve done good in the world yesterday, and the day before that, and before that, because as women of faith you have made things happen.”
Sister Renlund urged the Latter-day Saint women to continue to make things happen with their faith.
“We need to be women of enduring faith,” she said. “Women with staying power; women who are resilient and fierce in their testimonies of Jesus Christ; women who can make important things happen because of our faith.”
Elder O. Vincent Haleck and his wife, Sister Peggy Haleck, also spoke at the meeting. They both addressed the critical role women play in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.