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A General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently travelled to the Marshall Islands where he ministered to members and friends of the Church and met with a senior government leader.
Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, of the Seventy, and a counselor in the Church’s Pacific Area Presidency, was in Majuro, Marshall Islands, 9-12 June 2023, to conduct a mission tour and preside over a conference of the Majuro Marshall Islands Stake. A stake is a group of congregations.
While visiting the island nation he also took the opportunity to reach out to its government and enjoyed a meeting with a senior government official.
On Monday, 12 June 2023, Elder Wakolo visited with the Honourable Christopher J. Loeak, Acting President of Marshall Islands and Minister in Assistance to His Excellency President David Kabua.
Elder Wakolo conveyed to Minister Loeak that there are almost 8,000 members of the Church in the Marshall Islands, a nation of more than 42,000 people, spread out over an archipelago of five islands and 29 coral atolls.
He remarked that the number of Church members is increasing, and thanked Minister Loeak for the government’s encouragement of a continued environment of religious freedom.
Elder Wakolo expressed his gratitude for Minister Loeak’s service to the Marshallese people, quoting King Benjamin’s words on service to others from the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Mosiah Chapter 2: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
Elder Wakolo and Minister Loeak discussed humanitarian needs in the country and opportunities to work together to bless communities.
Elder Wakolo said that following the example and teachings of Jesus Christ is one way people in the Marshall Islands can feel the love of God in their lives.
Elder Wakolo presented Minister Loeak with a sculpture depicting a family gathered in prayer, along with a copy of the “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” a document that outlines the teachings of modern-day prophets and apostles with respect to building strong and united families.
Minister Loeak has had previous interactions with the Church, noting that he was a guest at Brigham Young University—Hawaii in the early 1990’s and has family members who are members of the Church.
Elder Wakolo was accompanied by; President Arlington Tibon of the Majuro Marshall Islands Stake; President John Kendall of the Marshall Islands-Kiribati Mission and Laie Hawaii Temple President Finau Hafoka.