His Excellency Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati, awarded Elder Iotua Tune, Pacific Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Ana Kamoamoa Kiribati (AKK) medal on 12 July 2024 at the Kiribati Independence Day celebration.
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His Excellency Taneti Maamau, President of Kiribati, awarded Elder Iotua Tune, Pacific Area Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in Kiribati on 12 July 2024.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.This award is the second highest leadership award in Kiribati and is given to those who “display extraordinary talent, skill, or knowledge in traditional, scientific, artistic, or similar fields.”
Upon receiving the award, Elder Tune said, “The award has nothing to do with me and what I do. It is given in recognition of the Church and members’ contribution to the country and people of Kiribati.”
As a faith and community leader, Elder Tune spoke to more than 5,000 people on 11 July 2024 to celebrate Gospel Day, a national holiday and interfaith event, which is organized by leaders of multiple faiths in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport, and Social Affairs (MWYSSA) in Kiribati.
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Members of different churches gather on Gospel Day in KIribati, July 2024.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Invited guests to the event included His Excellency Taneti Mamau and Madam Teiraeng Manau, Madam Speaker of the House, Tangariki Reete and her spouse, government ministers, church leaders and their spouses, and members of the diplomatic corps, who are residing in Kiribati.
The choir of more than 500 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sang the Kiribati version of the hymn, “Israel, Israel, God is Calling.”
Speaking on the holiday’s 2024 theme of “Trusting in God enhances building and fostering a secure, prosperous future for the nation and people,” Elder Tune spoke about the importance of “the freedom to choose that Heavenly Father has given to all His children on the earth.”
Elder Tune stated, “The freedom allows us to choose for ourselves…Heavenly Father wants us to choose what is right, and by doing that, we will be happy, will have peace, our families will have peace, and our churches and our nation will be blessed.”
He shared accounts of scriptures that supported this statement and added from scripture found in Latter-day Saint scriptural text, Pearl of Great Price, Moses 7:18, “If we are one in Christ, we become His people ‘and the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.’”
Three other church leaders spoke from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, International Assemblies of God, and Kiribati Uniting Church prior to His Excellency Taneti Mamau concluding the proceedings by thanking the church leaders in the country and the officials of MWYSSA “for bringing unity in harmony, peace, health, and prosperity to the people of Kiribati.”
He acknowledged every effort by the churches in Kiribati and thanked the leaders and members for their mutual collaboration and “great support to the government of Kiribati.”
Elder Tune was elected as the Vice-Chair to the Kiribati Interfaith Fellowship Council (KIFC,) an organization working to bring unity and peace to the people of Kiribati.
Kiribati gained independence in 1979, and the people of Kiribati recently celebrated the 45th Independence Day anniversary.