The Christchurch New Zealand Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held its semi-annual conference last weekend where members gathered to listen to inspiring messages and to strengthen one another.
(A stake is a group of geographically connected congregations, similar to a diocese in other Christian faiths. There are seven congregations in the Christchurch New Zealand Stake.)
Jared Ormsby, stake president, welcomed to the conference Elder David J. Thomson, area seventy, who is the senior Church leader responsible for guiding the Church in New Zealand from south Auckland to Invercargill.
Joining Elder Thomson were President Roger Hudson and his wife Sister Carol Hudson who lead the New Zealand Wellington Mission, along with President Selesi’utele T. Lavea, second counsellor in the presidency of the New Zealand Hamilton Temple and his wife Sister Camellia Lavea.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Elder Thomson, who spoke on several occasions at the two-day conference counselled the members in attendance to be kind and patient with their families and others, and to not judge others harshly.
“We all have battles that we fight in the secret chambers of our hearts, so let us be kind and helpful to everyone.”
He encouraged everyone to try each day to be more like Jesus Christ. He promised that anyone who wants to know Jesus and be like Him can turn to the Book of Mormon.
Additionally he said, “Studying the Book of Mormon gives us the strength and courage to do what we need to do every day.”
President Ormsby spoke to the hundreds in attendance, reminding them the Book of Mormon teaches of Jesus Christ and His gospel, and is the keystone of the Church.
He said that although there are many academic and archaeological evidences supporting the Book of Mormon, “no physical evidence can replace the divine evidence of its truthfulness that comes to anyone who reads, studies and sincerely prays to know of its truthfulness for themselves.”
Other Church leaders and members spoke at the conference, including Susan Kemp, who along with her husband George Kemp, lost their Waiau home in last week’s earthquake.
“Thank you so much for all your prayers in our behalf, and those affected by the earthquake,” she said. “I am grateful for my huge family in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with our family so far away.”
The Kemps’ grown children and grandchildren all live in England.
”Possessions are not important,” she said, speaking of the loss of their home and much of what they own.
“What’s important is our family and our faith in the Saviour and our relationship with Him.”