Committee members gathered in Suva last week to begin planning the month-long activities that will culminate with the rededication of the Suva Fiji Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Sunday, 21 February 2015.
The temple has been closed while undergoing renovations that began 13 October 2014. It is scheduled to reopen on Monday, 22 February 2016.
| 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 |
MormonTemples.org states that Latter-day Saint temples “are the holiest places of worship on earth for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Within these sacred walls, participants commit to live ethical and morally upright lives and to be faithful to their spouse and family.”
The Suva Fiji Temple is located in the Suva suburb of Samabula on a hill overlooking the city, countryside and ocean. It was originally dedicated by then Church president, Gordon B. Hinckley (1910—2008), on 18 June 2000.
The Suva Temple open house planning committee is led by Vito Qaqa, president of the Suva Fiji North Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Subcommittee chairs are other local members of the Church who have accepted various assignments including music, translation, public affairs, safety and security, ushers, budget, audio-visual, and physical facilities to manage the tens of thousands of guests expected to attend.
The first planning meeting was conducted by representatives from Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA who also attended Sunday church services at Mavurevure.
At the committee meeting they provided instruction on the many details involved in the extensive month-long events that will take place.
President Qaqa said, “This is a very large undertaking and we appreciate so much the willingness of our subcommittee chairs to accept their voluntary assignments. They will be very busy for the next five months.”
The rededicatory events will include a free public open house from early morning through late evening hours, Monday, 25 January through Saturday, 6 February, excluding Sunday, 31 January. Forty-five minute tours will be conducted through all the rooms of the temple including the baptistry, two ordinance rooms, two sealing rooms, and the Celestial room.
“We invite and encourage all members of the community to attend with their families, friends, and neighbours,” President Qaqa says. “This is the only opportunity they will have to see the inside of this beautiful building before it is closed to the public and dedicated to its sacred purposes.”
Members of the Church in Fiji, Kiribati, Vanuatu and New Caledonia look forward with anticipation to the reopening of the temple.
The Church’s director of public affairs for Fiji and a member of the planning committee, Sulueti Kama, said, “The temple is the House of the Lord, a special place where we perform sacred ordinances and where we can seal our families together for eternity. We have missed being able to go there to have the peace and joy we feel when we recommit ourselves to follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.”
A highlight of the open house period will be a cultural celebration that will take place at 3:00 p.m. in Suva’s ANZ Stadium on Saturday, 20 February. This free to the public family event will include cultural songs and dances performed by local youth ages 12 to 18 of many denominations.