Groundbreaking ceremonies are occasions to bring friends and neighbours together to give thanks and to share the vision and hope of a new opportunity rising up from the soil.
On Saturday, March 4, 2023 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will invite guests to join them at a ceremony to share in the joy of consecrating and breaking the ground for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple located at Bladiniere Estate.
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Bishop of the Blacksand Ward, Graham Mahit, and his wife Olivia with their children at the Suva, Fiji Temple. Suva, Fiji, January, 20232023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.The temple plans call for a single-story building of about 10,000 square feet on the 2.7 acre site which has for many years had a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse on it. The meetinghouse, home to the Blacksand Ward (congregation), was recently dismantled to make way for the new temple to be built.
The meetinghouse has been a much-loved place for the congregation and friends to gather on Sundays to worship Jesus Christ and for weekday activities that have strengthened families and faith. While it is difficult to say goodbye to a building that holds happy memories and has served them well, the congregants join other Latter-day Saints across Vanuatu in joyful anticipation of the new temple. What was very good will make way for something even better.
Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. They aren’t regular places of Sunday worship for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but are “Houses of the Lord” and considered to be the holiest places on earth. They point Latter-day Saints to Jesus Christ and are where members of the Church commune with and make sacred commitments to God.
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This Latter-day Saint Chapel served the community well. The site has now been cleared and is ready for the Port Vila Temple construction to begin in March, 2023. Port Vila, Vanuatu, 202023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Couples go to the temple to be married and to have their families “sealed” to them for eternity on condition of their faithfulness to Christ’s teachings. The Latter-day Saints in Vanuatu have had to make great sacrifices to travel to Fiji or New Zealand with their families to enjoy temple blessings, thus the groundbreaking for the Port Vila Vanuatu Temple will be the beginning of the fulfillment of many hopes and prayers.
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Vanuatu Latter-day Saints of all ages eagerly anticipate their own temple. Vanuatu, 20232023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Richard Balkonen, a congregant of the Blacksands Ward, stood on the ground where the temple will stand and shared his feelings about the new temple.
“The temple to me is a wonderful blessing. It is a house of learning and a house of prayer. It is a quiet place where I can go and commune with Heavenly Father as well as make covenants and to also listen and hear from Him,” he said.
He continued, “Through temple ordinances I can receive power to help me with my struggles and my everyday life. It will be a blessing to the people, to the community and to our country.”
Samantha Jill Toa recently graduated from college and is preparing to serve a mission with the Church.
She said, “We don’t just enter the temple because it is a beautiful place. We go because it makes us beautiful on the inside and more like Jesus Christ.”
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Saints in Malekula Island, as well as other outer islands, look forward to a temple in Port Vila. Malekula, Vanuatu, 2023.2023 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.Upon completion of the temple, friends and neighbours will be welcomed to an open house to gain a greater understanding of temples and to feel of God’s love and peace there.
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes the wonderful work that other denominations and faith groups do for their congregations and the wider community,” Yvon Basil, president of the Church’s Port Vila Vanuatu Stake, said.
“We welcome our neighbours and friends from other churches and faiths to come and see the temple—inside and out—when it is completed, during a special public open house. While it is being constructed, and after its completion, we welcome opportunities to share information about the temple, and our faith in Jesus Christ, with all who may have questions.”
