New and Refurbished Buildings Are Dedicated in Temple View, New Zealand

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dedicated the new David O. McKay Stake and Cultural Events Centre and other buildings and facilities in the Hamilton suburb of Temple View on Saturday 17 June.

Temple View is a community of around 2,000 people which received its name after the Latter-day Saints’ Hamilton New Zealand Temple was dedicated and opened in 1958.           
The refurbished Wendell B. Mendenhall Library, G.R. Biesinger Hall and Kai Hall were also dedicated in the service today. The “First House,” a building which was once home for Church College of New Zealand faculty, as well as the new Legacy Park, were also dedicated.     

Travelling with President Eyring to New Zealand to attend the dedication were Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Bishop Dean M. Davies of the Presiding Bishopric.

Members of the Pacific Area Presidency—Elder O. Vincent Haleck, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen and Elder Craig A. Cardon—also attended the dedication service. 

New Zealand Church leaders, Elder Paul R. Coward and Elder David J. Thomson, were also in attendance. Government, community and Maori leaders were among the guests.

Elder Coward conducted the meeting. The Temple View New Zealand Stake Choir provided music for the service.

Bishop Dean M. Davies spoke to the congregation about the central role of love in being a follower of Jesus Christ and in the work of the Church in Temple View and around the world. He thanked those who had served in the community of Temple View in the past and urged all to look to the future with hope and faith.

Elder O. Vincent Haleck spoke about the faith of many people in New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific, over many generations. He invited all to visit the new Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre, in the refurbished Wendell B. Mendenhall Library, to learn of these Pacific Latter-day Saints and their stories of faith and sacrifice.

Elder Neil L. Andersen recounted some of the key discussions and events that led to the closure of Church College of New Zealand in 2009, after the school had blessed the lives of thousands for over six decades.

Elder Andersen also spoke about the members of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, as prophets, seers and revelators. He encouraged all to follow the counsel of living prophets and apostles.

President Eyring shared his love for the people of Temple View, New Zealand and the South Pacific. He spoke about previous visits he had made to New Zealand, and a time he painted a water colour as he sat on a hill near the Hamilton New Zealand Temple. He said that he knew then, as he does now, that “this is a sacred place.”

When The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completes a new temple, stake centre or other significant building, it is dedicated to the Lord in similar dedicatory services.

To enable those who could not attend in person to view today’s dedication, the proceedings were live video streamed at pacific.lds.org, on YouTube and Facebook.