“It was amazing. Absolutely mind blowing,” said one of the attendees of the Tuia Mai Wananga (seminar) that she and over 150 other Maori were present for in Kaikohe this past weekend (9-11 February).
Trevor Beatson, the leader of Latter-day Saint congregations in Kaikohe, invited members of the faith, and others from the Maori community, to the Mataitaua Marae to attend the event.
Topics discussed over the weekend included faith, family, history, culture, language and diversity. A central theme was seeking ways to strengthen faith, families and communities.
Among the speakers over the weekend was Mr Herewini Jones, a New Zealand Latter-day Saint.
President Beatson called for this Wananga to respond to the strong feeling he had to “gather Maori, gather Maori, gather Maori.”
He elaborated on the need for this Wananga by saying, “Our people and our families are challenged constantly with things of a worldly nature and demands are being made on their families, time and energy.”
President Beatson said that communities have problems with fragmented families, poverty, gangs, addictions and drugs.
“We’ve got a huge range of social issues here in the far north and really the answer to overcoming [these issues] are spiritually based and of a spiritual nature,” he said.
“Maori understand that their spiritual side, and wairua (spirit) to them is so important. Coming together [to discuss these things of spiritual significance] and extending challenges and invitations to our people has been really positive.”
He continued, “We have invited Maori to come to the Marae, to come together to knit together and communicate about spiritual things. We’ve put the call out to bring Maori to the Marae so we can sit in a safe environment and talk about really important spiritual things that affect Maori and our families.”
President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ New Zealand Auckland Mission, James Walker, and his wife, Harumi, were also present.
Regarding the gathering, President Walker said these meetings are “an important way to be able to reach out to the Maori people and let them know that their ancestors knew about God, that they spoke of Him, and this is a time that they gather together again once more.”
President Beatson felt that attendees left feeling inspired to remember their forefathers and honour their Maori legacy.
“The desired result is that they will return to their homes prepared to combat societal issues, as well as strengthen their communities, iwi, hapu, and families.”
According to a Mormon Newsroom commentary published in 2013 , “The message of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is for all people. It is a universal message of God's love for all of His children, of restored New Testament Christianity, of revelation, and of additional scripture testifying of Jesus Christ. Mormonism is a rich tapestry of millions of individuals, from diverse cultures and speaking the many languages of the world. Overlaying the diversity of Mormon congregations, is an overarching theme and desire to become one with God, with our fellow Latter-day Saints, and with our neighbours and friends of other faiths.”