Elder Robert J. Dudfield and other leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encouraged members of the Church to trust in Jesus Christ, strengthen their families and serve others during a recent conference for the faith's Port Vila Vanuatu Stake.
A stake is a group of Latter-day Saint congregations in a geographical area.
Elder Dudfield, an Area Seventy in the Church, emphasized "the importance for every member of the Church to deepen their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and their Heavenly Father, in order to strengthen their families and consequently the Church of Jesus Christ on earth."
He urged husbands and fathers to provide for, serve and lead their families with kindness and love.
“Brothers and sisters, we are living in perilous times and we need to diligently build our lives on the sure foundation of Christ,” Elder Dudfield said.
Local Church leader, Yvon Basil, said, “If we strive to live worthily and emulate the example of Christ in our lives, everything will automatically fall into their right place."
He added, "We will be able to guide and inspire our children and people around us to accept the invitation of the Saviour Jesus Christ to repent, baptize and endure to the end. They will be inspired by our examples. If we do so, our families will be strengthened and fortified."
Elder Dudfield and President Basil both called on the members of the Church in Vanuatu to strive to emulate the spiritual attributes of Jesus Christ in their daily lives in order to become ambassadors of Christ and be a light to people living around them.
Both leaders also emphasized that the core unit in God’s plan of Happiness is the Family.
“Heavenly Father wants to save families," President Basil said. "He expects family members to use their agency to choose the right and find their own way back to Him through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."
"Each one of us is precious in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. And each and every one of us is born into a family. The focus of the Church of Jesus Christ is to strengthen families."
President of the Vanuatu Port-Vila Mission, Paul W. Granger, thanked the members of the Church for their examples and their assistance in the missionary work in Vanuatu.
“After almost two years of serving in the Vanuatu Mission, my wife and I have been touched by the friendliness and warmth of the people of Vanuatu," he said. "The Church is growing in Vanuatu thanks to your faith in Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. I am glad to say that under President Basil, everyone is a missionary.”
President Granger encouraged the Church members and families to "work closely with the full-time missionaries in order to carry out the great commission given to the disciples of Saviour to invite people around us to come unto Christ, to repent and be baptized and endure to the end."
He commended the work of local Church leaders for their devotion in their callings and he reiterated that the success and growth of the of the kingdom of God is through missionary work.
The members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were also reminded about the importance of service and charity taught by the Saviour Jesus Christ in the scriptures.
Davy Kammer, a returned missionary from the United States who served in Fiji and in Vanuatu from 1991 and 1992, said, “Vanuatu is a special and unique place in the World.”
He added, “I was surprised to find out that the Church has grown so fast in Vanuatu. When I was serving at the Nambatu branch in the Port-Vila, the chapel was very small and there were only 40 members back in 1992. I am surprised to find how much the Church has grown in numbers from the time I left until today.
"I served for 11 months in Vanuatu and I must say that I am happy I had the opportunity to serve here. I was touched by the warmth and hospitality of the people of Vanuatu. Of course, as missionaries we had our daily challenges in missionary service, but the humility, the simplicity and warmth of the people in general and the devotion of the members of the Church in Vanuatu has changed my life. I knew then that the Church would grow big in Vanuatu but I did not expect it to grow that fast."
When he was visiting Port-Vila with his wife and children during the conference week, he was invited by the Port-Vila Stake leaders to share his feelings about the Church in Vanuatu during the June conference in Port-Vila.
More than 1,300 members from wards and branches of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints in Port-Vila and Efate attended the conference at the Nambatu Port-Vila chapel.
Mormon Newsroom Contributor: Jean-Baptiste CALO