Elder Kevin W. Pearson, president of the Pacific Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, recently told young Papua New Guinean women serving as missionaries in Fiji that they can look forward to the blessings of the temple in their homeland in the future.
“Their children,” he said, “are going to be getting married in the temple in Papua New Guinea. It may not happen when they [the missionaries] go home and get married, but it’s what’s going to happen for their children.”
Elder Pearson met the young missionaries at the Suva Fiji Temple during a special public open house last month. The Fiji temple—originally built and dedicated in 2000— has been closed for over a year while major renovations have been undertaken. It will be re-dedicated on 21 February.
There are 150 Latter-day Saint temples worldwide, including 10 in Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific. In these buildings, Latter-day Saints learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, make promises to follow the teachings of Christ, and participate in ordinances—including marriages—that unite families beyond this life.
Mormon temples differ from the thousands of church meetinghouses—sometimes called chapels—which are used by Latter-day Saints and visitors for weekly Sunday worship services.
Latter-day Saints believe that when new temples are announced by the First Presidency of the Church that these decisions are guided by inspiration to from God.
Watch a short video of Elder Pearson talking with the young Papua New Guinean missionaries about temples and temple marriage.