Elder James J. Hamula, Pacific Area President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, explained recently why Mormons engage in humanitarian service throughout the Pacific region, and globally.
“When you attend church in Australia or New Zealand you see tremendous ethnic diversity in Church membership,” he says. “Yet amidst this diversity there is great unity, remarkable unity, among our church members.”
He continues: “Such unity comes, I think, from a real and substantial faith among our people in the Fatherhood of God. You cannot believe in the Fatherhood of God without also believing in the brotherhood of man.”
“This faith in our Heavenly Father, which comes so readily and easily to the peoples of the Pacific, is what drives us to accept each other with love and understanding, and to undertake the humanitarian work that we do on behalf of our fellow man.”
Elder Hamula also refered to two examples of humanitarian projects undertaken in the Pacific region recently.
One, a self-reliance facility in Samoa called ‘ The Bishop’s Garden,’ continues to provide training and resources to individuals and families wishing to improve their livelihoods, nutrition and health.
The second project was an initiative involving Latter-day Saints and others in New Zealand and Fiji who gathered and distributed over 45,000 educational books for children in remote Fijian schools.
Read more about Latter-day Saint humanitarian service.