SUVA, FIJI
After the winds and rain of Cyclone Winston pounded Fiji during
a long and devastating night, the sun rose on the Pacific island nation—shining
its light on the Suva Fiji Temple.
Through it all he felt a “peaceful calm, a spiritual feeling
that everything would work out OK and that the sun would shine” on the
rededication.
Early in the morning after the cyclone, birds flew above the
temple—a sign to Elder Johansson that the rededication would go on. “President
Eyring came here to dedicate the temple, and he will do that,” he said.
No Latter-day Saints or
missionaries were reported injured by Tropical Cyclone Winston, which struck
Fiji with winds up to 175 miles per hour in the nighttime hours between the LDS
Church’s youth temple cultural celebration and the temple rededication.
The powerful category 5 storm left at least five people dead,
knocked out power, and destroyed entire villages as it made landfall along the
north coast of Fiji's largest, most populous island, Viti Levu. Suva escaped
the brunt of the storm, which shifted direction in the hours before it hit the
Pacific island nation.
Government curfews, power outages, and downed trees on roads
prevented many Fijian Church members from participating in the rededication,
during which President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First
Presidency, offered a dedicatory prayer on the temple and the people of Fiji.
As the storm approached, President Eyring moved from his hotel
to the mission home, located on the grounds of the temple. With him were Elder
Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary
Cook; Elder Kent F. Richards and his wife, Sister Marsha Richards; and members
of the Church's Pacific Area Presidency—Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Elder O.
Vincent Haleck, and Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, all General Authority Seventies,
and their wives, Sister June Pearson, Sister Peggy Haleck, and Sister Wendy Nielsen.
This allowed the official party to dedicate the temple in spite of mandatory
curfews enacted across Suva in the hours after the storm.
“It was powerful that a member of the First Presidency and a
member of the Quorum of the Twelve came here to experience this with us,” said
Elder Johansson. “We never felt alone as members of the Church. We felt that
the Brethren were with us. …
“They did not say, 'We are praying for you.' The message they
brought is, 'We are here hoping and praying with you.’”
The temple rededication is the second temple dedication held
during trying times in Fiji.
Amid political unrest, the Suva Fiji Temple was originally
dedicated in a private service by then-Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on
June 18, 2000. At that time, rebels were holding deposed Prime Minister
Mahendra Chaudhry and other members of parliament hostage. Many businesses had
been looted and significant parts of downtown Suva had burned. The military had
declared martial law.
The 2000 dedication marked
the only temple dedication since the original Nauvoo Temple that has been held
in private and difficult circumstances, said Elder Cook, who attended the
original dedication.
Elder Johansson said it was important to the Latter-day Saints
in the temple district that the rededication go on—in spite of the storm.
As strong winds raced across the nation, “you could feel the
tension in the air,” he said. Yet Elder Johansson said he was not afraid.
“Peace defined this whole experience,” he said.
The Latter-day Saints who could not attend the rededication will
find peace in the weeks and months ahead in the temple, he said.
“You cannot stop the work
of the Lord. You cannot. … That is what is giving the people of Fiji courage.
If they can’t come [to the dedication] the temple will be open for them. … I
believe the Lord requires of us not a sacrifice of money but a sacrifice of
faith. Their faith through this experience taught the people who is in charge.”
The storm passing is the least of the miracles, he said. “The
greatest miracle will be the ordinances that will be performed” in the temple.
Crews used generators to
power the temple and the grounds during the rededication services—as most of
the power in Fiji was lost during the storm.
The 12,755-square-foot temple, which closed in October 2014 for
renovation, serves more than 35,000 Latter-day Saints in Fiji, Vanuatu,
Kiribati, and the Solomon Islands. Because so many members could not
participate in the meeting, President Eyring approved the rebroadcast of the
dedicatory services for one week later, on Sunday, February 28.
The renovated temple pays tribute to
the history and rich culture of the islands of the South Pacific. The colors
and design motifs of the temple were inspired by the flowers, beaches, and
jungles of Fiji. The interior of the temple features original art glass and a
hand-painted mural depicting the landscape and flora of the islands.
Litia Koto Cavu
Wakarewakobau joined the Church in Fiji in 1957. She was present during the
dedication of the first chapel in Fiji in May 1958, during the first temple
dedication in 2000, and again at the rededication.
A large tree fell in her yard during the cyclone, nearly
blocking her path to the temple. Then she and her husband, Meli, were stopped
by police enforcing mandatory curfews in Suva. However, when the couple
explained they were going “to the dedication of the temple of the Lord” they
were allowed to travel on.
Vito W. Qaqa, president of the Fiji North Stake and local
chairman of the Suva Fiji Temple rededication committee, was up all night
before the rededication because a sliding door at his home collapsed during the
storm, bringing water and wind inside. When power outages prevented him from
opening a metal gate to make his way to the rededication, he removed a grill in
the gate and, with his wife, slid through.
“No one will stop this work,” he said. “We are so blessed in
Fiji. Now we have a Church school and a temple. We have everything we need.
They are preparing Fiji for bigger things.”
Elder Adolf J. Johansson, an Area
Seventy, stands on the grounds of the Suva Fiji Temple, hours after Cyclone
Winston struck Fiji. He said he “felt a peaceful calm, a spiritual feeling that
everything would work out OK and that the sun would shine” on the Suva Fiji
Temple the day of its rededication. Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver.
Latter-day Saint young men gather early
Sunday morning, February 21, hours after Cyclone Winston made landfall. They
weathered the storm at the Church's primary school in Suva, located near the
rededicated temple. Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver.
