Light & Life comes to New Zealand!

Last March when we arrived at the Matthew Cowley Pacific Church History Centre we saw a beautiful glass front building with a large open second floor in front of the museum entry. It was a beautiful space but not very functional.

Within a few weeks, we were thinking and planning how that space could be used for temporary exhibits.

This week it all came together just in time for Christmas. Light & Life was exhibited in the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City for several months during 2018.

The Church History Department contracted a company that does work for the national museum in Wellington to build the walls and install the exhibit. The team was so professional and great to work with.

Walking into the space now feels like walking into a beautiful gallery.

This is Light & Life ----

STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS OF GLOBAL FAITH

The photographs in this exhibit capture the lives of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 19 countries, exploring the relationship between light and life. Life can be messy and hard, but it can also be happy and hopeful because hope in Christ brings light into life.

While photographing Latter-day Saints around the world, Church staff photographers Cody Bell and

Leslie Nilsson try to use light from the sun whenever possible, even indoors. They feel that this not only produces beautiful images but is also symbolic of the Savior

When approval was given by the Area President, Elder Ardern, he asked if there were any photos from New Zealand. The original exhibit had none. When the photographers were contacted they provided two photos from New Zealand. I was blessed to be able to contact the families involved and do the research and initial writing for the New Zealand labels.

Here are two examples from out exhibit.

Munganga Doudou
2014
Mont Ngafula, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Leslie Nilsson

Munganga follows the counsel to hold a family home evening each week. Because she views her friends and neighbors as family, they are included in family night.

Leslie Norman Going (1929 – 2018)
2013
Maromaku, New Zealand
Cody Bell

Leslie Going exits the restored one room chapel built by his family at Maromaku in 1939 and dedicated by Matthew Cowley in 1940. 

Leslie’s grandparents, Percy and Gertrude Going,
joined the Church in 1893. In 1910 they moved their large family to a dairy farm in the sparsely inhabited Maromaku Valley. For almost 30 years, church meetings were held in the Goings’ home. When the family outgrew meeting at home, they donated land, labour, and timber from a giant kauri tree to build a chapel.

For the next 30 years, several generations of Goings
worshipped at the little white church, which also served as a gathering place for the community. Though a new chapel was built in 1969, the original building stands as a memorial to the faithfulness of the Going family.

i especially love this picture because I have learned so much about the Going family. We even took a trip to Maramaku in the far north and visited this little restored building.

The light of Christ lights  every person that has come into the world. What wonderful Christmas gifts. The light of Christ and this beautiful exhibit. Just in time for Christmas!!

The Christmas music is starting tonight in our centre. Stay tuned!