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From an interfaith dinner in Australia to a youth summit in Africa, see how Church members are helping build their communities

See how the Church is strengthening families, communities and youth in Australia, Costa Rica, Ghana, Italy and Spain

About 300 people from over 20 faiths came together for an multifaith dinner in Wyndham, a southern suburb of Melbourne, Australia. One attendee noted that events like that help them to get to know each other helps to “break down feelings of fear about people who are different,” reported the Church’s Australia Newsroom.

In Costa Rica, Latter-day Saints celebrated International Family Day with activities focused on helping families strengthen their relationships to each other and to their ancestors. In Ghana, local Church leaders collaborated with area organizations for an interfaith Youth Leadership Summit for all teens.

In addition to these interfaith events in Australia, Costa Rica and Ghana, Church members in Spain are honoring a local organization that is helping families and a group of young students toured the Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center and grounds.

The following are ways the Church has been reaching out to others to strengthen faith, families and communities.

Church in Spain gives Family Values Award

The Family Values Award is an annual award presented by local leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to organizations that “defend, promote and work in favor of the family as the foundation of society” and uphold the family as the fundamental element in the development of people and communities. 

The Church has been awarding organizations since 2014, and this year, the Church is giving its ninth Family Values Award to an organization in Spain — Hogar el Buen Samaritano, in English the Good Samaritan House. It’s Cartagena in the country’s southeast Murcia region, for its “exceptional support” to strengthening the idea of the family as integral to society, reported the Church’s Spain Newsroom.

An award ceremony will be on Oct. 25 in San Javier, Spain.

Interfaith youth summit in Ghana

The Church hosted an interfaith youth leadership summit at the Koforidua Ghana Stake center in Koforidua, Ghana, on June 1. Inviting youth ages 12 to 18, the Church leaders hoped to give teens the opportunity to develop leadership qualities — including building determination and courage to stand up for what is right and focus on achieving their goals, Africa Newsroom reported.

Students from Apimpoa Islamic Basic A School arrive at Koforidua Ghana Stake Center for the youth leadership summit on June 1, 2023, in Koforidua, Ghana. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The summit was themed “Strengthening the Rising Generation” and the Church collaborated with the Ghana Education Service, the New Juaben North and South Municipal Assemblies.

Students from the Church were joined with their peers from St. Anne’s Anglican Basic School, Nkurakan G.N.T.D.A. and Stylish Kingdom, Koforidua Presbyterian Basic A and JHS, Apimpoa Islamic Basica A, MahD-Deen Islamic JHS, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

A student makes comment during the youth leadership summit in Koforidua, Ghana, on June 1, 2023. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints collaborated with several organizations for the event. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Summit chairman Mark Agyekum Addo, who is the CEO of the Mikado Group, told the teens present that “they were the future leaders and that their actions today will build tomorrow.”

Also speaking at the event was Osei Agyeman Bonsu, national communication director for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “God has endowed you to overcome what the older generations could not survive … you can survive it, if you apply the good things you have learned,” he said.

The Nkabumhene of the New Juaben Traditional Council sit together during the interfaith youth leadership summit in Koforidua, Ghana. Mark Agyekum Addo, CEO of Mikado Group of Companies, addresses the youth on June 1, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Alhaji Sulemana Ahmed, representative of the Chief Iman of Koforidua, spoke of his gratitude for the collaboration the Church initiated with the event. Ghana’s youth make up roughly 40% of the population and will one day be the ones to represent Ghana, which makes it important to help them prepare to be leaders, Ahmed said. He continued, “We are all one, God created you in his image, He loves you. Let’s come together as one.”

School groups tour Rome Italy Temple Visitors’ Center

On March 14, 120 students from the Uruguay Comprehensive Institute in Rome toured the Rome Italy Visitors’ Center that is part of the Rome Italy Temple grounds. 

With the help of sister missionaries, six alternating tours were organized that allowed the 11-and 12-year-old students to visit the temple’s gardens, visitors’ center, guesthouse, meetinghouse chapel and the FamilySearch Center.

While touring the temple grounds, one of the professors of Uruguay institute told the Church’s Italy Newsroom, “I was amazed by the care and attention that is given to the plants. I was able to feel peace and inner peace walking in the gardens of the temple.”

Students from the Uruguay Comprehensive Institute in Rome observe the stained glass mural in the Rome Italy Temple Culture Center, March 14, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

One of the students expressed similar feelings, “I was able to experience, particularly in the gardens, a tranquility that I don’t often feel.”

When asked what struck them the most about the temple, a student name Nicole told Italy Newsroom that the art glass window depiction of Jesus Christ healing a boy was her favorite. When asked why this particular part of the window, Nicole said, “Because He gives me hope that we can be healed.”

Luca Del Bianco, a professor at the institute, said: “I was pleasantly struck by the kindness and hospitality that the members have shown towards us and also towards each other. Despite their different ethnicities, they are always united in intent and in faith. Their union is a symbol of Christianity.”

Family Week in Costa Rica

Latter-day Saints in Costa Rica celebrated International Family Day with May 15 to May 21 with activities focused on helping families strengthen their relationships to each other and to their ancestors, reported the Church’s Costa Rica Newsroom.

Activities Latter-day Saints enjoyed during the celebration included a family history-themed cultural night, sharing food with visiting families and participating in community service activities.

Latter-day Saints held family history activities during the week commemorating International Family Day in Costa Rica from May 15 to May 21, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Uniting multifaith communities in Melbourne 

Latter-day Saints and locals from Wyndham, a southern suburb of Melbourne, Australia, together for a multifaith dinner on June 7. About 300 people from over 20 faiths attended the event, reported the Church’s Australia Newsroom.

The evening was filled with a variety of entertainment, singing, eating and sharing information.

Members of various faiths gather before a multifaith event in Wyndham, Australia, on June 7, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Mayor Councilor Susan McIntyre explained that making connections with others is what would be a catalyst to building harmony. Others from the various organizations spoke of their heritage and applauded the efforts made towards celebrating diversity.

“There was an infectious positive energy in the room of 300 people who, although incredibly diverse, came with collective goodwill toward each other. This combined effort of like-minded people pervades the air in a wave of loving acceptance,” said one attendee at the event reported the Church’s Australia Newsroom.

Dancers provide entertainment at a multifaith dinner in Wyndham, Australia, June 7, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Taslima, a Sunni Muslim woman from the Wyndham Community Education Centre, shared similar sentiments. “This activity is very good because we can all come together and know each other. That actually reduces our differences. We can be together and break down feelings of fear about people who are different. I love it.”

Instrumentalists accompany singers at multifaith event in Wyndham, Australia, on June 7, 2023. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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