Temple View is a beautiful suburb. The Latter-day Saint temple on the hill, which gives the Hamilton, New Zealand suburb its name, is known throughout the nation, and even to many worldwide.
For Latter-day Saints, the temple is a holy place, where God is worshipped, Christ’s teachings are taught, and families are united for eternity. It is a place of beauty, peace, reverence and kindness. Such a building, the religious sacraments that take place there, and the kind of people who worship there, bring a special feeling to the entire neighbourhood.
In 2006 leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced that Church College of New Zealand, also in Temple View, would close in 2009. The school’s leaders and staff provided education and many other wonderful opportunities for thousands of students for over 50 years. It was decided that the school had nobly served its purpose, and that the circumstances originally warranting a Church school in the 1950’s had changed. Former students and some former staff members moved to other schools in Hamilton, and the Temple View community is moving forward.
For the last several years, the Church has been studying ways that its properties in Temple View can be utilized to bless current and future generations. Church representatives have met with residents, government officials, Maori leaders and other interested persons, to seek input, answer questions and resolve concerns. Community open houses and other meetings have been held over the last seven years to update Temple View residents and others, seek their suggestions, and allay concerns.
Out of all this, a plan is emerging, which, when put into effect in accordance with council consents, will make Temple View not a school district as it once was, but a community for all, and even a better place than it is today.
Plans include the building of improved facilities for Church members and friends to meet, worship and socialize together. A few facilities will be re-purposed or built in honour of those who have made Temple View what it is today, including Church College staff, students and families; as well as labour missionaries who humbly offered their service in the 1950’s and 1960’s to build the temple, the school, and many chapels around the country.
A camping facility will be built behind the temple, in the Church-owned Hamon’s Bush area. This will provide recreational opportunities for youth and families from across the nation, and the Pacific region, for years to come. Other facilities, including residential and retirement living homes, will be provided over the coming years, all which will be a blessing to the people of Temple View, Hamilton and visitors from further afield.
All this is driven by an overarching goal to protect the sanctity and environment of the Hamilton New Zealand Temple and to re-purpose the previous school property in a way that complements and enhances the long-term family life and the economic vitality of the Temple View community.
We encourage journalists, bloggers and all others who may wish to write or comment about what is happening at Temple View to come and see for yourselves. Come speak to the dedicated men and women who are working diligently to make Temple View an even better place for current and future generations. Come spend time with the residents of Temple View, at church and in their homes. They are warm, welcoming, wonderful people. With the insights received by doing this, we then invite those who write and speak about the changes in Temple View to do so with understanding, kindness and respect.