More than 500 people listened as Elder Quentin L. Cook, an apostle from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, expressed his love and concern for the people of quake-ravaged Christchurch at a special meeting last night.
Among those in attendance were Hon Amy Adams Associate Minister of Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, Hon Lianne Dalziel Labour Spokesperson for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, four other members of parliament, members of the Christchurch Interfaith Council, and other community leaders. They shared a common concern for the recovery of Christchurch and were undeterred by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that struck 20 minutes into the meeting.
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Elder Cook's message that Christchurch will recover and be "magnificent" was well received and left a feeling of hope and reassurance. He encouraged people to not only focus on rebuilding the city, but also to strengthen and look after each other.
"Parents, love and look after your children," he said. "Couples love and look after each other."
The apostle has a special empathy for Christchurch having been a stake president in San Francisco at the time of their 6.9 magnitude earthquake in 1989 that resulted in multiple deaths. His own personal experience supporting that community through their natural disaster motivated the Church leader to visit Christchurch as part of his tour of the Pacific.
Elder Cook will also visit Auckland and Melbourne before flying home to the United States next week.