My father worked as a labor missionary during the construction of the Church College of New Zealand (CCNZ) and was baptized there. After returning home, he helped establish the local church branch and held several leadership positions over time. My parents sent eight of their children to CCNZ, and it shaped our family's deep commitment to the church. Attending CCNZ strengthened my and my wife's testimonies and led us to serve in our branch. Our children have also maintained active involvement in the church and temple attendance due to CCNZ's influence. CCNZ has played a vital role in developing church leaders and missionary work in New Zealand.

1. Tena koe Ra
I would be happy if you would forward my comments to Brian and whoever they may benefit
I would like to make some comments to you and share some views as to why my family, feel the
way they do with a desire to preserve CCNZ for further use, and how the association and
influence of CCNZ has resulted in being a Temple focused people in our family.
I will begin from my Father who worked first as a non member on the college construction as and
when he could, He would travel from Northland and worked pouring concrete, He left my mother
home on the farm as she was due to give birth to my elder sister. Once she was born my mother
also went to Temple View and they were given a hut to stay in the married quarters for the time
they were there. A Bro Brown an American construction person said to my father one day that he
should get baptized and he agreed so Bro Brown took my father and mother to Auckland where
they were baptized then returned immediately to Temple View to continue working. The next day
both my Father and Mother were asked to bear their testimony but they didn’t know what a
testimony was at that time as no one had explained.
My father was fellowshipped by good people at Temple View who helped to shape his testimony.
When he returned to his home he never wavered
I remember my father picking up people through the valley on a tractor and trailer to take them to
a small one room chapel on one of the families land. The building was so small the classes were
held outside, each class on a different side of the building.
My Father became the Branch President and served three times on different occasions in the
Branch Presidency, he was in the District Presidency twice and once in the Stake Presidency
before being called to serve in the NZ Temple Presidency. He continued as a Sealer after his
temple mission and actually died in the NZ Temple not long after sealing a young couple. Before
his temple mission my father would travel every month on a Friday after a days work on the farm
on the temple bus, traveling for 6 hours in the evening, doing temple sessions through the night,
before traveling home the next morning and then serving his Sunday callings. As children our
yearly holiday was ten days in the temple motels exploring as our parents spent most of their time
at the temple.
My parents adopted my older brother and sent him to CCNZ and on a mission to the Philippians.
Six more of us children were sent to CCNZ, two others couldn’t attend because there wasn’t
enough money.
Myself I attended CCNZ as a student and so did my wife we were both from rural families. I have
served as EQ President, Clerk, five times in the Branch Presidency and I now serve as a high
councilor. My wife has always held positions and is currently a primary teacher, and a young
women’s councilor and teacher.
Our eldest daughter attended CCNZ, has married a return missionary CCNZ alumni student. After
my father died she took my mother to the temple every month for 2 years to help my mother deal
with my father dying there. My daughter now visits the temple twice a year for one week with her
husband, is going again in two weeks time for stake temple week and she spends one day a
week doing genealogy and has submitted hundreds of names for Temple work.

2. Our second daughter attended CCNZ and has also married a return missionary CCNZ alumni
student, attending the Temple regularly doing work submitted by her elder sister
My son is in Taiwan has baptized over 50 people and at present is AP. One of the hardest things
I have had to do is to put my son on a plane to not see him for two years and we will do the same
next year as our youngest son at CCNZ at present will be nineteen next September and is
making plans with me to help him on his mission.
My family is nothing out of the normal, we are just like many other families that are associated to
CCNZ all doing similar things because of what we were taught at CCNZ. My Father and mother
would perhaps not have joined the church had they not been part of the labor missionaries. Both
my wife and I acknowledge that we would not be doing what we do now if we had not attended
CCNZ. We would not be active or have served our callings, our children would not be active, our
daughters would not have married RM’s , I would not be supporting my son on a mission there
would be 50+ less baptisms, my second son would not be planning his mission and there would
be less names prepared for the Temple.
Much of the leadership in the Church in NZ and Australia are CCNZ alumni. Many of our youth
struggle at normal state schools and statistics show we are loosing our youth there. Our youth
that attend CCNZ often far out perform those that do not. More remain active, more go on
missions and more attend the temple and hold leadership positions.
Looking to the future, if we could sit and talk, exchange ideas, plan and consult with the powers
that be there are many who would recommend ways to use the facilities of CCNZ for good to
continue to develop more missionaries, more temple marriages, more temple focused people and
more church leaders to bless our Wards, Branches and Stakes.
CCNZ , the Church and the Temple are all intertwined none of the resource submissions said
anything about the Temple because the Temple was not under threat of destruction. The Temple
is the destination and CCNZ has been the vehicle that has gotten many people there. We are all
on the same side but some do not recognize the value and role CCNZ plays in the lives of people
in the church in New Zealand.
My thoughts for now