Build for Eternity

Build for Eternity is a comprehensive account of the history of Mormonism in New Zealand from 1854, when its first missionaries arrived, to the present day. The book draws on the perspectives and experiences of sixteen writers, including historians, academics, social scientists, ecclesiastical leaders and critics. It explores key developments that laid the foundations of a global mainstream religion in New Zealand and took it into the twenty-first century – the establishment of a New Zealand Mission, European converts gathering to Utah, the reconciliation of Māori cultural traditions with church teachings, a national church building programme, new executive-style administrative leadership and the effect of socio-cultural societal changes. Build for Eternity gives insight into the impact of the American-based religion and culture on people in New Zealand, particularly Māori, over the past 170 years.

Dr Selwyn Katene (Ngāti Toa, Ngāruahine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Tama) a fifth-generation Mormon, is an adjunct professor at Victoria University of Wellington and a former Massey University Assistant Vice-Chancellor. His publications include three books about Mormon leaders in New Zealand – Let Their Light So Shine (2021), By Their Fruits You Will Know Them (2017) and Turning the Hearts of the Children (2014) – and books on Māori leadership and scholarship, including Conversations about Indigenous Rights (2018), Point of Order, Mr Speaker? (2017), Fire That Kindles Hearts (2015), The Spirit of Māori Leadership (2013) and Future Challenges for Māori (2013).

A. Keith Thompson completed his first law degree at Auckland University and was a solicitor and partner in a commercial law firm before moving to Sydney to work as International Legal Counsel for the Church in the Pacific and then Africa. He currently teaches law at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Sydney School of Law and Business, most recently as Professor and Associate Dean. He has served in the Church as a Bishop in Sydney, President of the Auckland New Zealand Harbour Stake and President of the New Zealand Wellington Mission. He currently serves as a gospel doctrine teacher and National Communications Director for the Church in Australia.