Make dreams come true, LDS Samoans told

APIA, Samoa — On the short drive Saturday from his lodgings to Apia Park Stadium, President Gordon B. Hinckley spotted a billboard heralding the 2007 South Pacific Games to be held in Western Samoa.

The Games' theme: "Make your dreams come true."

It's an apt message for all LDS Samoans — particularly the young people, said President Hinckley as he spoke to thousands who had squeezed themselves into the island nation's largest outdoor venue.

"Don't make your nightmares come true; make your best dreams come true," said the 95-year-old church leader in Samoa to dedicate the rebuilt Apia Samoa Temple.

President Hinckley was joined at the Samoan member meeting by President Thomas S. Monson, his first counselor in the LDS First Presidency. Seated in the audience was Samoa's prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi.

Referring to current problems such as drugs and gangs facing today's youth, President Hinckley said he is saddened that many Polynesian young people living in Salt Lake City and other areas of the United States have struggled and found themselves in trouble with the law.

"The great dreams that they all had fade and disappear," he said. It need not be, he added.

"Stand strong, stand tall, be faithful, be true, my beloved young people of Samoa," he said.

President Hinckley spoke of the historic anniversaries being observed throughout the church, including the 200th birthday of LDS founder Joseph Smith and the 175th anniversary of the organization of the LDS Church.

The church leader spoke of his recent worldwide trip, noting that his visits to Asia, Africa and the Pacific has given him a firsthand appreciation for how far the church has spread, noting that "the future is even more glorious than the past."

He concluded his remarks with a traditional "Talofa lava" blessing. He challenged the thousands gathered at the stadium to "do what is right at all times."

Shortly after the member meeting, some 5,000 members from the Samoan islands of Upolu and Savaii and parts of American Samoa staged a cultural celebration on the stadium's massive playing field.

The cast included folks of all ages performing dances from Hawaii, Fiji, Tahiti and other Polynesian cultures. The Samoan Police Marching Band also performed.

The night of music and dance was an offering of thanks to President Hinckley, President Monson and other LDS leaders for coming to Samoa and opening a new temple just two years after the original Apia Samoa Temple was destroyed by fire.