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International ambassador visits BYUH

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“It all starts here in the classroom, but you never know where you will end up,” said David A. Peterson, who recently returned from his mission as a diplomatic representative for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the European Union. His education gave him many opportunities to be a better servant in the Lord’s kingdom, said Peterson, and he wants the same for students at BYU-Hawaii.Peterson has numerous degrees in varying fields from a number of universities, he said as he spoke to BYUH students at a forum sponsored by the BYU-Hawaii Pre-Law Society and Political Science Department. Peterson told a compelling story of an interaction he and his wife had with the ambassador of Macedonia. The Petersons ran into the ambassador at a concert one night and felt inspired to invite him and his wife over for dinner at their home. The ambassador felt honored to be at the Peterson’s home and later asked, “What can Macedonia do for you?” Peterson responded earnestly by requesting that missionaries be allowed to proselyte in Macedonia and preach in their town squares, which was prohibited at the time. The ambassador agreed and said he would talk with the office of Foreign Affairs to put that into action. “This is just one of the many miracles that happened while we were in the mission field in Europe,” said Peterson. He said he and his wife prayed daily to be able to interact with the people the Lord wanted them to meet. “Time and time again the Lord would put people in our path so we could form relationships with them and better their understanding of the church’s role in Europe,” said Peterson.Peterson spent the majority of his time during the forum talking about the interactions and relationships that he and his wife had formed while working at the European Union. He said, “We wanted to create relationships with prominent European leaders to better the Church’s relationship with their countries. That makes it easier to work with the leaders and their countries when issues arise.”Jennifer Kajiyama, professor in Political Science and the Legal Studies advisor said, his desire to do good is evident through his actions. “He is a true exemplar of the McKay prophecy. The more education and experiences you acquire, the better equipped you are to be an instrument for change in the world,” said Kajiyama of Peterson.Sitiveni Kinikini, a sophomore in political science from Fiji, said Peterson’s stories “gave me perspective in terms of how the church promotes religious freedom at the international level with organizations such as the EU and UN.”
Writer: Trenton McCullough ~ Multimedia Journalist