You were born " for such a time as this! "
We have very sparingly shared information about the situation with the current BYUH Administration in Laie. Politely ask President Nelson to investigate and reconsider the erasure of the McKay Foyer and Mosaic.
1.PLEASE PRINT THIS EMAIL UPDATE.
2.Put it in an envelope and send it to President Nelson and others now!
50 E North Temple Salt Lake City UT 84150
3. It will only have an impact if every one acts.
Do it now. Write to the First Presidency now! Ask for a RECONSIDERATION in the demolition of the McKay Foyer. If you cannot reveal your name for fear of retaliation or pushback by the BYUH Administration or local church leaders, use "Concerned Church Member".
Send your concerns to
President Russell M. Nelson,
Elder Dallin Oak,
President Henry Eyring,
Elder Jeffrey Holland, (Please include condolences to the passing of Sister Holland)
Elder Ronald Rasband.
( We're not including more names like the Board of Education Trustees.But follow the spirit. We figure this information will be passed to them. )
They need to hear from the grassroots in numbers now!
ALOHA & LET US PRESS FORWARD!
We sent email you this update on August 7, 2023. YOU CAN PRINT THIS.
AUG 7, 2023 —
DO YOUR PART!
"The concept of preserving or marking a site also has ancient roots. When the Lord led the children of Israel into the promised land, Joshua paused, as directed by the Lord, and placed 12 stone markers to remind future generations of God’s blessings upon His children (see Joshua 4:19–22).
These places have been sanctified by God’s blessings upon His people and by faithful Latter-day Saints who have dedicated their lives to building up God’s kingdom. They bear witness to the Restoration and remind us of God’s blessings and the faith, commitment, and sacrifice of His people."
Do it now. Write to the First Presidency now! Ask for a RECONSIDERATION in the demolition of this Foyer. If you cannot reveal your name for fear of retaliation or pushback by the BYUH Administration or local church leaders, use "Concerned Church Member".
Send your concerns to President Russell M. Nelson, Elder Dallin Oak, President Henry Eyring, Elder Jeffrey Holland, and Elder Ronald Rasband now! They need to hear from the grassroots in numbers now! 50 E North Temple Salt Lake City UT 84150
Be sincere and respectful. After much research, we unfortunately have much less confidence and faith that the current BYUH President is not affected by local political trends from within his tight and small inner circle. He's also affected by his personal ego to re-focus the McKay mosaic legacy in order to highlight his own family personal history.
To further counter the overwhelming sadness and surprise in tearing down the McKay Mosaic, the BYUH administration would use "affinity exploitation" by saying that their new "Welcome Center" would focus on Christ, simply by rendering a huge generic image of Christ with children inside the "Welcome Center".
In an earlier update to this Petition, we shared a photo of the BYU- Provo Aspen Grove Conference Hall. According to reliable sources, that was what the "Welcome Center" looked like at the so-called "community meeting" with about 6 community members on the BYU-Hawaii campus. The Operations Vice President did not allow any photographs.
We find no joy in sharing negative information gleaned from our research as to why the BYUH Administration wants to erase this McKay legacy in totality. Prevalent information points to a new President who has no ties to The Church College of Hawaii (CCH) and Brigham Young University-Hawaii ( BYUH) except as a descendant of Kaleohano, an influential church convert in Maui. Kauwe went to BYU-Provo, married, and have remained on the mainland until being appointed to BYU-Hawaii.
Unfortunately, President Kauwe would regularly drop this name to exploit and use his PERSONAL genealogy as his right to be respected and honored here by Hawaiians and local membership in his public speeches and press releases. Whether it's due to the advice of his Communications Director, we do not know. Correct and factual information to the university community are scarce, cryptic, and confusing. The BYUH social media would include support from the BYUH Administration's wives, relatives, mother-in-law, and trolls. Even President Kauwe would personally "like" comments that support his agenda.
QUESTION: If the Kauwe Administration did not choose an Academic Vice President who is a Hawaiian Sovereignty activist, would the McKay Foyer and Mosaic be spared from this demolition?
Research shows that since President Kauwe was new to Laie and was significantly "welcomed" by his new surfing buddy, his Academic VP with a political mindset to remove the "offensive" David O. McKay's mosaic. The "imperialism" and "colonialism" markings on the historical McKay Mosaic are offensive to them, according to community and campus conversations. This political mindset rules despite the fact that BYUH is not solely a "Hawaiian" institution. BYUH is funded by tithe-payers throughout the world. BYUH's scope includes the Oceania Pacific and the populous Asian Rim. Most are not offended by the Mosaic but are happy with the displayed universal values of freedom, justice, and equality for all.
His Academic VP would retreat into the background after overwhelming pushback and disappointment about tearing down the McKay Foyer. Then the unethical push to achieve their political agenda begins, the BYUH Press Releases are filled with half-truths and manipulations of facts and events. President Kauwe's public denial that "this is not a political decision" becomes the media cover-up for their personal political aversion towards "colonialism".
They don't like the mural - - the McKay Mosaic contains the Pledge of Allegiance of freedom and justice for all, the flag-raising ceremony with a American flag, and the factual multi-cultural school children that is unfortunately considered as imperialistic brainwashing of "faceless Hawaiian children in bare feet." The current academic atmosphere on campus forces faculty, students, and staff to walk on eggs. Of course, those few who choose to fall into the "progressive" trend would eagerly share their support.
President Kauwe also appointed the former Laie Community Association (LCA) President as his Operations Vice President. Unfortunately, this Operations Vice President comes with heavy baggage, including the LCA unethical and avaricious decision to negotiate an annual $20,000 community benefits from the AES Wind Turbines Project in Kahuku. LCA was quietly negotiating with AES behind the backs of the Kahuku Community Association.
Two hundred residents from around Oahu who protested against the "Too Big Too Close" negative impacts of the wind turbines were arrested. But the Laie Community Association quietly negotiated a $20,000 "community benefits" for itself despite the fact that the tallest turbines in the USA were not even located in Laie. LCA threw its support for AES in exchange for that annual $20,000.00 community benefit package for the next 20 years. The BYUH Operations Vice President was a big part of that unethical stab-in-the- back action. His rationale to the angry public was the LCA needed money to fund their Laie Days Celebrations. So much for being honest and being a good neighbor. To add to that, this same Operations Vice President is a current Stake President who also uses subtle pressure on those who opposes the tearing down of the McKay Foyer.
We could share more negative supporting details about the many manipulations and unseemly actions relating to this McKay Mosaic process. But we think you get the drift that this is not how the McKay Mosaic depicting BYU-Hawaii's prophetic vision should be forever erased.
Please share your respectful but sincere comments with President Nelson NOW. Request for President Nelson to RECONSIDER and INVESTIGATE the process that has thus far been presented to them by ONLY the BYU-H administration. But, that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of manipulations and questionable actions attached to this project to tear down the McKay Foyer and McKay Mosaic.
Why tear this historical and beloved McKay Mosaic/foyer and replace it with a BYU-Provo Aspen Grove Conference Hall Design? Why destroy and chop up the McKay Mosaic into a few nonsensical parts in the guise of "preservation"?
Please do it now. If each one of you send something, that's nearly 500 concerned members who have misgivings about erasing the McKay Mosaic. This is not about refuting church doctrines. This is not contention. This is about whether three current powerful BYUH administrators with very opinionated political mindset should be allowed to cause such an irreparable damage to the McKay Mosaic and Foyer.
This is about whether we should forever erase the iconic and inspiring prophetic vision of the beginnings of this special institution we call BYU-Hawaii.
Once the McKay Mosaic is demolished, its sense of place, historical site, and inspiration can never be physically seen or touched by us and our posterity ever again.
Do your part. ""for such a time as this!"