Brogan Houston covers the Utah Mammoth and trending news for the Deseret News.
During her four-day visit to Indonesia this month, President Camille N. Johnson, Relief Society general president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visited with political leaders and local Latter-day Saints -- discussing topics ranging from faith to well-being.
From May 23 to May 27, President Johnson and her husband Doug Johnson visited Dr. H. Nasaruddin Umar, Minister for Religious Affairs and the Grand Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta; Anggia Ermarini of Indonesia's House of Representatives; and Adhy Karyono, provincial secretary of East Java.
During her meeting with Rep. Ermarini, President Johnson spoke about the church's program to promote the health of women and children in various countries, including Indonesia.
The program, which was announced in June 2024, works with eight international nonprofit organizations to fight malnutrition and other health issues that particularly affect children in developing countries. The church donated $55.8 million towards the program, with the goal of helping 12 million kids and 2.7 million expectant mothers.
"It includes maternal and newborn care, education, and immunizations," President Johnson said. "And then we're working really heavily on nutrition -- that's an important focus for us here in Indonesia, to make sure that those children, especially those under the age of 5, receive appropriate nutrition so that they have healthy brain development."
"In my faith, mother is the first educator in a family," Rep. Ermarini said. "So it is important that we work with women for these children."
In a meeting with Secretary Karyono, President Johnson shared the church's guidelines on the Gospel Library app that talk about things such as malnutrition, which are already translated into Indonesian. She showed him how to access them and invited him to share them.
President and Brother Johnson met Dr. Umar in his home to discuss matters of faith.
"I told him a little bit about what motivates us -- love of God, love of neighbor -- and he shared that same sentiment, that love is what motivates his Muslim community as well," President Johnson said.
"We have to maintain our pluralism because with pluralism we can begin to operate our humanity," Dr. Umar said. "For me, humanity is only one. Yes, you are from United States. I am from Indonesia. You are a woman, I am a man. But for me, the same, the same."
President Johnson participated in a women's conference in Jakarta, where the women gathered and delivered food and hygiene materials to a local distribution center for fire and flood victims.
"They were so very grateful," she said. "One elderly woman who sat in a wheelchair just kept saying over and over to me with tears in her eyes, 'God bless you, God bless you.'"
The conference also included breakout sessions, which covered practical life skills such as nutrition, self-defense and mental wellness.
In the afternoon, President Johnson spoke at the conference, where, among other things, she encouraged the women to attend the temple. The Jakarta Indonesia Temple, which was announced at the April 2023 general conference, is currently in the planning stages.