Pacific Islanders have a particular place in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The first non-English-speaking mission was in the region in the 1844,[1]: 85 [2]: 55 less than twenty years after its founding,[1]: 84 and there are currently six temples among the Pacific Island regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia.[1]: 83 The Latter-day Saint population is increasing in percentage and absolute numbers.[1]: 83
Since the 1850s Mormon leaders have identified Polynesian islands with the "islands of the sea" marked in their scriptures for missionary activity, and taught that the people there were descendants of Israelite people from the faith's canonized Book of Mormon.[a] There are numerous notable adherents of the church, and LDS missionary efforts in the region were highlighted in the film The Other Side of Heaven. The church began operating schools in the Pacific Islands in 1850,[2]: 59 and currently owns and runs Brigham Young University–Hawaii and the nearby Polynesian Cultural Center.[2]: 61 The Book of Mormon has been translated into numerous local languages of the region since 1855.[2]: 56
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Transcription
History
The Pacific islands were one of the first areas to be evangelized after Europe and North America, notably Hawaii, which fell under American influence and was annexed by the United States in 1898.
On November 27, 1919, the Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple outside the continental United States and also the first in Polynesia.
In 1955, the church began ordaining Melanesians to the priesthood, and on September 26, the Brigham Young University–Hawaii was established.
The church allowed Pacific Islanders to hold the priesthood, and church president David O. McKay clarified that native Fijians and Australian Aboriginals could also be ordained to the priesthood.
Hagoth
In addition to the LDS Church's stories about people sailing to the New World, there is also the story of Hagoth, who it is said to have sailed from the Americas to Polynesia. But while the stories of Lehi and Jared are generally accepted, that of Hagoth is more ambiguous and not universally supported by practising church members, and not at all by non-members of the church. Differentiating between scriptural and apocryphal accounts of Hagoth and his ships, one Latter-day Saint writer makes the following observations:
The Book of Mormon does not equate the "west sea" with the Pacific Ocean. The Book of Mormon does not tell us that Hagoth was on board any of the ships that were lost. Scripture does not say that he captained a vessel or that he was an explorer or an adventurer, or that he led people. For all we can tell, the skilled Hagoth's main objective was to profit from the shipping industry. It is possible for peoples in various places to be related to Hagoth's people (the Nephites) without Hagoth personally making an ocean voyage. Coastal and Island hopping colonies, once associated with Nephite shipping, could have built more vessels and traveled very far. It is also important to realize that the peoples of the Pacific islands may have come from more than one direction.
Non-scriptural sources suggest that Hagoth led an expedition, sailing into the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Leaders of the LDS Church[5] and LDS scholars have stated that the peoples of the Pacific Islands, including Hawaii, Polynesia, and New Zealand, are descendants of the Nephite Hagoth and his supposed followers. According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were descendants of Israel. Many members of the LDS Church in Polynesia have come to believe that Hagoth is their ancestor.[6][7]
Folklore
Some of the folklore that exists in the relationship of the LDS Church and Pacific Islanders include:
- that Tāwhiao accurately predicted the site of the 1958 Hamilton New Zealand Temple before his death in 1894;[8]: 125
- that Māori prophets or chieftains, including Paora Te Potangaroa and Tāwhiao, predicted the coming of Latter-day Saint missionaries to New Zealand;[9][10][8]: 107–126 [5]
- that on December 7, 1941, Japanese aircraft pilots attempted to bomb or strafe the church's Laie Hawaii Temple just prior to or just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, but were prevented from doing so by mechanical failures or an unseen protective force,[8]: 166 and that the Japanese pilot who attempted to bomb or strafe the Laie Hawaii Temple was converted to the LDS Church after he saw a picture of the temple in the possession of Latter-day Saint missionaries in Japan;[8]: 168
Temples
Although there is a sparse population, and great distances to travel, the Oceania region has a number of church temples due to the significant numbers of members in many countries.
There are also temples in the Philippines and Australia.
| Map | Country | Image | Temple | Location | Status / Dedication date | Floor area | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia
|
||||||||||||
| Fiji | 
|
Suva Fiji Temple | edit | Suva, Fiji | June 18, 2000 | 12,755 sq ft 1,185.0 m2 | ||||||
| French Polynesia | 
|
Papeete Tahiti Temple | edit | Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia | October 27, 1983 | 12,150 sq ft 1,129 m2 | ||||||
| Hawaii | 
|
Kona Hawaii Temple | edit | Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, U.S. | Closed for renovation | 10,700 sq ft 990 m2 | ||||||
|
Laie Hawaii Temple | edit | Laie, Hawaii, United States | November 27, 1919 | 42,100 sq ft 3,910 m2 | |||||||
| New Zealand | 
|
Hamilton New Zealand Temple | edit | Hamilton, New Zealand | April 20, 1958 | 45,251 sq ft 4,204.0 m2 | ||||||
| Samoa | Apia Samoa Temple | edit | Apia, Samoa | August 5, 1983 | 18,691 sq ft 1,736.5 m2 | |||||||
| Apia Samoa Temple (original) | edit | Apia, Samoa | Destroyed | 14,560 sq ft 1,353 m2 | ||||||||
| Tonga | 
|
Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple | edit | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga | August 9, 1983 | 21,184 sq ft 1,968.1 m2 | ||||||
Demographics
 |
 |
Book of Mormon translations
- 1855, Hawaiian language translation of the Book of Mormon, which was the first translation of the Book of Mormon to be published in a non-European language.
- 1889: Māori edition.
- 1903: Samoan edition.
- 1904: Tahitian edition.
- 1946: Tongan edition.
- 1965: Rarotongan edition.
- 1980: Fijian edition.
- 1981: Niuean edition (selections)
- 1987: Pohnpeian, Micronesian languages (selections).
- 1988: Palauan edition.
- 1989: Chamorro edition.
- 2001: Gilbertese (Kiribati) edition.
- 2002: Tok Pisin edition.
- 2003: Marshallese edition.
- 2004: Bislama edition.
- 2004: Yapese edition.
- 2015: Kosraean edition, Micronesian languages.
- 2015: Chuukese/Trukese edition, Micronesian languages.
Portrayals in media
- Johnny Lingo
- The Other Side of Heaven
- The Legend of Johnny Lingo, a remake of the 1968 film.
Notable Pacific Islander Latter-day Saints
LDS Church members from indigenous groups:
Political Figures
- Princess 'Elisiva Fusipala Vaha'i of Tonga
- William Sio, New Zealand MP
- Elizabeth Kikkert, ACT MLA
Artists
- Naomi Kahoilua Wilson
- The Jets, Tongan American pop and R&B family band
- Dinah Jane, member of pop group 5th Harmony
Athletes
- Sid Going, All Blacks captain, and player for NZ Maori.
- Ken Going, All Blacks player, member of the NZ national side on the 1974 tour of Ireland.
- Jonah Lomu, joined the Church in 2012, 3 years before his passing
- Valerie Adams, Tongan, New Zealand Shot Putter world champion, Olympic and Commonwealth Gold Medalist
- Willie Brown
- Tony Finau, PGA Tour professional golfer
- Pearl Going, NZ mountaineer.
- William Hopoate, Prominent NRL Bulldogs player.
- John Hopoate
- Todd Miller
- Ken Niumatalolo, Coach of the Navy Midshipmen football team
- Brendon Pongia, New Zealand basketball player
- Jordan Rapana, NRL Canberra Raiders, NZ and Cook Island national teams
- Sam Perrett, NRL Sydney Roosters and Bulldogs
- Lloyd Perrett, NRL Bulldogs and Manly Sea Eagles
- Leilani Rorani, Former NZ squash player
- Vai Sikahema, Tongan, NFL player
- Kalani Sitake, Coach of the Brigham Young University Cougars football team
- Nooa Takooa, sprinter.
- Saimoni Tamani, Fiji Olympian and Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, South Pacific Games gold medalist
- Manti Te'o, Samoan NFL player from Hawaii
See also
- List of Mormon missionary diarists (Pacific)
- LDS membership statistics
- Native American people and Mormonism
- Black people and Mormonism
Notes
References
- ^ a b c d e Morris, Paul (May 1, 2015). "Polynesians and Mormonism". Nova Religio. 18 (4). University of California Press. doi:10.1525/nr.2015.18.4.83. ISSN 1092-6690.
- ^ a b c d Britsch, R. Lanier (April 1, 1980). "The Expansion of Mormonism in the South Pacific" (PDF). Dialogue. 13 (1). University of Illinois Press. doi:10.2307/45224817. ISSN 0012-2157.
- ^ Neilson, Reid L. (2008). "Joseph Smith's Legacy in Latin America and the Pacific" (PDF). Global Mormonism in the 21st Century. Brigham Young University. ISBN 978-0-8425-2696-8 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Clement, Russell T. (December 1980). "Polynesian Origins: More Word on the Mormon Perspective" (PDF). Dialogue. 13 (4). University of Illinois Press. doi:10.2307/45224944. ISSN 0012-2157.
- ^ a b Britsch, R. Lanier (June 1981). "Maori Traditions and the Mormon Church". New Era.
- ^ "A Worldwide Look at the Book of Mormon". Liahona. December 2000.
- ^ Perrin, Kathleen C. (June 1994). "Tahitian Pearls". Liahona. LDS Church.
- ^ a b c d Underwood, Grand, ed. (2000). Voyages of Faith: Explorations in Mormon Pacific History. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. ISBN 0-8425-2480-0.
- ^ Cowley, Matthew (September 1950). "Maori Chief Predicts Coming of L.D.S. Missionaries". Improvement Era. Vol. 53, no. 9. pp. 696–698, 754–756 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Cowley, Matthew (1954). Rudd, Glen L. (ed.). Matthew Cowley Speaks: Discourses of Elder Matthew Cowley of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book). pp. 200–205.
This page was last edited on 25 March 2024, at 04:51