MORMON PACIFIC historical SOCIETY proceedings SECOND ANNUAL CONFEconferenceRENCE mormonMRRMON HISTORY IN THE PACIFIC MAY 898 9 1981 BRIGHAM YOUNG universityhawaiiuniversity HAWAII CAMPUS laleLAIE HAWAII MORMONMORMDN PACIFIC historical SOCIETY proceedings SECSECOND ANNUAL conference Ftormonburmon HISTORY IN treTEtae PACIFIC 898 9 MAY 1981 tabieTABLETABI F OF bontemcontemCONTENTSS A PERSONAL NOTE S george ellsworth NEW WINE AND OLD BOTTLES THE 1 our 1981 conference on mormon history in the LDS conversion experience IN FRENCH pacific was the second to be held and like the first POLYNESIA was very satisfying to everyone involved equally significant it was the first to be held under the russell clement and shengluensheng luen tsai EAST WIND TO 11 banner of the mormon pacific historical society which HAWAII contributions OF CHINESE AND had been officially organized after our first conference JAPANESE MORMONS IN HAWAII august 121 2 1980 max stanton SAMOAN SAINTS SETTLERS AND sojourners 21 again we had a pleasantly mixed group of presen- tattationsions we heard about the church in tonga samoa william K illacewallacewailaceVh LDS homesteaders HOOLEHUA 33 and french polynesia in addition to hawaii we had 1923251923 25 laughs and we tears we learned some historical techniques we might use in connection with our own joseph spurrier EARLY missionaries TO HAWAII 41 families faakibaaki richter missionary WORK IN TONGA 49 our purpose was to learn and to enjoy from the comments heard it seems those purposes were met most edwin kamauoha MALAE 0 LE ALOFA THE VILLAGE OF 65 completely LOVE mahalo again to byuhawaiiBYU hawaii campus the polynesian leruth tyau MY GENEALOGY AND HISTORY experience 81 cultural center and the institute for polynesian studies for their much appreciated cooperation and a very lance chase LIFE IN EARLY LAIE 1850801850 80 91 special thanks to grace pratt for compiling these proceedings and to zenny lapielap ie for her help in typing S george ellsworth MY VOYAGE FROM ZION IN UTAH 103 TO ZION IN PARADISE OR WHAT TREASURES DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR ATTIC IN MEMORIUM srsiie barbara elkington A UNITY OF MANY ISLANDS THE 108 grace fort arrington one of our charter members and BUILDING MISSION PROGRAM IN HAWAII gracious wife of dr leonard arrington passed away 10 march 1982 As our charter members recall dr elizabeth lim A MORMON FAMILY IN HAWAII 109 arrington presented two papers at our first conference and has been a strong supporter of MPHS since its ishmael W stagner II11 HAWAIIAN HULA genealogies 113 inception our sympathy and aloha to him THE LAIE connection presenters S GEORGE ELLSWORTH prof history USU logan utah editor leruth TYAU educated at BYU provo san jose western HistohistoricathistoricalricaT quarterly author numerous historical state and utah state univum v author the tyau articles and utah state textbook utahs heritage other family genealogyandgenealogy and history works in progress organizer exhibit museum of tahiti the mormons in tahiti high council logan utah central stake LANCE CHASE phd marquette univ abstasst prof english chaichalchairmanhanman div of religious instruction rossellRUSSELLRUSSELLT T CLEMENT MLS BYU librarian BYUHCBYU HC author BYUHCBYU HC Morcormonsmormonsmons in the pacific A bibliography in august 1981 he transferred to BYU proveprovo ELIZABETH LIM daughter of alina fong she wrote the script and organized and directed the MAX STANTON ph D univ of oregon alsocassoc prof of program presented by fourfourgenerationsgenerations of the anthropology BYUHCBYU HC fong family WILLIAM K WALLACE cultural presentations manager PCC BARBARAJO ELKINGTON MA BYU ass prof of completing MA in pacific studies at UH english and journalism BYUHCBYU HC JOSEPH H SPURRIER edd utah state univ prof of history ISHMAEL MW STAGNER edd BYU alsocassoc prof & hawaiian studies BYUHCBYU1byu HC author great are the promises of education BYUHCBYU HC author art culture and unto the islands of the sea the gospel the hawaiian perspective FAAKI RICHTER student author historian author tongan medicines currently at work on two other books on tonga EDWIN KAMAUOHA cultural research PCC church educational system 19 arsyrs western samoa principal sauniatu chool 4 arsyrs the polynesians when the mormon missionaries arrived on the scene just twenty years after the beginnings of christianization third what did new wine and old bottles the mormon missionaries teach the natives and require of them by way of the latterlatterdayday saint conversion experience in french polynesia religious and social practices what did it mean to be a latterlatterdayday saint in french polynesia during 1840s and 1850s fourth what successes 184318521843 1852 the accompanied the efforts of the missionaries the narrative history of that mission the struggle between the mormon by missionaries and the english missionaries and the political relations of mormons french protectorate government have been S george the to the treated ellsworth 1 elsewhere and will not be repeated here as they may be known generally professor of history utah state university suffice it to say that the mormon missionaries landed in the society islands at a most propitious time for the french had just taken the islands and 1843 and 1852 language and between the churchs first foreignlanguageforeign foreign declared religious freedom and the power and influence of the english culture mission was established in the society islands todays french missionaries were on the decline polynesia the task of the missionaries was manifold they must learn the missionaries a foreign language not related to english become acquainted with tahitian folkfolkwaysways and decide which harmonized with mormonismmormon ism and which four missionaries set out from nauvoo illinois june 1 1843 on did not from their knowledge of mormonismMonnon ism and experience in the church this mission called by their prophet joseph smith set apart and instructed as of 18431943 they must select and phrase the message in terms understandable by brigham young president of the quorum of twelve apostles noah rogers to the native mind and condition named president addison pratt benjamin F grouard and knowlton F hanks when the first mormon missionaries landed in the islands in 1844 made their way to the east coast and from new bedford took the timoleon the native peoples were only a generation more or less away from the destined for the society islands elder hanksflanks died and was buried at days of their worship oftheirof their ancient gods an institutional religion sea after seven months at sea the timoleon made its first landfall in complete rithwith its own comsmogony priestpriesthoodshoods ceremonials taboos sacred the pacific the island of tubulitubuai about 300 miles south of tahiti the persons and sacred places while thefirstthe first christian missionaries native invitation was too strong to resist and addison pratt responded representatives of the london missionary society had arrived in the and took up residence there the first of may 1844 at papettepapeetePapeete tahiti society islands in 1797 effective christianization had not begun until elders noah rogers and benjamin F grouard began their labors under 1819 when the leading chief of tahiti was baptized after he abandoned adverse conditions the upheaval of society associated with the war between his family idols think what was required of a native with his institutional the french and natives still in process the bitter resentment of the religion with its emphasis on customs and ceremonials hallowed by english missionaries at losing their place in society due to the french tradition to move to a conversion religion with its emphasis upon moral occupation and now the intrusion of the Morcormonsmormonsmons reformation with a concept of sin repentance and redemption through after eleven months of discouragement and little success noah the sacrifice of the son of god rogers took ship and returned to the church at nauvoo elder grouard our consideration of the process of conversion will center on four left tahiti for the tuamotu archipelago beginning at the coral reefed questions first who were the missionaries and what was their equipment island of anaa it is with addison pratt and benjamin F grouard that and proselyting practice second what was the religious condition of we are most concerned for they were the two missionaries who established the church in french polynesia priesthood leadership the missionaries organized the congregation into the missionaries were strangely prepared for this mission pratt a branch during grouards first eight months in the tuamotusTuamotus he organized and grouard had been seamen in the american whale fishery industry sailing eight branches with a combined membership of nearly eight hundred the seas pratt had spent six months on oahubahuhawaii in 1822 noah following somewhat the pattern set by the english missionaries the rogers had been in the church six years addison pratt five and benjamin mormons held each sunday three preaching services one each in the morning F grouard two each had performed short missions in the states each afternoon and evening baptismalsBapti smals were usually on sunday an hour or two had experienced conversion and was well read in time in the scriptures before meeting at meetings there was hymn singing prayers confirmations and of course knew the basic tenets of mormonismMonnon ism ordinations and preaching the first sunday of each month the sacrament they had no mormon literature in the tahitian language and depended