Pacific Islanders and Mormonism explained

Pacific Islanders have a particular place in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its first non-English-speaking mission was in the region in 1844, less than twenty years after the church's founding, and there are currently six temples among the Pacific Island regions of Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia. In 2015 the Latter-day Saint population in the area was increasing in percentage and absolute numbers.

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. 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, and currently owns and runs Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) and the nearby Polynesian Cultural Center. The Book of Mormon has been translated into numerous local languages of the region since 1855.

History

The Pacific islands were one of the first areas to be evangelized by LDS Church missionaries after Europe and North America, notably Hawaii, which was annexed by the United States in 1898. The LDS Church began sending missionaries to the region in 1844, and 75 years later the Laie Hawaii Temple became the first LDS temple outside the continental United States in 1919.[1] In 1955, the church partially lifted some of its temple and priesthood racial restrictions and began allowing Melanesian women and men access to all temple ceremonies (called ordinances), and Melanesian men and boys to be ordained to the priesthood.[2] [3] The church allowed Pacific Islanders to hold the priesthood, and president of the church David O. McKay stated that native Fijians and Australian Aboriginals could also be ordained to the priesthood.[3] Later that year the Church College of Hawaii was established, which would later become BYU–Hawaii.[4]

Hagoth

See main article: Hagoth.

See also: Mormon folklore. In addition to the LDS Church's stories about people sailing to the New World, there is also the story of Hagoth, a Nephite ship builder who according to The Book of Mormon lived in or around 55 BCE, and whom some church publications have stated sailed from the Americas to Polynesia. Leaders of the LDS Church 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, and this accounts for their darker skin. Many members of the LDS Church in Polynesia have come to believe that Hagoth is their ancestor.[5] [6] Modern genetic testing has not established any connection between Pacific Islanders and purported peoples of The Book of Mormon.[7]

Folklore

See main article: Mormon folklore.

Some of the folklore that exists in the relationship of the LDS Church and Pacific Islanders include:

Temples

See main article: List of temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Oceania region has a number of church temples due to the numbers of members in many countries there. There are also temples in the Philippines and Australia.[9]

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Book of Mormon translations

See main article: List of Book of Mormon translations.

Portrayals in media

Notable Pacific Islander Latter-day Saints

LDS Church members from indigenous groups:

Political Figures

Artists

Athletes

See also

Notes and References

  1. Webb . T. D. . Profit and Prophecy: The Polynesian Cultural Center and La'ie's Recurrent Colonialism . The Hawaiian Journal of History . 27 . . Honolulu, Hawaii . 1993 . 0440-5145 .
  2. Book: Mauss, Armand L. . All Abraham's Children: Changing Mormon Conceptions of Race and Lineage . 218 . . 2003 . 0-252-02803-1.
  3. Book: Prince. Gregory A.. Wright. William Robert. David O. McKay and the rise of modern Mormonism. 2005. University of Utah Press. Salt Lake City, Utah. 0-87480-822-7. Google Books.
  4. Book: Pratte . Alf . Shumway . Eric B. . BYU-Hawaii: Prophetic Destiny, the First 60 Years . 2015 . Brigham Young University-Hawaii . Laie, Hawaii . 9780842529679 . 137–138.
  5. A Worldwide Look at the Book of Mormon . . December 2000. LDS Church.
  6. Kathleen C. . Perrin . Tahitian Pearls . . June 1994. LDS Church.
  7. Simon . Hemopereki Hōani . Mormonism and The White Possessive: Moving Critical Indigenous Studies Theory into The Religious Realm . Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory . 21 . 3 . 360 . Fall 2022.
  8. Book: Grant Underwood. Underwood. Grand. 2000 . Voyages of Faith: Explorations in Mormon Pacific History. Provo, Utah. Brigham Young University Press. 0-8425-2480-0.
  9. News: Deseret News. 24 November 2023. A complete list of Latter-day Saint temples in operation or under renovation.
  10. Kai A. . Anderson . In His Own Language . Liahona. . June 1997 . 29.
  11. Encyclopedia: https://eom.byu.edu/index.php?title=Oceania,_the_Church_in . Oceania, the Church in . Britsch. R. Lanier . Ludlow . Daniel H. . Daniel H. Ludlow . Encyclopedia of Mormonism . New York . . 2005 . 0-02-879602-0 . Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Brigham Young University.

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