Annotated Contents
Foreword,
Kenneth W. Baldridge
Baldridge, a co-founder of the Mormon Pacific History Society,
briefly traces the history of MPHS and dedicates Voyages to fellow co-founder,
Dr. Lance Chase. Baldridge's detailed recollections of MPHS' early history can
be found in The Mormon Pacific History Society: A Personal Journey Proceedings
originally published in the 1995 Proceedings.
Acknowledgments
Underwood recognizes key people responsible for helping product
Voyages.
Introduction
Underwood briefly traces the growth of The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in the Pacific, starting in 1843; the founding of
MPHS in 1980, and the variety of its Proceedings, a prime selection of
which comprise the edited contents of Voyages.
On
Writing Latter-day Saint History,
Leonard J. Arrington
Arrington, former Church Historian and "dean of Mormon
history, explains the reasons why it's important to study LDS history and
how the Historical Department of the Church (organized in 1972) has encouraged
the study of ethnic and local history. Arrington advises LDS historians to
1) "give due importance
to the work of sisters"; 2) "give due emphasis to the Church's intellectual,
social, and cultural accomplishments"; 3) "acknowledge that not
every program and organization proceeded smoothly"; 4) "give due
attention to the so-called 'ordinary' members of the Church"; 5) "recognize
the complexity of people"; 6) "tell a straightforward story"
without pendantics; and 7) "convey the lovable spirit of Pacific peoples."
Nineteenth-Century Voyages
New
Wine and Old Bottles: Latter-day Saint Missionary Work in French Polynesia,
1844-1852,
S. George Ellsworth
Ellsworth, a Mormon historian who helped found the Western History
Association, also wrote extensively of the Church's first non-English speaking,
non-Caucasian mission in French Polynesia. He traces the arrival and struggles
of the first LDS missionaries among islanders who ranged from first-generation
Christians to "ferocious cannibals." For example, the early missionaries
described the challenges of teaching the Word of Wisdom and the gathering principle.
By the time the French government effectively closed the mission, Ellsworth
declares the LDS missionaries had laid a "firm foundation" for future
growth throughout Polynesia.
The
First Mormon Missionary Women in the Pacific, 1850-1852,
Maria S. Ellsworth
Sister Ellsworth details the experiences of the Pratt, Crosby
and other family wives and daughters who accompanied their husbands and fathers
to French Polynesia. Quoting from journals, Ellsworth describes how the sisters
experienced occasional feasts and ceremonies but otherwise spent their time
teaching, writing and sewing — often while the men of their families were
away. In such circumstances, Louisa Pratt, for example, "was often called
on to bless the sick." After the French government stopped prohibiting
"'heathen dances and allowed the sale of liquor to the locals," the
missionaries and families soon decided to return home. Before leaving, the sisters
and some of the brethren made a quilt as a parting gift for the queen. A tradition
of giving quilts as parting gifts still exists on the island of Tubuai where
a number of the sisters lived.
'Wars
and Rumors of Wars': The Perceived Threat of the 'Mormon Invasion' of Hawaii,
Jeffrey S. Stover
Stover, as part of his undergraduate work at BYU Hawaii as well
as graduate work at the University of Hawaii, "undertook a long-term project
to canvass the Hawaii State Archives" for Mormon-related materials. In
this 1996 paper, he reconstructs the attitudes of the Hawaiian monarchy toward
the proposed LDS colony in Laie. For example, while Brigham Young's March 1865
letter to King Kamehameha asking to establish the Laie plantation is relatively
well known, it is less understood that the king and his Privy Council feared
the Mormons might attempt to take over the islands in a political sense: They
felt that the Saints "placed obedience to their prophet above obedience
to the state."
The
Hawaiian Mission Crisis of 1874: The 'Awa Rebellion Story,
Lance D. Chase
Chase's paper [also contained in his own book], delivered during
MPHS' original 1980 conference, relates how the insensitivity of Mission Frederick
A.H.F. Mitchell in 1874 led a group of Hawaiian Saints to move to Kahana. In
January 1874 Mitchell ordered the Hawaiian Saints to destroy their cash crops
of 'awa which he deemed against the Word of Wisdom. "Many of the members
at Laie had been growing 'awa with the approval of Mission President George
Nebeker," Mitchell's predecessor. Though Mitchell agreed to pay for some
of the 'awa, the payments fell far below its market value. After Mitchell tried
to disfellowship the dissenters, the "rebels" purchased land in Kahana
and moved there. They also wrote to Brigham Young, and President Mitchell was
soon released, although he continued his association with Hawaiian Saints in
Utah.
Iosepa:
A Utah Home for Polynesians,
Dennis H. Atkin
This chapter combines 1985 and 1998 presentations Atkin made
on Iosepa, "one of the most interesting colonies in the settling of the
western part of the United States." About 1884 the Hawaiian government
revoked its law prohibiting citizens from emigrating, and by 1889 about 75 Hawaiian
Saints had moved to Utah. In June of that year three returned missionaries and
three Hawaiian men began searching for a "permanent location" where
the Hawaiians could "obtain year-round employment and control more of their
own social environment: a 1,920-acre site in Skull Valley, Tooele County, "was
by far the most desirable." Within two months about 50 islanders had moved
there. As the colony grew, some eventually returned to Salt Lake City, some
even to Hawaii; but, overall, most were happy there. The mostly Polynesian residents
gradually improved their living conditions. Within two years of President Joseph
F. Smith announcing the construction of the Hawaiian Temple in 1915, most of
the residents had returned to the islands.
East
Wind to Hawaii: History and Contributions of Chinese and Japanese Latter-day
Saints in Hawaii,
Russell T. Clement and Sheng-Luen Tsai
These BYU Hawaii librarians presented "the first comprehensive
overview of the Church's outreach to Hawaii's Asian population" at the
1981 MPHS conference. Significant numbers of Chinese immigrants, imported as
laborers, began arriving in 1852, with the first Japanese coming in 1868. "Because
the vast majority of laborers was male, intermarriage with Hawaiians was commonplace."
October 1871 Mission conference notes refer to the first Chinese convert, and
by the end of the 1900s, portions of the Laie plantation had been subleased
to Chinese. In 1892, Toko became the first Japanese to join the Church, although
that designation is also sometimes given to Dr. Tomizo Katsunuma, who joined
the Church in Utah before coming to Hawaii in 1898. As early as 1923, "the
idea of using Hawaii, with its large Asian population, as a logical training
ground for Chinese and Japanese missionaries was expressed." In 1936 the
Church established the Japanese Mission in Hawaii, with the named changed to
the Central Pacific Mission shortly after. The establishment of BYU Hawaii in
1955 greatly spurred Hawaii's important in training potential leaders from the
Far East.
Mormonism
and the Shaping of Maori Religious Identity,
Grant Underwood
Underwood, a BYU religion historian who taught at BYUH in the
1990s, relates how thousands of New Zealand Maori converted to the LDS Church
soon after sustained missionary efforts began there in the 1880s. This number
grew to about 10% of all Maori by the turn of the century — partially as
a backlash against British Christian missionaries who often supported efforts
to transfer tribal lands to their compatriots, and partially due to the Church
belief that the Maori are a literal remnant of Israel. Underwood also relates
how several Maori matakite or seers foresaw the arrival of the missionaries,
and many Maori found the Book of Mormon and spiritual gifts particularly
appealing.
Nineteenth-Century Voyages
Voyages cites David O. McKay as the "first great voyaging LDS Church leader of the twentieth century, traveling around the world as an Apostle in 1921.
Temples
in the Pacific: A Reflection of Twentieth-Century Mormon History,
Richard O. Cowan
BYU Mormonism historian Cowan, in this 1990 MPHS presentation,
provides a broad overview of the history of temple-building in the Pacific;
and situates that activity in the context of broader Church history trends.
He also demonstrates that the current emphasis on building smaller temples is
part of a twentieth century trend, and provides several faith-building anecdotes
that have attended building the Pacific temples.
A
Jewel in the Gardens of Paradise: The Art and Architecture of the Hawaii Temple,
Paul L. Anderson
Anderson, an authority on Church architecture, describes how
the First Presidency in 1915 chose to use a "daringly modern" design
for the Hawaii Temple, which was the focus of MPHS' 1988 conference in Laie.
For example, the architects borrowed from the influence of Frank Lloyd Wright
and pre-Columbian ruins. He also shows how young Harold Burton and Hyrum Pope
new design was better suited to temple work, and tells how various artists left
their creative imprints on the superb edifice.
The
Purported December 7, 1941, Attack on the Hawaii Temple,
Kenneth W. Baldridge and Lance D. Chase
This paper combines presentations made by MPHS co-founders Baldridge
and Chase during three different conferences on whether a Japanese pilot attempted
three times — and failed — to bomb the Hawaii Temple during the overall
attack on Pearl Harbor and other Oahu military installations on December 7,
1941. They describe how single Hawaii eyewitness didn't start telling his story
until the 1960s, and that several variations of the widespread story now exist.
They also bring in the account of missionaries tracting out the veteran pilot
years later in Japan, who reportedly joined the Church and corroborated the
account, and how that aspect of the story has also evolved over the years. Baldridge
concludes the story is a Mormon legend he was unable to verify. Chase "remains
uncertain."
Search
for a Site: Selection of the Church College of Hawaii Campus,
Kenneth W. Baldridge
In his 1983 presentation, Baldridge offer a behind-the-scenes
glimpse of the deliberations over the site of the Church College of Hawaii (now
BYU Hawaii). Although President McKay always favored the Laie location, local
Church leaders first lobbied for placing the campus in Kaneohe or Honolulu,
citing lower construction costs and higher population densities. President McKay
insisted the college start in Laie in 1955, and the site committee chose the
area around the Laie chapel as the temporary campus, with the present location
for the permanent physical plant.
The
Polynesian Cultural Center: Reflections and Recollections,
Vernice Wineera and Rubina Rivers Forester
Former PCC executive Wineera's reflections were submitted directly
to Voyages and were not presented at an MPHS conference, compared with
Forester's 1986 presentation on the first 20 years of PCC institutional history.
Wineera describes how the Center has helped create a cultural identity and spiritual
unity among the student workers which, together with BYU Hawaii, could "function
as a catalyst for the internationalization of the Church." Forester traces
the development and implementation of the PCC concept, and details the succession
of general managers and their achievements over the first 20 years.
The
Gospel and the Hawaiian Performing Arts,
Ishmael W. Stagner, Victoria Kekuaokalani, Midge Lanihuliokauaha'ao Oler
In his 1980 MPHS presentation, Stagner highlights renowned LDS
Hawaiian musicians and cultural artists, including Dr. Mary Kawena Pukui, Alvin
Kaleolani Isaacs, Aunty Alice Namakelua, Alfred Apaka Sr., Edith Kanakaole,
and Bill Lincoln. He also traces the hula genealogy of LDS hula master Sally
M. Wood Naluai, who instructed the Hawaiian dancers at PCC for the first 14
years. Kekuaokalani recorded Naluai's oral history. In her 1987 presentation,
Oler focuses on the cultural contributions of hula master Sam Pua Ha'aheo; and
in her 1991 paper highlights LDS Hawaiian musicians and artists such as Iolani
Luahine, Edith Kanakaole and a long list of others who have touched the minds
and hearts of their audiences, and shared their aloha.
The
Singing Mama Ruau of Tahiti,
Marvelee Soon Tahauri
In her 1983 MPHS presentation, Tahauri discusses the LDS origins
of the Mama Ruau ('grandmothers') in Tahiti in the 1950s. Overcoming initial
resistance from non-LDS groups, within a decade the appeal of group spawned
other similar groups throughout French Polynesia. The article also traces the
importance of other LDS musical groups, bands and performances.
Founding
the LDS Church in Melanesia and Micronesia,
R. Lanier Britsch
LDS historian Britsch, in his 1984 MPHS presentation, pieces
together information on the growth of the Church in Melanesia and Micronesia
in the past half-century. For example, the first 110 years of the Church in
the Pacific, missionary efforts focused on Polynesia and Australia. Britsch
describes the growth of the Church in Fiji, starting in the 1950s. By the early
1970s, for example, the Fiji Mission included six different countries, each
with its own laws and languages, including New Caledonia, the New Hebrides (now
Vanuatu), the Gilbert Islands (now Tuvalu), the Solomons and Kiribati. He also
discusses the Guam Micronesia mission and early proselyting efforts in Papua
New Guinea.
Personal Voyages
Kaleohano:
Hawaiian Ali'i, Early LDS Convert,
Joseph H. Spurrier
Spurrier, who taught Hawaiian history at BYU Hawaii for many
years, shares the story of one of the first Hawaiians to be baptized by George
Q. Cannon. Kaleohano, who was of chiefly descent, became Cannon's missionary
companion soon after baptism and went on to serve in many other capacities.
He and his family were among the early Saints who gathered to Laie and worked
at the sugar mill. He and his family hosted King Kalakaua during his visits
to the community, and later gave a blessing to King Kamehameha V. He is also
credited for helping preserve traditional Hawaiian performing arts in Laie.
Opapo:
The Power of His Faith,
Carl Fonoimoana
Fonoimoana, a PCC executive during MPHS' first conference, presented
this paper in 1980 [which was later edited into a July 1981 Ensign article]
on his grandfather — one of the early members of the Church in Samoa who
saw the missionaries in a dream before they came to his village. He and his
wife, To'ai, joined the Church in 1890, two years after the mission officially
opened. In 1904 he helped found the community of Sauniatu ["preparing to
go forward"] and is credited with saving the new chapel there from destruction
by the power of the Priesthood. He frequently assisted and served as a missionary.
In 1928 the faithful couple moved to Laie to perform Temple work for Samoans.
Tevita
Muli Kinikini: Portrait of a Tongan Pioneer,
Eric B. Shumway
Shumway, who served a mission in Tonga in the late 1950s and
is now president of BYU Hawaii, tells the story of "one of the powerful
forces in the growth of the Church and in missionary work throughout Tonga."
Kinikini, who had no formal education, was the nephew of an important Protestant
minister who was baptized several years after marrying an LDS woman, Le'o Tukui.
During World War II, when foreign missionaries had been withdrawn, Kinikini
and his wife were called to preside on the island of Vava'u, where he was inspired
to raise a 105-year-old woman from the dead. This and other miracles he performed
led many people to join the Church. In an unusual arrangement, Kinikini and
Shumway served as missionary companions on the islands of Tongatapu and 'Eua.
Once again, Kinikini proved to be a "remarkable teacher, a man of miracles
and "magnificent faith." In 1974, Kinikini and his family moved to
Salt Lake City, where he and Le'o served as Temple workers.
My
Missionary Assignment to Kona in 1921,
Edward LaVaun Clissold
Clissold, who held many Church leadership positions in Hawaii
and Japan, tells of roughing it in Kona, where he and his companion lived without
electricity and other conveniences and, as the only pair of missionaries in
the 130-mile Kona district, had to walk long distances in their work. Given
such circumstances, they visited the branches infrequently, held numerous cottage
meetings, and of necessity, often shared the hospitality of members in their
homes. "In Kona I learned the meaning of love and felt the great joy of
full service in the work of the Lord," Clissold writes.
Mo'olelo
Kahiko o Moloka'i, or Stories from Moloka'i's Past,
William Kauaiwi'ulaokalani Wallace III, Martha Kalama, William Kaleimomi o Ho'olehua
Wallace Jr., Betty Jean (BJ) Kamaile o Ka'ala Lee
Wallace, now director of the BYUH Hawaiian Studies program, tells
of how most of the first Hawaiian homesteaders on Moloka'i were LDS who "dramatically
changed the spiritual character of the island." Kalama tells of living
on Moloka'i for over 30 years and joining the Church there. She describes the
hard living conditions and "literally living off the land" in the
early years. She also recalls how the members of the Ho'olehua Branch would
fast each daytime for a week to help raise funds for a new cultural hall. Next,
the Wallaces tell how in 1927 the faithful Elders brought the rain to help the
initial homesteaders with their crops, and performed other miracles "for
the benefit of all the people on Moloka'i." The also tell of the development
of the Ho'olehua Branch. BJ Lee tells how her mother faithfully served for over
25 years in Relief Society callings, often providing compassionate service,
taking in children, and sharing her skills as a natural masseuse.
Faith,
Hope, and Hansen's Disease: The Saints at Kalaupapa,
Lance D. Chase, Kuulei Bell
At the 1992 MPHS conference on Moloka'i, Chase provided a historical
overview of the Hansen's disease [leprosy] colony at Kalaupapa, where the Kingdom
of Hawaii sent the first patients in 1866. By the 1890s, that number had grown
to almost 1,000, including many LDS. By the late 1940s, however, the LDS population
had dwindled to 37, when a few years later Elder Jack Sing began his 32 years
of service as branch president. Sister Bell tells how Sing, who was born in
China, was sent to Kalaupapa in 1919 and eventually joined the Church. During
his tenure he hosted many official Church visitors, and in 1978, received the
BYU Hawaii Distinguished Service Award. He passed away at the age of 91 in 1984.
Hawaii's
Kamaaina 'Talk Story',
Albert N. Like, Albert Henry Ah Nee, Glenn Lung
Like, a cultural expert, explains how certain aspects of ancient
Hawaiian heritage continue in modern practice, including the significance of
extended families and communicating with immortals — which help strengthen
the Hawaiian sense of identity, loyalty, sharing and responsibility. Like
also shares memories of the original Kalihi Chapel. Ah Nee tells of growing
up in Waialua, Oahu, where his father joined the Church. Lung, a former Regional
Representative who worked in the Hawaii-Pacific Islands Area headquarters when
it was in Honolulu, explains how that office oversaw the temporal affairs of
over 200 meeting houses in 17 different countries. The Church constructed a
new office building next to the Honolulu Tabernacle in 1981, which also became
the mission headquarters. The office closed, however, in 1986, when Hawaii and
other Pacific Islands were reorganized into the Church's worldwide system of
Area Presidencies. Lung also traces the growth of the Church in Kaneohe from
1935.
A
Pioneer from the Pacific, Chieko N. Okazaki
The MPHS hosted a dinner as part of the 1997 Pioneers in the
Pacific Sesquicentennial Celebration, with Hawaii-born Okazaki — the first
non-Caucasian to serve at the general board level of the Church — as the
keynote speaker. She tells of growing up on Maui, moving to Salt Lake City in
the early 1950s, and serving on various Church boards, culminating with her
service in the Relief Society General Presidency from 1990-97. In one of many
assignments, she tells of inspiration which enabled her to give a talk to the
Korean Saints in Korean.
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