Tatakamotonga Village, Tongatapu - On July 15, 1891, two white missionaries from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) − commonly known to most people as the “Mormons” − arrived at this village from the estab
This village anchorage is about two (3) miles north of Captain James Cook’s landing place in Tongatapu on his 1773 Voyage. It is also the traditional safe anchorage of the once powerful Pacific marine empire of the Tu’i Tonga (supreme king of Tonga) at nearby Mu’a, the old capital.
The two missionaries gained an audience immediately with King George Tupou I, in Nuku’alofa the new capital. The king declared that Tongans are free, under His 1875 constitution, to worship in any church of their free will.
Early American Missionaries Difficult Years
But it was the dawn of American-rooted Christian proselytizing in Tonga. For although Christianity first arrived in Tonga in 1799, Wesleyan Church missionaries from England had to make two (2) separate attempts before they gained a foothold in Tonga. So did the Mormons, and the Roman Catholic Church.
This week, Mormons are commemorating August 14th, 1916, as the official establishment of the LDS Tongan Mission. Like the early Wesleyan Church second wave of missionaries’ who arrived in 1820 and succeeded in gaining new converts, the Mormons gave up their Tatakamotonga Village center in 1897, only to return 10 years later in 1907.
Church and State Power Nearly Shut Tongan Mission Forever
In 1922, pressured by strong opposition from other local church leaders, the Tongan Parliament passed a law prohibiting the arrival of American missionaries. Despite early Mormon practice of polygamy, which was officially discontinued by the Church in 1897, fresh theological animosity influenced legislators to pass the “anti-American” missionaries ban.
Two Members of Parliament, Sosaia Mataele (of the village of Fo’ui), and Molitoni “Fisi’ihoi” Finau (of the village of Nukunuku) promoted a motion to repeal the law. Meanwhile, the Mormon Church leaders in the Salt Lake City, Utah, headquarters had issued an order to close the Tongan Mission.
The Mission President, however, pleaded for more time. The restrictive law was repealed in 1924. This week’s commemorations are continuing through festivities to include an audience with their majesties at the Palace grounds, today. Additional festivities are planned at the church-sponsored Liahona High School where the Mormon Tonga Temple is also located.
(Authored by Sione A. Mokofisi, a syndicated journalist living in Tonga. However, his opinions do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of this Website. Mr. Mokofisi is Director of English, Journalism & Business Management at Tonga International Academy, Haveluloto, Tongatapu. He’s also editor of Tonga’s only bilingual publication, Niuvākai.)
