Genealogical Records Relationship
Improvement Era, vol. 23, no. 11, September 1920, pp. 962 to 966
Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations
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our era. According to the tradition, the emigrants left in eighty canoes and passed through Samoa, Tahiti, and other islands; finally, after five centuries, some of the descendants of these "pilgrim fathers" of the Pacific reached New Zealand. This has now been confirmed by the genealogical discoveries in Honolulu. The second migration, Tawhiti rao, according to the tradition, started from a place that had immense bodies of water on each side, and was situated on an isthmus connecting two vast countries, so large that to walk around either of them would have required a life time. Secular history has no further light to throw on this tradition, but in the Book of Mormon brief mention is made of migrations from the land of Zarahemla and of voyages northward and westward, which might have taken the daring emigrants to the Hawaiian Islands. We read:
"And it came to pass that in the thirty and seventh year of the reign of the Judges, there was a large company of men, even to the amount of five thousand and four hundred men, with their wives and their children, de* parted out of the land of Zarahemla, into the land which was northward. And it came to pass that Hagoth, he being an exceedingly, curious man, therefore he went forth and built him an exceeding large ship, on the borders of the land Bountiful, by the land of Desolation, and launched it forth into the west sea, by the narrow neck which led into the land northward. "And behold, there were many of the Nephites who did enter therein and did sail forth with much provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their course northward. And thus ended the thirty and seventh year. "And in the thirty and eighth year this man built other ships. And the first ship did also return and many more people did enter into it; and they also took much provisions and set out again to the land northward. "And it came to pass that they were never heard of more. And we suppose that they were drowned up in the depths of the sea. And it came to pass that one other ship also did sail forth; and whither she did go, we know not. "And it came to pass that in this year,there were many people who went forth into the land northward. And thus ended the thirty and — eighth year." Alma 63:4-9.
It is readily seen that the Maori tradition and this extract from the Book of Mormon are in perfect agreement. The third migration, Tawhiti pamaomao, the longest, and first in point of time, is believed to be that of Lehi and his company from the doomed city of Jerusalem to the western hemisphere. The genealogical discoveries of the distinguished Maoris furnish strong corroborative evidence of the authenticity of this interesting bit of Book of Mormon history. On this point the author of an illustrated article in the Honolulu Star- Bulletin, of June 5, 1920, remarks:
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The visiting Maoris are almost firmly convinced that the three great migrations referred to in their traditions relate to the journey of Lehi, the voyage of Hagoth, and the eighty canoes that started from Hawaii southward centuries ago. And in view of the fact that the last named traditional migration appears to have been proved a fact by the similarity in the genealogical trees of both Maoris and Hawaiians, the other two migrations seem plausible indeed. To the visiting Maoris the other two migrations, as outlined, seem not only probable but even possible of proof, even as that of "tawhiti nui."
Elder E. Wesley Smith, president of the Hawaiian mission, in the same issue of the Star-Bulletin, calls attention to this fact: 1_
The pedigree of Kamehameha, traced back to those whom the Hawaiians regard as the originals of the people who first inhabited the Hawaiian Islands, discloses the very interesting probability that Opuukahonua, the head of Kamehameha's line of ancestry, was living about the year 70 B. C; and that he, with the other colonists, may have arrived on one of the Hawaiian Islands about 54 B. C, and from thence they may eventually have scattered to the various islands of the Pacific. This circumstance is of special interest to the Latter-day Saints, because we learn from the Book of Mormon that two of the ships of Hagoth, with passengers and provisions, left the west coast of America in the year 54 B.
HAWAIIAN MISSIONARIES Standing, left to right:Lloyd D. Davis, Lester Williams. Sitting: Elmer C. Jenkins, President E. Wesley Smith.
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C, and never returned. The conclusion is obvious, it is quite likely that one or both of those vessels contained colonists from America who located on Hawaii; and that they are the race of people who have spread over the islands of Polynesia.
- Legends. That the Hawaiians are descendants of a people familiar with Bible history in its earliest parts is proved by their legends and traditions, and that they and the Maoris, Sanioans, Tahitians, etc., are one race is? also made probable by the fact that they have a common fund of folk lore and common religious conceptions. The Era is in receipt of an interesting article on this subject by Elder fm. M. Waddoups. It will appear at an early date.
It will be of special interest to the Latter-day Saints to learn that the Maoris referred to in this article are members of the Church. They are:
"Wiremu (William) Duncan and wife of Dannevirke, New Zealand. He came with President Lambert to Salt Lake City a short time ago. He is a manufacturer of cheese and his product took first prize in London in competition with the world. Eriata Nopera and wife of Dannevirke, New Zealand, a wealthy sheep owner. Rahiri Harris and wife of Dannevirke, New Zealand, a dairy farmer. Wiremu Karaka and wife of Tokomaru Bay, New Zealand, a sheep and cattle rancher. Waimate Anaru and wife of New Zealand, a contractor. Hohepa Heperi and wife of Waihou, New Zealand, an agriculturist and dairy farmer. Mrs. Huihui Pera of Opapa, New Zealand, sheep ranch owner. Mrs. Waitokorau Thompson of Dannevirke, New Zealand, a land owner. She resided in Salt Lake City from 1911 to 191 \
They came to the Hawaiian Islands in charge of Elder James N. Lambert, retiring president of the New Zealand mission, in order to engage in Temple work in the new Temple at Laie. The spirit of Elijah is evidently resting upon that portion of the Lord's vineyard, as upon the Church in other parts of the earth, and the effect is that many links are revealed in the chains that unite the children and their fathers from generation to generation.
I Ain't Like Ma By John Garrett O'Brien
Mrs. Dean had set the table in the small kitchen, finished making a fruit salad, and was in the act of mashing the potatoes when the door opened and in came her daughter, her cheeks aglow with the pink of youth, her large, blue eyes sparkling. "Ma, hurry up with the supper," she urged as she placed a loaf of bread on the table, "I've got aa —— date this evening!" Mrs. Dean smiled. "As if I'd forgotten that it was Harry's night!" she chuckled as gaily as if she were a girl herself once more. Polly gave her a sidelong glance, kissed her lightly on the cheek as if suddenly remembering her omission, and started away to take off her hat and cloak. But at the door she turned her head. "Ma, it ain't with Harry this time," she said loftily. "What—" "I've been asked out by a real swell!" I tell you. "He — — wears a big diamond swishes a cane and owns an auto! La, it's a peach! It don't snarl, either, it purrs like a happy cat!
Gee—" "The very idea!" Off she went smiling, but her mother suddenly looked grave. So altered in fact as she began to place the supper on the table that she hardly seemed like the same woman; nor did she hum over her work as she had done so recently. "That gal of mine sure puzzles me at times," she mused. "She ain't mean. She wouldn't hurt a fly. But my, oh my, she's far too pretty!" Polly entered a little later, breathless and a trifle flustered as she seated herself. "Ma, you ain't ironed that pink dress!" she rebuked, pouting her rosy lips before sampling the home cooking. "I only have that old yellow thing I wore last year! — You want me to look a fright that's what you do!" "Who's the boy?" asked her mother after assuring her that she could fix the dress in a few minutes. Polly flushed and tried to evade, but Mrs. Dean was insistent. "Well," deliberately, "he ain't a boy. It's Mr. Holt, if you
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want to know. He's been askin' me to go to a show with him for a long time!" Her mother's lips wreathed with as much scorn as her kindly face would permit. "Polly, you don't go with him this evenin' —or any other time, either!" The girl's blue eyes studied her intently. "Ma, ain't I kept this flat goin' for three years since Pa died? Ain't I worked like a slave in the Elite Emporium? — And ain't I always handed you my pay each week now ain't I?" "Yes," murmured the woman, "you have. You've been all a gal should be to her Ma. — — But but I thought as how you an' Harry were goin' to be married one of these days! And I can't bear the sight of that Mr. Holt!" "Ma!" "Why don't he visit you here? What kind of a man is he, anyway?" Polly gave her an indignant glance before continuing to eat. "Tell me," asked her mother quietly, "is it the scar on Harry's face that's made the difference?" A stony silence, so she continued: "Daughter, Harry's just the kind of man your father was. He's patient, and kind, that's what he is. He's fought for his country, too, and got wounded. And he says to me one day: 'Ma, Pll soon get promoted, for I'm studyin' hard with that course, and I've been promised a good raise when I pass my examinations. Then Pol can have a gal to do the hard work, and take things easy!" "Huh!" cried the blonde with unshaken determination, "I don't want any more of these cheap flats. I'm goin' on the stage And I'm to get thirty-five a week to start with, even dur- !
ing rehearsals!"
A sudden silence fell over them like an invisible cloak. The clock seemed to tick like a dirge as the woman's hand unconsciously sought her heart, as if to allay its strenuous beating; for it seemed to her as if the happy future that Harry had been planning for her daughter had suddenly melted away like a rainbow. "Babe," she said softly, "although you are twenty-one, past, you're still my ewe lamb. Tell me you don't mean it! Say that you'll stick by Harry!" Polly tossed her blonde head. "But I do, Ma, I ain't got nothin' else to look forward to, and actresses make fine money. — — A hundred two hundred three hundred a week and more — than that, some of 'em!"