Diamond Jubilee of Missionary Effort in Hawaii

Improvement Era Vol. XXIX MAY, 1926 No. 7 DIAMOND JUBILEE OF MISSIONARY EFFORT IN HAWAII By Francis J. Russell, Mission Secretary The people of the Hawaiian islands, though as heterogeneous as sand-paper and velvet, are as genial as the weather, and their broad tolerance and their readiness to appreciate are as refreshing as the ocean breezes. The success of the "Mormon" Church in the reclamation of the Hawaiian people is freely acknowledged and freely praised through- out the islands. The fact that one is a "Mormon" has a credit value. The newspapers display an eager and sympathetic interest in the affairs of the Church. When a mission president comes or goes, the municipal brass band comes to greet him or to bid him farewell. The temple is already a tourists' Mecca and with the islands fast becoming a play- ground for all America, Hawaii is probably now second only to Salt Lake City as a strategic point for the spreading of the gospel. I have often thought that at least in some ways, our people are more highly appreciated here than they are at home. The present happy state of affairs is, however, no accident! The story of the founding of the Hawaiian mission, seventy-five years ago, of its early struggles and final triumph against great odds, is one of the most thrilling chapters in the history of the Church and of the islands. At the Fall conference of 1850, only three years and three months after the historic migration of the Saints into the heart of the wilderness, when the problem of ekeing a living from the soil was still a grim experiment, Brigham Young, with the restless urge that has character- ized "Mormonism" since its inception, called ten Elders to open up a mission in the Sandwich Island. The ten called were: Hiram Clark, Thomas Whittle, Henry W. Bigler, Thomas Morris, John Dixon, Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1 103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized 'on July 2, 1918, $2 per annum. Address Room 406, Church Office Building, Salt Lake City. Utah.

614 IMPROVEMENT ERA OLD CHURCH BUILDINGS IN HAWAII Left: Old L. D. S. Church at Pulehu, Maui, where first baptisms were performed. Right: Old chapel at Lahaina. William Farrcr, James Hawkins, Hiram Blackwell, George Q. Cannon and James Keeler. It was on the morning of December 12, 1850, that the ten mis- sionaries stepped ashore at Honolulu from the schooner Imaum of Muscat after a wearisome journey of some seven weeks by land and sea from Salt Lake City. They were without friends or even acquaint- ances; and, worse still, were without funds. After securing quarters, they passed through the city to the mountains beyond, where, on a rocky eminence, they built an altar and poured out their thanks to God for their safe arrival, dedicating the land and themselves to his service. Elder Cannon remarks on this occasion: "The sun was sinking low in the heavens when we got through. Our descent was quickly made for we felt joyful. * * * We had been in the presence of the Lord, and had felt his power, and why should we not be happy?" Such was their unostentatious beginning. Elder Clark was the one who had been chosen to preside. It ap- pears that he was sensitive about the exercise of his authority. There were five islands to be worked. He did not like to pair the mission- aries off or to dictate to which of the islands they should go. They

DIAMOND JUBILEE, HAWAII 615 NEW CHAPELS IN HAWAII Top: New Chapel and Mission Home at Itana, Maui. Bottom: Chapel at Niulii, Kahala. Typical of our modern chapels country districts. the prevailed upon him, however, to select four besides himself to preside. Cuts were drawn for the choice of islands and each presiding elder selected his partner. Elder Cannon drew first choice, selecting Elder Keeler as his companion, and the island of Maui as their field of labor. Elders Bigler and Morris went to Molokai, Elders Dickson and Farrer to Kauai, Elders Hawkins and Blackwell to Hawaii, and, of course, the President and his companion, Elder Whittle, remained on Oahu. Among the natives, the Calvin church had acquired the prestige of a state religion. Their missionaries had been in the islands since

616 IMPROVEMENT ERA 1820, and as they were the first bearers of the Christian message, they were looked upon as patentees, while those coming later were more or less- infringers. It is a puzzling coincidence that the Calvin mis- sionaries landed at Kailua (the old capital), and met the King, Liholiho, about the time that Joseph Smith was having his vision of the Father and the Son, April 4-6, 1820. To this day, they are regarded as the Columbusesi, Washingtons and Lincolns of the Hawaiian common- wealth; but this feeling has generously spread to include missionaries in general, regardless of denomination, for Hawaii isi a missionary-de- veloped state, and the Latter-day Saints are noted for their contribution to this development in their accomplishments of bettering the condi- tions of the natives. Much credit is due these early missionaries in preparing the way for the true gospel of Christ. They reduced the language to writing, translated the Bible, and taught the people Christianity. And in addi- tion they were from dear old New England, the prolific mother of teachers and reformers and the physical birthplace of "Mormonism." Returning to our story, the missionary efforts with the whites were all but fruitless; as George Q. Cannon tells us, "We soon be- came satisfied that if we confined our labors to the whites, our mission to these islands would be a short one." A crisis came. Their money was entirely gone, and they were accomplishing no good. The Elders were called to Honolulu for con- sultation and conference. Either they must move to more fruitful fields, or they must acquire the strange tongue and attempt to wedge through the Calvin-charged circle. A man also came to meet the crisis in the person of George Q. Cannon. He was then but twenty-four years but his leadership was soon recognized. He surprised the elders in Honolulu by his remarkable progress in the language. During his short stay on Maui, he had learned that the natives were a noble and lovable people, and when the proposition of moving on or returning home was1 submitted, he made this epochal reply: "You may all return who choose, but I am going to Temain, for the voice of the Lord has come to me telling me that there is a people here who are choice in his sight, and many will hear the message we bear, and will receive it with good honest hearts, so, therefore, I cannot return and do justice to my calling." His words carried the spiritual destiny of a nation. Elders Dickson, Blackwell and Whittle returned to their homes in Utah and Elder Clark, the President, left shortly afterwards for the Marquesas islands. The remaining Elders went to their tasks with an energy that was inspired, and in a surprisingly short time had mastered the language and had learned to eat and to like poi, for one was as im- portant as the other. It was a happy day for Elder Cannon when he feltj sufficiently armed in the language to go among the people. Much as he loved

DIAMOND JUBILEE. HAWAII 617 his companions at Lahaina, the restless urge was on him to go, go, go. He had faith adequate for any occasion, and it was with a merry heart that he set out on a tour of the island. The first town he reached of any size was Wailuku, a distance of twenty-two miles, but let him tell his own story: "There were some missionaries living there, and I was hoping to get an opportunity of being introduced to them, for I had made it a rule never to pass a missionary without bearing testimony to him respecting my mis- sion. I had scarcely passed the town when I felt strongly impressed to return, the spirit telling me that I would meet two natives who would receive my message, and that I should have an opportunity to meet the missionary in charge. As I passed the church yard, two half-white women emerged from a house near by, and when they saw me they called to some men who were in the house, 'Eka haole,' which means 'Oh, the white man.' " For some reason not directly apparent, the call was repeated and repeated, causing Elder Cannon to pause and look around. Two men came out to meet him who proved to be the ones he was seeking. When he had made known his business, they welcomed him in to share their hospitality. A delightful conversation ensued, and they proposed that they all go up and see the missionary, which was just what Elder Cannon had wished. Under the circumstances, the missionary could not do otherwise than receive him with courtesy and the meeting and the conversation were pleasant. Some weeks later, when Cannon returned, he found that the missionary had been viciously spreading falsehoods against the cause he represented. At one of his meetings, at which Elder Cannon happened to be present, he gave an entirely false statement as to the cause of the death of the Prophet Joseph, and warned the people against Elder Cannon. As may easily be imagined, Elder Can- non was nettled: He writes: "When the services were over, I walked around to the pulpit where he stood. He knew we had been in the islands but a short time, and I believe, had no idea that I could understand what he said; when he saw me, therefore, his face turned pale, and to me he looked like a man who had been caught in a mean low act. I told him I wanted to give him, correct information respecting the things he had told the people that morning, that he might remove the effect of the lies he had repeated to them; for, I said, they were base lies, and I was a living witness that they were * * * I bore him a solemn testimony respecting the prophet Joseph Smith, and the truth of the work, adding that I would stand as a witness against him at the judg- ment seat of God, for having told the people lies and refusing to tell them the truth when it had been shown to him." Such is the first recorded skirmish in < establishing the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in the Hawaiian islands. George Q. Cannon's manly and definite stand with his enlightened and vivid reasoning won the hearts of the natives. The "charged circle" was wedged! From that time on, converts were made by the hundreds. Victory never tasted so sweet to any conqueror as it tasted to these humble

618 IMPROVEMENT ERA missionaries who had been deserted by four of their companions in- cluding the mission president. What they lacked in food, the Lord made up to them in the goodly degree of his Spirit bestowed upon them. What they had to eat and where they slept were matters of indifference to them. They were happy and they rejoiced as they had never rejoiced before. Dreams, visions and revelations were given to them and the communion of the Spirit was most sweet and encouraging. The translation of the Book of Mormon into the Hawaiian language was commenced by Elder George Q. Cannon in the latter KAMEHAMEHA III Second son of Kamehameha I, who occupied the throne when the first L. D. S. missionaries arrived. An able and fair-minded monarch, who protected our missionaries. part of January, 1851, scarcely six weeks after his arrival, December 12, 1850. It was finished July 12, 1853. He was) assisted by Brother J. H. Napela, i an educated and intelligent Hawaiian who thoroughly understood his own language and could give the exact meaning of words. The translation was most carefully revised to obliterate all chance of doubtful meanings, and published in San Francisco in 1855. The book is said to be a gem in purity of diction. Since the first baptism, an Hawaiian named Paloi, at Pulehu, Maui, more than 30,000 have joined the Church, of which 14,000 are on the

DIAMOND JUBILEE, HAWAII 619 records of members now living, which includes about one-third of the total native population. The work has spread to every village and hamlet in the islands', the number of branches now totalling sixty-five. In addition to the temple, valued at $250,000 and the Church plan- tation of some 6,500 acres, the property of the mission is now valued at $200,000, which figure includes forty-nine chapels, and six mis- sion homes. The number of missionaries who have labored in the islands is now 686, including sixty now in the field. In individual time, this amounts to 1,750 years. Valuing each missionary's time at $2.50 per day and adding to this the average cash expense of each mission filled, which was $700, the missionary contribution to the cause amounts to $2,500,000. And this does not include the time, money and assist- ance donated to the cause by hundreds of faithful Saints. On the credit side of the ledger a most choice branch of the house of Israel has been found and is being redeemed; a temple offers them the means of attaining to the highest glory, and the countless material blessings which come from clean and intelligent living are being felt. The 75th anniversary of the arrival of the first "JVJormon" mis- sionaries was fittingly celebrated in all the branches of the Church in the mission. Suitable programs, and a well written historical pageant were presented in Honolulu and Laie with beautiful music. This pageant was written, staged and produced entirely by missionary talent. Honolulu, T. H. REV. DANIEL T. CONDE This is the American Board mis- sionary with whom Geo. Q. Cannon had controversy.