Mormonism and Pacific Islanders

Relations between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and the natives of the Pacific Island groups of Polynesia, Melanesia, Micronesia and surrounding island groups is quite complex. History: The Pacific islands were one of the first areas to be evangelised after Europe and North America, notably Hawaii, which fell under American influence and was annexed by the USA quite early on. On November 27, 1919 Laie Hawaii Temple was the first temple outside continental United States, and thus also arguably first outside North America and first in Polynesia. In 1955, the church began ordaining Melanesians to the Priesthood, and on September 26, Church College of Hawaii established. Hagoth: In addition to the Mormon stories about people sailing to the New World, there is also the story of Hagoth, who it is alleged sailed from the Americas to Polynesia. But while the stories of Lehi and Jared are generally accepted, that of Hagoth is more ambiguous and not universally supported by practising Mormons, and not at all by non-members of that church. Differentiating between scriptural and apocryphal accounts of Hagoth and his ships, one Mormon writer makes the following observations: The Book of Mormon does not equate the “west sea” with the Pacific Ocean. The Book of Mormon does not tell us that Hagoth was on board any of the ships that were lost. Scripture does not say that he captained a vessel or that he was an explorer or an adventurer, or that he led people. For all we can tell, the skilled Hagoth’s main objective was to profit from the shipping industry. It is possible for peoples in various places to be related to Hagoth’s people (the Nephites) without Hagoth personally making an ocean voyage. Coastal and Island hopping colonies, once associated with Nephite shipping, could have built more vessels and traveled very far. It is also important to realize that the peoples of the Pacific islands may have come from more than one direction. Non-scriptural sources suggest that Hagoth led an expedition, sailing into the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and 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. According to the Book of Mormon, the Nephites were descendants of Israel. Many rank and file members of the LDS Church in Polynesia have come to believe that Hagoth is their ancestor.