The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tonga

The Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) (Tongan: Siasi ʻo Sīsū Kalaisi ʻo e Kau Māʻoniʻoni ʻi he Ngaahi ʻAho Kimui Ní or Siasi Māmonga) was established in Tonga in 1891.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints claims it has over 60,000 members (which is about 57% of the population of Tonga). According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Tonga has a higher per-capita number of Latter-day Saints than any other country in the world.^[1] However, according to the 2011 census, 18.01% of Tongans belong to the LDS Church, making it the second largest Christian denomination in the country.^[2]

History

Early missionary efforts

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent the first Mormon missionaries to Tonga, Brigham Smoot and Alva J. Butler, in July 1891. Upon arriving, they met with the Tongan king, Jiaoji Tubou, to get his permission to preach the gospel. Smoot and Butler bought property and built a mission home, a school, and also purchased a boat to facilitate travel between the islands. The missionaries baptized their first convert, Alipate, in July of the following year. Little progress was made during the first few years, and missionaries were removed from Tonga in 1897.^[1]

Missionaries were sent to Tonga once again in 1907 as part of the Samoan Mission. Missionaries began a school in Nieafu which gained 28 day students and 13 night students by 1908. A branch, or small congregation, was organized in Ha'alaufuli with 32 members. Missionaries began preaching in Tongatapu in March 1911. Due to the success of these later missionaries, the Tongan Mission was reestablished in 1916.^[1]

Missionaries banned from Tonga

During World War I, many missionaries were declined visas to get into Tonga. David O. McKay was quarantined on an island near Tonga for 11 days in 1921 while serving as a member of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. These difficulties were caused by anti-Mormon efforts that resulted in the passing of a law in 1922 that prohibited LDS church members from entering Tonga. Because missionaries could not enter the country, missionary efforts and leadership positions were fulfilled by local church members. This law was repealed two years later.^[1]

Missionary work returns to the islands

Although missionaries were allowed to enter Tonga in 1924, many local members continued to serve as missionaries throughout the 1930s and 40s. George Albert Smith visited the church members in 1938; his visit resulted in 117 new converts that year. Due to the breakout of World War II, foreign missionaries returned home. After the war ended, missionary work resumed. In 1946 The Book of Mormon was translated into Tongan in 1946.^[1]

The church leased 276 acres near Nuku'alofa in order to build a large school called Liahona High School. The school opened in 1952 and led to a great expansion of the church. By 1968 the church had grown from just over 3,000 members to more than 12,000. The first stake in Tonga was created in September 1968, allowing for the church to be led by local leaders. A temple was dedicated in Nuku'alofa in 1983.^[1]

Membership today

The membership claimed by the church is 63,392,^[3] which represents approximately 60 percent of Tonga's population. However, according to the 2011 Tongan census, 18,554 people self-identify as Mormon, making it the second-largest religion in the country.^[2] LDS Church membership statistics are different from self-reported statistics, mainly because the LDS Church does not remove an individual's name from its membership rolls based on disengagement from the church.^[4][5]

As of 2016, the LDS Church reported 63,392 members, 166 congregations, one mission, and one temple in Tonga.^[3]

Missions

When the first LDS Church missionaries arrived in Tonga on 15 July 1891, Tonga was part of the church's Samoan Mission. On 8 July 1916, the Tongan Mission was organized. The mission at the time included much of the South Pacific. The mission was renamed the Tonga Mission on 10 June 1970. On 23 July 1971, the Tonga Mission was divided and the Fiji Mission was created from it. The Tonga Mission was renamed the Tonga Nuku'alofa Mission on 20 June 1974.

On 11 August 2016, King George Tupou VI unveiled a monument in honor of the founding of the LDS Tonga mission, which marked the official start of a week-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the mission's creation.^[6][7]

Temples

The church's Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple was dedicated in 1983 and rededicated after renovation in 2007.

Notes

Further reading

• Harvalene K. Sekona, "Tonga: A Land Dedicated to God", Liahona, August 2014
• LaRene Porter Gaunt, "Tonga: A Land of Believing People", Liahona, April 2002

External links

• New Zealand/Pacific Islands LDS Newsroom
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Official Site (New Zealand/Pacific Islands)
• Morton, Ermel J. Ermel J. Morton Papers. Provo, Utah: L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Brigham Young University.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Oceania
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See also	Membership Statistics (Oceania) Temples in Oceania Missions in Oceania