Prime Minister of Samoa Visits Church Leaders

Church leaders and members in Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, honored Samoan prime minister Tofilau E. Alesana during his visit to Utah October 3–5.

The prime minister’s visit fulfilled a desire he had expressed two years ago after hosting President Thomas S. Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, and Elder James E. Faust, of the Quorum of the Twelve, during a celebration of the Church’s centennial in Samoa. The prime minister said at the time that he would like the opportunity to meet other Latter-day Saints in Utah.

Responding to an invitation from President Monson, Prime Minister Alesana came to Utah from New York City, where he had spoken at the United Nations.

While in Utah, he visited the campus of Brigham Young University, where he spoke at the David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies and was honored at a luncheon with BYU President Rex E. Lee. He toured Temple Square, the Church Office Building, the Family History Library, and other Salt Lake City sites. On Thursday evening, October 4, the Samoan Ward, in the Salt Lake Sugar House Stake, presented a traditional island program in his honor. Samoans of other faiths living in the Salt Lake Valley were also invited to participate.

On Friday, President Gordon B. Hinckley, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and President Monson hosted a luncheon honoring the prime minister.

The prime minister returned home via Hawaii, where he visited the Church’s Polynesian Cultural Center, adjacent to the BYU—Hawaii campus in Laie.