Serving in the Pacific

During World War II, Latter-day Saint military personnel met for services on Majuro. Following the war, Latter-day Saint families living in permanent United States military installations on Kwajalein also worshipped together.

In 1975, William W. Cannon, president of the Hawaii Honolulu Mission, visited the Saints on the Marshall Islands. Helen Claire Sievers, Primary president of the group on Kwajalein, presented him with a call to action: to send missionaries. Ninety children attended the Primary group on Ebeye Island, only nine of whom were Church members. At a Saturday branch beach party on Kwajalein, approximately 150 people attended, only 25 of whom were Church members.

Missionaries arrived on Majuro on February 3, 1977. One of their first investigators was Misao Lokeijak, who had just moved from Ebeye. Mirasko, Misao’s wife, also met with the missionaries. On April 23, 1977, Mirasko and Misao became the first local Marshallese to join the Church.

A group of Latter-day Saints began to meet in Majuro. They first met in the missionaries’ home, which was rented from a recent convert, Millie Leviticus, and her family. Later, the Saints met in the Seventh-day Adventist chapel. The Seventh-day Adventists and the Latter-day Saints formed friendships and organized joint volleyball and baseball teams. On May 10, 1978, the Majuro Branch was created, with Misao Lokeijak as president. Just over a month later, Mirasko and Misao traveled to attend the rededication of the temple in Hawaiʻi and were sealed together.

The following year, the Saints prayerfully asked for help in finding a new place to meet. In March 1979, church leaders acquired a three-year lease on an old building that had once been used as a bar. The building was in poor condition due to disuse and had accumulated bottles, cans, paper, and trash. Local members and missionaries worked on it regularly, cleaning, repairing, and painting the meetinghouse. On August 12, the Saints held the Majuro Branch’s first branch conference in the completed meetinghouse.

One of the hallmarks of the Church’s maturity in the Marshall Islands was local leadership in the Relief Society. On September 22, 1985, Hannah Ueno was sustained as Majuro Relief Society president. Hannah and her two counselors were from the Marshall Islands. In 1992, Rosey Lari, president of the Ebeye Relief Society, and the district Relief Society president organized the Latter-day Saint sisters in a celebration of 150 years of service around the world. They subsequently organized cleanup activities at the Majuro Hospital, Rairok School, and Laura Hospital and throughout areas of Ebeye.