“God Has Brought Us Together”

On January 24, 1863, after a month’s journey from Hawai‘i on a whaling ship, Kimo Pelio and Samuela Manoa arrived on Aunu‘u Island. They faithfully proselytized on the islands of Aunu‘u, Tutuila, and Upolu Islands, eventually baptizing 40 to 50 people. Leaders had promised Pelio and Manoa that other missionaries would be sent to help, but no one came. They eventually learned that Walter Murray Gibson, who had sent them, had been dishonest with Hawaiian Saints and had been excommunicated for abuse of authority; they subsequently reduced their focus on missionary work. Instead, each established a livelihood and a family. They continued to hold Sabbath services and wrote to friends in Hawai‘i, asking why no missionaries were sent to Samoa.

Pelio and Manoa never again saw Hawai‘i. After Pelio’s death in 1876, Manoa continued alone until, while fishing in 1882, he lost his right hand in an accident. For the next 15 months, he was confined to his home, healing. Without a leader and believing that the larger “Church had forgotten them entirely,” the converts joined other churches.

Saints in Hawai‘i, however, never forgot about Pelio and Manoa’s letters. Joseph H. Dean, who had heard members speak of Pelio and Manoa during his first mission to Hawai‘i in the 1870s, discussed with Church leaders in Salt Lake City the potential of reopening the mission in Samoa. In 1887 Dean and his wife, Florence, were called to reopen the mission in Samoa. Joseph and Florence Dean arrived in Aunu‘u on June 21, 1888.

Joseph and Florence Dean with other missionaries in Samoa, circa 1888.

Manoa, who had waited for over 25 years for the Church’s presence to return to the island, was thrilled to finally greet another missionary. Taking Dean by the hand, Manoa said, “I feel greatly blessed that God has brought us together and that I can meet his good servant here in Samoa,” and then broke into tears. Manoa and his wife, Fasopo, offered the Dean family a room in their home. Three days later, a Sabbath meeting was held, attended by “nearly the ‘whole island.’” Manoa conducted, prayed, and interpreted for Dean when he spoke. One of Manoa’s converts, Miomio Lemafa, gave the benediction.

Some of the old converts soon returned to the Church, often bringing friends and relatives with them. Many members were soon called as local missionaries, which accelerated the work. By 1900, when Samoa was divided into a western, German-governed territory and an eastern, American-governed territory, there were over 1,000 Latter-day Saints on the islands.