Peraimeri

I le amataga o le 1878, sa popole ai Aurelia Spencer Rogers e uiga i le amio le usiusitai o le toatele o tamaiti laiti i lona nuu o Farmington, Iuta. E ui o le 44 pasene o le faitau aofai o tagata i le Teritori o Iuta i le lena taimi sa i lalo ifo o le 14 tausaga le matutua, ae sa leai se faalapotopotoga a le Ekalesia mo tamaiti.¹ Na fatufatuai e Rogers se manatu mo se polokalama e fesoasoani ai i tama ma faasoa atu ona manatu ia Elisa R. Snow ma Emeline B, Wells ina ua la asiasi mai mai le Aai o Sate Leki. Na faasoa atu e Snow le manatu ia Peresitene Ioane Teila, o le sa lagolagoina le fuafuaga a Rogers. I se tusi na toe tulitatao atu ai [le manatu], sa fautuaina ai e Roger ia faaaofia ai foi ma teine i le polokalama. Sa faamaonia ma faailoa atu e Snow lona talitonuga faapea na i ai se taua loloto faaleagaga o le galuega a Roger.

Ia Aokuso 1878, na vaetofia ai e le epikopo a Aurelia Rogers o ia e avea ma uluai peresitene o le faalapotopotoga o le Peraimeri. E silia i le 200 tamaiti i le va o le 6 i le 14 tausaga le matutua na auai i le fonotaga muamua sa faia i le falelotu e fau i maa i Farmington.² Sa vave le salalau atu o le manatu e uiga i le Peraimeri a o malaga atu Elisa R. Snow ma isi taitai tamaitai mai le Aai o Sate Leki i le Teritori atoa o Iuta, ma galulue faatasi ai ma epikopo ma peresitene o le Aualofa ma le Sosaiete o le Mutuale a Tamaitai e faatulaga ai faalapotopotoga a uarota.

O le falelotu e fau i maa i Farmington, Iuta, lea sa faia ai le uluai fonotaga a le Peraimeri.

Faaaloaloga a le Church History Library and Archives

Ia Iuni 1880 i se konafesi a le Aualofa o le Siteki a Sate Leki, sa palota ai tamaitai e lagolago le uluai Au Peresitene Aoao o faalapotopotoga a tamaitai. Na faatuina atu e Elisa R. Snow ia Louie B. Felt “e pulefaamalumalu i Faalapotopotoga uma a le Peraimeri i Siteki uma o Siona.”³ Sa le’i umi ae sosoo atu ai ma faalapotopotoga o Peraimeri a le Siteki.

O Auerila Rogers (ogatotonu) ma ona fesoasoani o le au peresitene o le Peraimeri a le Uarota a Farmington.

O fonotaga amata a le Peraimeri, sa faia faalevaiaso i lalo o le taitaiga a le peresitene o le Peraimeri i le lotoifale, na aofia ai tatalo, pesepesega, taulotoina o solo, faitauga o tala pupuu, ma le faatinoina o pese ma tala faamusika. Sa masani ona suesue e tamaiti Peraimeri le talalelei e ala i le faaaogaina o fesili ma tali—o se faasologa o fesili ma tali na tatau ona taulotoina e tamaiti aoga.⁴ Sa latou faitau soo foi i tusiga e filifili mai le Juvenile Instructor o le mekasini a le Aoga Sa.⁵ Ina ua asiasi atu Elisa R. Snow i Peraimeri fou, sa ia aoaoina tamaiti ina ia amio lelei, faamatala atu ia i latou tala mai le soifuaga o Iosefa Samita, ma sa masani ona ia faaali atu ia i latou se uati auro e tuuina atu ai ia i latou se fesootaiga faaletino i aso popofou o le Toefuataiga.⁶ E faaopoopo atu i aoaoga o le talalelei, sa faatulaga e faiaoga ma taitai ni gaoioiga e pei o tusigaata ma faatufugaga, o fea ma pasā, faafiafiaga o pese ma siva, tala faatino uumi ma pupuu, galuega faatino i le faiga o togalaau, ma gaoioiga auauna atu.⁷

I le aluga o le seneturi na sosoo ai, sa faatoateleina ai le auai a le Peraimeri mai le faitau selau o tamaiti na ola ae i nuu o Iuta i le toeitiiti tasi le miliona o tamaiti i le lalolagi atoa.⁸ I lalo o le taitaiga a Louie B. Felt, na faatulagaina ai e le Peraimeri ni aoaoga faamasani mo faiaoga, faia ni vasega eseese mo tamaiti e faavae i tausaga o lo latou matutua, ma amata ai i le 1902 ona lomia le mekasini o le Children’s Friend.⁹ I le 1913 na tuu ifo ai i lalo le matutua o tama e faamae’aina le Peraimeri i le 12, sosoo ai ma le tuuina i lalo o le matutua o teine i le 12 i le 1934.¹⁰ I le 1922 na faalauiloa ai e le Peraimeri se polokalama o ausiaga na ta’ua o le Seagulls mo teine o le vaitausaga 12–13 o e sa auai pea i le Peraimeri. O le polokalama muamua lenei o le anoanoai o polokalama o ausiga na atinaeina e le Peraimeri.¹¹

Sa taofia mo se taimi le tumau ia Peraimeri i misiona a le Ekalesia i fafo atu o le Iunaite Setete i le taimi o le Taua Lona 2 a le Lalolagi. Ina ua toe amata ona fai Peraimeri i Europa, sa auai atu i ai le toetele o tamaiti o e sa le o ni Au Paia o Aso e Gata Ai ona sa ofoina atu ai e le polokalama ni avanoa mo faauoga ma gaoioiga sa i ai taitai e vaaia, i atunuu sa i ai luitau ina ua uma le taua. I nisi o taimi, o lenei mea na oo ai i le liliu mai o nisi o aiga o nei tamaiti.¹²

Mo le fia sefulu o tausaga, na tuuina atu ai e le Children’s Friend ni anomea mo lesona mo faiaoga a le Peraimeri, ma i le 1949 na taitaia ai e Adele Cannon Howells le fatuina o le tusi lesona muamua aloaia a le Peraimeri.¹³ I le 1952 na faaaoga ai e le Peraimeri le polokalama o le Cub lea na ofoina mai e Tama Sikauti a Amerika, o se polokalama o gaoioiga mo tama laiti i le Iunaite Setete. O lenei sootaga ma le polokalama o le sikauti na toeitiiti 70 tausaga le umi.¹⁴

O le galulue ai i taumafaiga amata ina ia lava le tausiga faalesoifua maloloina e tuuina atu mo tamaiti limavaivai, na saili ai e le Peraimeri ni seleni e fausia ai le Falemai o Tamaiti Peraimeri i le 1952. O sui o le au peresitene o le Peraimeri sa taitaia le aufaatonu a le falemai, ma o le faatupeina mo le tausiga o le falemai sa tuuina atu, o se vaega, e ala i se sailiga tupe o le foai atu o se pene, lea na taitaia e le Peraimeri.¹⁵

I le 1980 na tuufaatasi ai e taitai o le Ekalesia le taimi faatulagaina o le sauniga, na le toe faaauauina le Aoga Sa mo tamaiti laiti, ma sii atu fonotaga a le Peraimeri mai le ogatotonu o le vaiaso i le Aso Sa, ma na valaauina alii mo le taimi muamua e avea o ni faiaoga Peraimeri. Sa faaauau pea ona faia polokalama o gaoioiga mo tama ma teine i po o aso o le vaiaso, ae na faaitiitia le fai soo o gaoioiga i le ogatotonu o le vaiaso. O loo faaauau pea ona faia e le Peraimeri se matafaioi taua o le lagolago atu o le Ekalesia i aiga i o latou tiutetauave e aoao atu le talalelei i fanau.

Punaoa o le Ekalesia

“History of Primary,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

“Primary Makes Me Happy,” Church History Museum exhibit, history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org

Talaaga o le Soifuaga

O lomiga nei o loo tuuina atu ai nisi faamatalaga e uiga i lenei autu. I le faasinoina po o le fesootaia o oe i nei punaoa, matou te le faamaonia pe faamautinoa atu le anomea po o manatu o tusitala.

RoseAnn Benson, “Primary Association Pioneers: An Early History” i le David J. Whittaker and Arnold K. Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation: Church Organization and Administration (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2011).

Carol Cornwall Madsen and Susan Staker Oman. Sisters and Little Saints: One Hundred Years of Primary (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979).

Faamatalaga

1. Davis Bitton, “Zion’s Rowdies: Growing up on the Mormon Frontier,” Utah Historical Quarterly, vol. 50, no. 2 (Spring 1982), 184.

2. Farmington Ward, Primary Association Minutes and Records, Aug. 11, 1878, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

3. “Salt Lake Stake Relief Society Conference,” Woman’s Exponent, vol. 9, no. 3 (July 1, 1880), 21–22; Jill Mulvay Derr, Carol Cornwall Madsen, Kate Holbrook, and Matthew J. Grow, eds., The First Fifty Years of Relief Society: Key Documents in Latter-day Saint Women’s History (Salt Lake City: Church Historian’s Press, 2016), 467–472.

4. RoseAnn Benson, “Primary Association Pioneers: An Early History,” i le David J. Whittaker and Arnold K. Garr, eds., A Firm Foundation: Church Organization and Administration (Provo: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2011), 262–263.

5. Conrad A. Harward, “A History of the Growth and Development of the Primary Association of the LDS Church from 1878 to 1928” (master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, 1976), 22.

6. Jennifer Reeder, “Eliza R. Snow and the Prophet’s Gold Watch: Time Keeper as Relic,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 31, no. 1 (Spring 2005), 119–41.

7. Harward, “A History of the Growth and Development of the Primary Association,” 22. Tagai foi Carol Cornwall Madsen and Susan Staker Oman, Sisters and Little Saints: One Hundred Years of Primary (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979), 19–20, 56–57.

8. Jill Mulvay Derr, “Sisters and Little Saints: One Hundred Years of Mormon Primaries,” in Thomas G. Alexander, ed., The Mormon People: Their Character and Traditions (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1980), 80, 97.

9. “Primary,” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols. (New York: MacMillan, 1992), 3:1147.

10. Harward, “A History of the Growth and Development of the Primary Association,” 137–50.

11. Madsen and Oman, Sisters and Little Saints, 61–62.

12. Madsen and Oman, Sisters and Little Saints, 125–26.

13. Madsen and Oman, Sisters and Little Saints, 122–23.

14. Madsen and Oman, Sisters and Little Saints, 136–37; Jason Swensen, “Church to End Relationship with Scouting; Announces New Activity Program for Children and Youth,” Church News, May 8, 2018, ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

15. Madsen and Oman, Sisters and Little Saints, 127–33. Sa aveesea mulimuli ane le falemai mai le anaina e le Ekalesia ma ua ta’ua nei o le Primary Children’s Medical Center, ua faifaimea faatasi ai ma le Iunivesite a Iuta.