SUNDAY - THOUGHTS, NOTES, FEELINGS - Church was GREAT today! The spirit here in Tonga is incredible and there are so many lessons we're learning while here. At home, we learn a lot of lessons as well, but it's different here in Tonga because the members are "truly converted" and live and breath the gospel. It's hard to describe, but the Tongan people are DOING and BECOMING like Jesus Christ in everything they do. It's such an incredible example to us (my family and I). There are some notes, thoughts, and some stories that I want to share that I learned today.
Sacrament - We heard from the Mission President and his family. They just got released from serving a 3 year mission here in Tonga. President Tupo is his name and he is originally from Alaska. His wife and two sons (Thomas and Jesse) sang a couple of songs in between the talks. They know how to sing 4 part harmony and it sounds amazing! Thomas talked about when we pray for things, Heavenly Father really does answer our questions and helps us out. Jesse talked about the pattern that we use to help teach each other the gospel of Jesus christ. He talked about teaching, testifying, and then Promising Blessings for being obedient. Sister Tupo talked about when they read the Book of Mormon, they start out with a prayer, they sing, and then they read. I think they've read the Book of Mormon eleven times during the 3 years they have been serving. She talked a lot about the Doctrine of Repentance. She said, "Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement helps us to repent, change our thoughts, and that changes into good actions. It's not about being guilty, it's about putting our hearts in line with God. Forget yourself and focus on the Savior. Feast upon the Word of God.
3rd hour of Church (Priesthood meeting) - Brother Tualau Vimahi (picture is up above) is one of my heroes here in Tonga. He is an incredible Brother full of Light and Love. He has seen the church here grow by leaps and bounds. He told us that he remembers when he was a young teenager having church in a building made out of the trunks of the coconut trees and the roof was made out of the coconut leaves. He remembers the rain coming down and watching the water dripping from the roof. He said in the early days (about 50 years ago), there was a lot of persecution. He remembers when the other village kids would call them names and throw things at them. He never thought the church would be as large as it is now and never imagined the influence it would have on the Tongan saints. He told us that the 1st Stake was formed back in 1968. Now, Tonga has 21 Stakes and about half of their population is LDS (Latter Day Saints). They have had about a 2,100% growth in the last 50 years or so. When asked why, the answer that was given is that the Tongan people's hearts and spirits are so strong, they are so close to the Spirit, that when they are presented the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they know it's true. They have a love, humility, and closeness as a family, that they know the Doctrine of Christ is true. It's interesting to see and learn about the history of the early saints of the Church.
CONVERSION OF PRINCE ATA - President Tupo told us of the experience he had last year with the Prince of Tonga. His name is Prince Ata and he is fourth in line for the crown. He was just baptized last year a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This is a pretty big deal for the royal family and a big deal for Prince Ata. Here is a news release that I found about him. --
Majesty King Tupou VI’s second son, Prince Ata, has been baptised as a Mormon in Hawai’i, according to a leading figure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Hon. Semisi Sika, a leading figure of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tonga, confirmed the baptism of Prince Ata for Kaniva News.
President Tupo is the one that knew the rest of the story. He said that Prince Ata was introduced to the church when he was in Hawaii. Prince Ata had a good friend that is a nobleman (his name is Fakoto Fifite and he is the governor of Vavau (Another island of Tonga). This good friend is a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There was an activity that King Tupou VI was invited to in Hawaii, but he was too busy to attend. He asked his son (the oldest son) to attend, but he had something come up as well. Prince Ata was then asked, and he accepted to go. He went to Hawaii, and that is where he asked his friend (Governor Fifite) if he could attend church with him. Prince Ata told him that he was waiting for him to invite him to go with him, but he never did. SO, they went to church together and Prince Ata said that he looked at the members of that ward in Hawaii and he saw a brightness and light in their faces that he never experienced before. He then was invited to hear from the LDS missionaries. When he heard about the Law of Chastity (which says that there should be no sexual relations until you are married), he understood why the people looked different. They were chaste and pure. He was taught three times per week and wanted to be baptized. They set a date and he was going to be baptized in Tonga, but here is the news article in regards to that...
Last year’s ceremony
Prince Ata, the fourth in line to the Tongan throne wanted to be baptised into the Mormon Church last year, but before the baptism took place His Majesty found out and sent his royal guards to intervene and stopped the service in the LDS church in Havelu.
The prince sent away the royal guards, but the king sent the Former Prime Minister, Lord Tu’ivakano, to persuade him to stop his baptism.
The prince refused to listen to the Prime Minister, but after the Mormon leaders intervened Ata finally agreed to postpone the ceremony.
Later, he was baptized in Hawaii and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The amazing thing is is this Prince REALIZES that everybody is created equal in the sight of the Lord. He is one of the only members of the royal family that can be seen among the commoners of Tonga. He wants to be among the Saints and to serve with them. What a great example of love and selflessness. That is a true example of a good leader. He is very much like King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon that lead by example. He did everything that he asked his people to do. The life and experience here in Tonga reminds me so much of the experiences that are found in the Book of Mormon. It's like we stepped back in time and are experiencing the Book of Mormon times in real life. What an incredible experience!
The King is now softening his heart and asked his son (Prince Ata) to come stay the night with them. President Tupo said that he asked the Prince about that experience and the Prince told him that his Dad (the King) wanted to know what he did in the Temple (the LDS Tongan Temple). His son told him that we make sacred covenants (promises) to Heavenly Father. He asked more about it and the Prince's reply was great. He said, "I know two missionaries that can teach you all about it." So, you see, this reminds me so much of King Lamoni and his conversion with Ammon and then later his Father (King Lamoni's father) is converted. There are so many parallels to the Book of Mormon times. It's really amazing to hear first hand these experiences! Like Joseph Smith said in the Wentworth Letter, ".....The Gospel shall go forth Boldly, Nobly, and Independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."
Experience with President and Sister Tupo -
I wanted to know more about some of the history of the early church here in Tonga and about President Tupo and his experience here in Tonga, so I went over to their house after church today and sat down and talked with them for about 40 minutes. Their family is so incredible. Their story is so inspiring! President Tupo (the mission President for the last 3 years) said that he was born here in Tonga and when he was 16 years old he served a mission here in Tonga. I asked him why he was so young, he had a smile on his face and told me that he graduated very young here at the Liahona School. He had a few years before he was to go on a mission, but he didn't want to wait, so he went to talk with the Stake President. The Stake President invited him in and said, "how can I help you." He said that he wanted to serve a mission. The President asked him how old he was, and President Tupo's response was classic. He said, "I will be 19 on my mission." That was the truth, he didn't lie. The Stake President asked him three times how old he was and he replied the same each time. So, the Stake President took him into a room, and ordained him to be an Elder and he soon was serving a mission. He served for 3 years and DID turn 19 on his mission. Crazy huh! I said, "So, you lied to him?" He said, "No, I told the truth." I did turn 19 on my mission. He said, "I just tell the truth that must be told."
President Tupo then went to Hawaii as a 20 year old to go to College. He went on a scholarship from Liahona. That is where he met his wife (Sister Tupo). He had a vision two years previous of his 1st child and of his wife. When he saw his wife at BYU Hawaii, he told his friends, "Hey, there's my wife." They laughed at him and made fun of his crazy ideas. They said, "have you looked in the mirror? There's no way you can marry her." Later, there was a dance, and Sister Tupo asked him to dance. President Tupo told her that they were in the same ward, they were in the same FHE group, and he told her that he was a return missionary at the age of 20. She didn't believe a word he was saying because most missionaries serve at 19, she didn't see him in her ward, and she didn't think he was in their FHE group. The next Sunday, she saw that he was in their ward, she found out that he was in her FHE group, and she found out that he in fact had served a mission, he was just 16 when he was called. After she felt like she could trust him, they started dating, and the rest is history. What an amazing story! They have 6 kids and the two youngest are here with them in Tonga. Thomas and Jesse are great friends with Logan. They will be going to work on some farmland here in Tonga tomorrow and give Logan a lesson on how to handle Tongan cows. He'll get some Tongan cowboy experience. We'll see how that goes. Now that the President is released, he has time on his hands until they go back to Alaska. He's been spending time on his family's farm and reading books. His plans in Alaska is to write a book on the history of the church in Tonga.
These are the two books that President Tupo recommended I read when I get some time. These books have some good history about he early days of Christianity in Tonga and the other Pacific islands. It's good to know the history of the people. You can better serve them if you know a little bit about where they came from and where they are today.
This is the corner stone of the Liahona school laid by Elder Matthew Cowley on September 7th 1949. He was instrumental in the success of Liahona and the success of spreading the gospel to the Tongan people. He said that Liahona would be the key to helping spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since then, the church has grown 2,100%.
This amazing creature was on our front door step this morning as we were getting ready to go to church. Tonga has amazing creatures! We see new ones every day. The ecology here is one of the most amazing I've ever seen.
Our Monarch Butterflies are starting to hatch out of the cacoons. We released three of them today after church. They are incredible and beautiful creatures.
Opening up the cage to release the butterflies.
This one was flying for the first time.
Each of the kids were able to hold one before they took off.
Braden of course wanted a turn to hold one and wanted a picture with it. The kids had to be careful not to "man-handle" them. They wanted to play with them and see how far they could fly. They were just amazed by them.
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