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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fiji

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Fijian translation of the Book of Mormon

As of 6 April 2019, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reported 21,227 members in four stakes, three district, and 50 congregations, one mission, and one temple in Fiji.[1][2] Currently one in forty three Fiji islanders is identified as a member of the LDS Church.

History

Church Leaders had visited Fiji as early 1921 and did not introduce the Church due to racial restrictions against black members. The first known member to live in Fiji was Mary Ashley, who moved with her small family from Tonga to Suva in 1924. The first missionaries visited Fiji in 1953, with the first assigned missionaries in 1954. On January 23, 1954, Sister Ashely’s eleven-year-old daughter Margaret was baptized at Laucala Beach Estate. This is the first recorded baptism of the Church performed in Fiji. The first recorded meeting of the Church was held July 25, 1954, in the Matanisiga Hall in Toorak, Suva.</ref>Template:Https://rsc.byu.edu/archived/pioneers-pacific/stories-and-histories/20-history-church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints</ref>

Fijian men were initially restricted from getting the priesthood but this changed in 1955. In 1955, the church issued a study and determined that Fijians were Melanesian in origin and eligible for Priesthood ordination.[3] After visiting the island in 1955, church president David O. McKay, opened the first LDS branch in Fiji, calling missionaries to increase outreach.

Gideon Dolo was the first Fijian to serve a mission, leaving in February 1959. In 1975, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Fiji Technical College was opened. The Suva Fiji Stake was organized 12 June 1983, with Inosi Naga as president. The Suva Fiji Temple was dedicated on 18 June 2000. Total congregations and membership continues to increase annually.

Missions

Suva Fiji Temple

Main article: Suva Fiji Temple

On June 18, 2000 the Suva Fiji Temple was dedicated by President Gordon B. Hinckley.

91 Suva Fiji Temple Operating 12,755 sq ft (1,185 m2) 4.7 acres (19,020 m2) 18 June 2000 Gordon B. Hinckley edit

Prominent LDS Church Members

Elder Taniela B. Wakolo was sustained as a General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 1, 2017.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Facts and Statistics: Statistics by Country: Fiji", Newsroom, LDS Church, 19 April 2019, retrieved 2019-04-18
  2. ^ "Country information: Fiji", Church News Online Almanac, Deseret News, April 19, 2019, retrieved 2012-10-18
  3. ^ Gregory A. Prince, William Robert Wright. David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism. p. 80.
  4. ^ https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/leader/taniela-b-wakolo?lang=eng {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

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