Church History
“I, the Mother, Was Born Anew”


“‘I, the Mother, Was Born Anew,’” Global Histories: American Samoa (2020)

“‘I, the Mother, Was Born Anew,’” Global Histories: American Samoa

“I, the Mother, Was Born Anew”

Lusila Aoelua, an American Samoan member of the Church who was living in Hawai‘i, loved the copy of the Samoan Bible that her father-in-law had sent to her. As a child Lusila had trouble speaking, and everyone assumed she wouldn’t be able to learn, so she had never gone to school. Even though she was unable to read, Lusila loved the gift of the Bible and longed to be able to understand its words. Her desire to read the Bible became so intense that finally one day she fasted and prayed. “I asked Heavenly Father to help me to understand what was inside that book,” she said. Then she opened the Bible and—to her great joy—read the entire first chapter of Genesis.

From then on, Lusila read the Bible and the other books of scripture, including the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. As she read, she started teaching her six daughters what she learned about the Church from the scriptures. “I, the mother, was born anew,” Lusila reflected.

When Lusila and her husband moved back to American Samoa after he retired in 1974, Lusila’s mother heard her talking about gospel principles and doctrines. Her mother was very surprised because she knew that Lusila had not been taught to read. “Child,” her mother inquired, “where did you learn all that?” Lusila replied that she had learned from reading the scriptures.

Lusila went on to serve as a Primary teacher and Young Women president. “My testimony has grown so much,” Lusila said. “I read the scriptures, and I hold a lot of positions in the Church. And I just love it.”

For Lusila, studying the scriptures and knowing their truths enabled her to develop motherly relationships with those around her. “They really respect me,” she observed of the children and young women she served. “And they love me as a mother.”