Samoa: Chronology

January 24, 1863 • Aunu‘u, SamoaKimo Pelio and Samuela Manoa became the first Latter-day Saint missionaries to preach in Samoa, after being called by Walter Murray Gibson in Hawai‘i. After some time passed with no word from Gibson, who was excommunicated for abuse of authority in 1864, and no further missionaries arrived to relieve them, both married and settled in Samoa.

June 3, 1876 • Tutuila, SamoaKimo Pelio died, leaving Samuela Manoa to continue holding Church meetings alone.

1882–83 • TutuilaManoa lost his hand in a fishing accident and could no longer lead Church meetings. During the 15 months he was at home recovering, most members on the island joined other churches.

June 21, 1888 • Aunu‘uMissionaries Joseph and Florence Dean, along with an infant son, arrived on the island Aunu‘u, where they met Samuela Manoa. Their arrival marked the official opening of the Samoan Mission.

June 25, 1888 • Aunu‘uMalaea became the first convert baptized after the opening of the Samoan Mission.

October 28, 1888 • Aunu‘uThe first meetinghouse constructed in Samoa was dedicated. The same day, a branch was organized, and the first Relief Society on the island was created, with Florence Dean as president and Leutuva as a counselor.

October 28, 1888 • Aunu‘uPologa was called as the first local missionary to serve in the Samoan Mission.

December 1888 • SamoaThe Samoan Mission bought a boat, which they named Faaaliga (Revelation).

March 23, 1889 • Upolu, SamoaIfopa of Sale‘imoa village became the first convert baptized on Upolu. His wife, Matalita, was baptized in September.

June 1890 • Fogatuli, Savai‘i, SamoaMissionary work on Savai‘i began through the efforts of Church members Afualo and his wife, Emele.

February 14, 1891 • Fagali‘i, UpoluThe King of Samoa, Malietoa Laupepa, visited Church leaders in the mission home.

1890s • Pago Pago, Tutuila; Tuasivi, Savai‘i; Malaela, UpoluMissionaries replaced small school classes held in local meetinghouses with dedicated “central schools” where students could attend school full time.

1897 • SamoaChurch growth accelerated as missionaries began touring with a “magic lantern” show of images from Utah and Church headquarters, allowing people in Samoa to feel a clearer connection to the larger Church.

1898 • SamoaMembership in the Samoan Mission surpassed 1,000.

1900 • United States and GermanyThe American government formally annexed Tutuila, Aunu‘u, and other eastern Samoan islands, creating American Samoa. The German government formally annexed Upolu, Savai‘i, and other western Samoan islands, creating German Samoa. In 1914 German Samoa became Western Samoa when New Zealand assumed control of the western islands.

1903 • Salt Lake City, UtahThe Book of Mormon was published in Samoan.

November 8, 1904 • Sauniatu, German SamoaThe first plot of land in Sauniatu was cleared as the first step in building a gathering place for Samoan Saints. The land was dedicated and named two months later.

March 20, 1905 • SauniatuThe first school classes were held in Sauniatu.

1908 • SauniatuWilliam A. Moody, president of the Samoan Mission, shifted the mission’s focus from gathering into colonies to rebuilding branches throughout the Samoan Islands.

1908 • Salt Lake CityThe first Samoan Latter-day Saint hymnal was published.

1918 • Western SamoaSaints ministered to each other as a global influenza pandemic devastated Samoa, ultimately killing more than one-fifth of the population.

David O. McKay in Samoa

May–June, 1921 • Samoan Islands

David O. McKay became the first Apostle to visit the Saints in Western Samoa.

1933 • Sauniatu and Vaiola, Western SamoaFormer gathering places became education centers.

1940–45 • Samoan IslandsSamoan Saints assumed increased responsibility for the Church as missionaries were called home due to wartime conditions. Aloese served as mission Relief Society president, a calling previously held by the mission president’s wife.

April 15, 1951 • Pesega, Western SamoaAfter years of calling missionaries to preside over branches, new emphasis was placed on calling local members to lead branches. The Pesega Branch was the first to be reorganized with branch members as leaders, with Selu Fruean as president.

January 14–17, 1955 • Pesega and SauniatuChurch President David O. McKay returned to Western Samoa and met with Saints in Pesega and Sauniatu.

January 1962 • Western SamoaWestern Samoa became independent from New Zealand. The country’s name was officially changed to Samoa in 1997.

March 18, 1962 • Apia, Western SamoaThe first stake in the Samoan Islands was organized, with Percy J. Rivers as president.

July 1967 • Western SamoaThe Church established a translation department in the Samoan Mission to provide manuals and reports in Samoan.

April 1971 • Salt Lake CityPercy J. Rivers was called to be the patriarch for the Samoa Apia Mission. The next year, in June 1972, Rivers was also called as the first regional representative from the South Pacific.

June 1, 1974 • Western SamoaWith the creation of its seventh stake, Western Samoa became the first country where every member of the Church in the country lived within a stake.

1976 • Western SamoaA home study seminary program that included a weekly class was introduced.

Apia Samoa Temple

August 5–7, 1983 • Apia

The Apia Samoa Temple was dedicated by Gordon B. Hinckley.

1984–85 • Western SamoaIn just one year, Church membership in Western Samoa grew by roughly 40 percent, from 25,441 members to 35,322.

1986 • ApiaTufuga Samuelu Atoa and Helen Evans Atoa were called as the first local president and matron of the Apia Samoa Temple.

September 1987 • ApiaA missionary training center for the Samoa Apia Mission opened.

December 1991 • Western and American SamoaAfter Cyclone Val caused devastating damage to crops and infrastructure and destroyed thousands of homes throughout the Samoan Islands, the Church donated over 40 tons of food, emergency supplies, and building material.

1992 • Western SamoaChurch membership reached 50,000.

July 9, 2003 • Apia, SamoaThe Apia Samoa Temple caught fire, and most of the building was destroyed.

September 4, 2005 • ApiaFollowing reconstruction, the Apia Samoa Temple was rededicated.

September 2009 • SamoaTwenty-two Saints in Samoa died from the effects of a deadly earthquake and tsunami in the central Pacific Ocean. Saints were actively involved in relief efforts.

April 19, 2013 • ApiaThe Church joined the Samoa Council of Churches, an interfaith group that collaborates on common causes.

January 26, 2014 • Aleisa, SamoaThe Tafuaupolu Samoa Stake, the 25th stake in the Samoan Islands, was organized by Elder O. Vincent Haleck, with Harry Finau as president.

President Russell M. Nelson, Wendy Nelson, and Tuila‘epa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi

May 18, 2019 • Apia

President Russell M. Nelson and his wife, Wendy Nelson, spoke with Samoa’s Prime Minister, Tuila‘epa Sa‘ilele Malielegaoi, at a devotional for Saints in Apia.