Abbot

Elder Boyd Harris from Canada and I, Elder Sheldon L. Abbott, were the first two LDS missionaries sent to Fiji. We were both serving in the Samoan Mission in Western Samoa. Elder Harris was in the Mission Office in Pesega and I was in Malaila. On Oct. 25, 1954, I received a letter from President Howard Stone, our Mission President, informing me that I and Elder Harris would be transferred to Suva, Fiji to open the mission there. We left Samoa by ship, "The Matua," on Oct. 30, 1954, and arrived in Suva Sept. 2.

When we arrived in Suva, we were met by a Brother Cecil Smith, who was part German and part Tongan. Brother Smith had held meetings with a small group of Saints, numbering 13, for some time. They had been meeting in their own homes. There was no official organized group. When we arrived, we rented a hall called the "Matanasiga Hall." It was not very acceptable in that it was in a very run-down part of Suva close to the wharf. As a matter of fact, we found out later that it had been off limits for Military Personnel during WWII. We were then able to locate another rental called the "Girl Guides Hall" which we used for a few months. After meeting in this location, we then held services in the home which was on the property where the chapel and mission office are now located. It was an old colonial-type home that had been divided into two apartments. The front porch of the home was exactly where the front steps of the Chapel are today.

The Colonial Government would only allow two missionaries at a time to reside in Suva.

There was electricity in Suva then and lots of little English cars used as taxi cabs. We Elders did not have a car--we walked or rode buses.

On first arriving, we stayed with the Smith Family, but were soon able to locate a small apt. It was not far from the Smith home which was on the West side of Suva Bay close to where the Church School is now located. We lived in the apt. for about 6 months. Then we moved to the home on the property where the chapel is now located. (This is also where we held our meetings mentioned above.)

If you have a copy of President David O. McKay's book, Cherished Experiences, pages 43 through 46 records his visit to Suva, Fiji. That visit occurred early in 1955. We had already been told by President Stone to try to locate a few pieces of property that he (Pres. Stone) could look at with the idea of buying one of them for a Chapel location. We had done this, and while President McKay was there, he accompanied us to view these properties. None of them appeared to impress him. While enjoying his company at dinner in the Grand Pacific Hotel one evening, he pointed up to the hill where the Suva Chapel and Mission Home are presently located, and indicated that we should look in that area. Soon after he left Suva, we found and purchased this property.

Center: Sister and President David O. McKay.

President Stone is standing on the far right next to one of the Smith girls.

Elder Harris is the blonde about the center of the back row.

Elder Abbott is in a suit squatting on the left side of the second row.

The other palagis are either members or relatives of members who were living in Fiji at the time.

In front of the Smith's home in Suva, 1955

An interesting thing about this property purchase was that our Church was not registered as a legal corporation in Suva at that time. Elder Harris, being from Canada (Commonwealth member), was allowed to purchase the property in behalf of the church. For a few years, even after he returned home, the property, chapel and Mission Home were in his name.

Because there were only two of us, all of our proselyting was done in the Suva area with the exception of one trip to Nadi to locate some members who lived in that area. Elder Harris and I accounted for only one baptism while serving in Suva. We spent most of our time organizing Neighborhood Primaries, a Boy Scout Troop and a Relief Society. The Government at the time was bombarded with complaints about us from the other Christian churches. We probably spent more time answering those complaints to various government officials than we did doing actual church work.

An interesting incident occurred with Elder Groberg while he was attempting to find a way to get from Fiji to his mission in Tonga. If you read his book, Eye of the Storm, there is an account of how he was locked in a copra shed at the Suva Wharf by emigration authorities. Elder Harris and I were the two Elders who rescued him.

When we were released from our Missions about the end of Oct. 1955, Elder Harris and I were replaced by a second set of missionaries, Elder Shingleton and Elder Markham. It is my understanding that Elder Markham and his wife are just now completing a CES Mission at the Suva School.

Editor's Note: Elder Abbott and his wife leave to serve in the Japan Nagoya mission in May 1999.