EARLY MISSIONARY EFFORTS The early history of the Church in New Zealand, especially among the Maori people, is one of miracles. The people were being prepared to receive the gospel years before the missionaries arrived. Stories are told of people who had dreams that the gospel was coming and religious leaders who prophesied to their people that the true church would soon come among them. On Christmas Eve 1814, Samuel Marsden held what is known to be the first Christian service in New Zealand. Before the middle of the century, several other missionary groups-Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, and Roman Catholics-had entered the field. They focused their work on the Maori people, and found success. In 1854, shortly after George Grey completed his term as governor of New Zealand, he reported that "all but about 1 percent of the Maoris had made a profession of Christianity." LDS MISSIONARIES ARRIVE Augustus Farnham, president of the LDS Australasian Mission, accompanied by William Cooke, arrived in New Zealand on 27 October 1854 to teach the gospel. They preached with little success in Auckland and Nelson for two months. Farnham left and Cooke remained alone. In March 1855, he baptized 10 people and organized a branch at Korori. The third missionary, Carl C. Amussen, did not arrive until 1867. Some early, unsuccessful attempts had been made to teach the Maori people, but missionary work centered mainly on Europeans. At the end of 1880, seven branches had been established with 133 members. At this time President Joseph F. Smith of the First Presidency instructed missionaries to concentrate on the indigenous Maori people; this instruction began the fulfillment of Maori prophecy and led to the conversion of many tribes. MAORI PROPHECY FULFILLED In March 1881, a convention of representative natives from the Ngatikahungunu tribe of the Maori people was called to discuss political, social, and religious problems. The following retelling is based Elder Matthew Cowley's account. (See "Matthew Cowley Speaks," Deseret Book, 1954.) All in attendance at the convention were devout members of one of the several established churches; some were Catholic; some were of the Methodist faith; and some were of the Presbyterian belief. Many were old enough to have seen the coming of the first Christian missionaries to New Zealand. They discussed the differences among the Christian religions and the diversity of beliefs and confusion of ideas. They discussed which church the Maori should join so there would once again be a unity of religious belief among them; and asked where the power of God unto salvation was for the Maori people. It was evident that not more than one of the churches could be the recipient of divine inspiration nor be recognized as the church of Christ. After lengthy debate, they decided to present their problem to Paora Potangaroa, the wisest chief and the most learned sage among them. They asked him, "Which of the churches is the church for the Maori race? Which of them should we join?" He told the people to wait and he would give them the answer after he had given the matter serious consideration. He left the assembly and retired to his own residence. For three days he prayed, fasted, and meditated upon the matter. He was aware that the true answer would not come without prayerful meditation and without invoking divine aid. After three days he returned to the convention and addressed his people. A scribe, Ranginui Kingi, wrote the words of Paora Potangaroa's prophecy or the Covenant. Freely translated, these were his words: "My friends, the church for the Maori people has not yet come among us. You will recognize it when it comes. Its missionaries will travel in pairs. They will come from the rising sun. They will visit us in our homes. They will learn our language and teach us the gospel in our own tongue. When they pray they will raise their right hands. This is the day of the fullness. The year 1882 will be the year of the sealing. The year 1883 will be the year of the great honoring. This covenant will be remembered by generations which follow after us. We are the people of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. We will learn of the scepter of Judah; of Shilo; of the kingdom of heaven; of the sacred church with a large wall surrounding; of the increase of the races; of faith, love, peace, patience, judgment, and unity. All of this plan will be fulfilled by the people of the Ngatikahungunu tribe during the next forty years. Elder Cowley identified the "sacred church with a large wall surrounding" as the Salt Lake Temple. He also pointed out that the only Maori people to participate in all the ordinances of the gospel during the next forty years (until 1921) were the members of the Ngatikahungunu tribe. Later many members of other tribes participated in all the blessings of the gospel. President William Bromley of the Australasian Mission first visited a Maori village, Orakei, on 6 March 1881, ten days before the prophecy was given at the conference. By the end of 1884, membership in New Zealand included 265 Europeans and 811 Maori. Membership among the Maori increased to nearly 4,000 in 79 branches by the turn of the century. NEXT WEEK: 1880-1919: Australasian Mission, Maori Agricultural College, Book of Mormon Translated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CLARIFICATION AND CORRECTION from Part 1: The first stake outside of North America was the Oahu Stake in Hawaii, which was organized in 1935. Therefore, the Auckland Stake, organized in 1958, was the first stake organized outside of North America that was not on U.S. territory. Also, the majority (80 percent) of New Zealanders are Pakeha (of European DESCENT), and about 13 percent are Maori. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CultureGrams, a division of MSTAR.NET, sponsors GEMS Worldwide Saint messages. CultureGrams publishes concise, reliable cultural reports on more than 175 countries. For more information on CultureGrams, visit http://www.culturegrams.com CultureGrams acknowledges and appreciates Rachel Snell for her compilation of this message and other contributions to this series on the history of the Church in New Zealand. GEMS is grateful to R. Lanier Britsch for his support and contribution to this series. Brother Britsch's book "Unto the Islands of the Sea, A History of the Latter-day Saints in the Pacific" (Deseret Book, 1986) is available on Deseret Book's electronic reference library, "GospeLink 2001". You can buy "GospeLink 2001" online at http://deseretbook.com/ldsworld.tcl?sku=4028853 "Matthew Cowley Speaks" from which Elder Cowley's included retelling comes, can also be found on "GospeLink 2001." Purchase link given above. "An Ensign to the Nations," a Church-produced video on the pioneering legacy of the Church, includes a segment on the history of the Church in New Zealand. This excellent video can be purchased online from the Church Distribution Center at http://www.ldscatalog.com If you served a mission in New Zealand you belong to the New Zealand Missionary Society. To receive society mailings, send your contact information to P.O. Box 12841, Ogden, UT 84414. For more information, see http://www.mission.net/new-zealand/ ------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001, Millennial Star Network - distributed on the Internet via the LDSWorld-Gems mailing list. 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