Pacific Islanders and Mormonism

[6] There are numerous notable adherents of the church, and LDS missionary efforts in the region were highlighted in the film The Other Side of Heaven.

The church began operating schools in the Pacific Islands in 1850,[2]: 59  and currently owns and runs Brigham Young University–Hawaii (BYU–Hawaii) and the nearby Polynesian Cultural Center.

[2]: 56 The Pacific islands were one of the first areas to be evangelized by LDS Church missionaries after Europe and North America, notably Hawaii, which was annexed by the United States in 1898.

[7]: 133–134  In 1955, the church partially lifted some of its temple and priesthood racial restrictions and began allowing Melanesian women and men access to all temple ceremonies (called ordinances), and Melanesian men and boys to be ordained to the priesthood.

[20][28] Modern genetic testing has not established any connection between Pacific Islanders and purported peoples of The Book of Mormon.

Three of the major groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean
Entrance to the Polynesian Cultural Center
Tāwhiao
The branches of the Oceanic languages . Orange is the Admiralties languages and Yapese, yellow-orange is St. Matthias, green is Western Oceanic, violet is Temotu, and the rest are Central-Eastern: dark red Southeast Solomons, blue Southern Oceanic, pink Micronesian, and ocher Fijian-Polynesian.
Jonah Lomu
Valerie Adams (right) in 2017, after her investiture as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the governor-general, Dame Patsy Reddy
Tony Finau