LONDON, Christmas Island — For years, the man diligently held family home evenings — reading to his wife and child from an old, worn copy of the Book of Mormon in his native language, Kiribiti, the language spoken here on Christmas Island, along with English. For years, he remained faithful — despite there being no official Church organization among members on this island, some 1,500 miles south of Hawaii.
So for years, the man pled with the Lord to send representatives of the Church to establish a branch on this 140-square-mile atoll, which is part of the Republic of Kiribati.
On May 23, his prayers were answered. Under the direction of Elder John B. Dickson of the Seventy and president of the North America West Area, the Christmas Island Branch of the Church was formally organized with 117 members by Hawaii Honolulu Mission Pres. H. Ross Workman. The island, with some 4,000 people of Kiribati descent, is situated among the Line Islands in the South Pacific. Formerly in the Fiji Suva Mission, the island was transferred to the Hawaii mission about a year ago.
"Our Heavenly Father knows His children well and knows where they are," said Elder Dickson. During a telephone interview, he spoke of the new branch and the reaction of islanders to the presence of the Church. "There have been some miracles taking place to bless the members and others who will ultimately be members who are known to their Heavenly Father. We feel a great responsibility to see that they have all the blessings of the gospel."
In a separate telephone interview, Pres. Workman shared with the Church News the thrill of being part of the birth of the new branch. Accompanied by his wife, Katherine, and their son, Ryan, who had just returned from the Russia Novosibirsk Mission, he traveled to Christmas Island the week of May 18-25 at the request of Elder Dickson.
"It's a wonderful place!" Pres. Workman declared. "One of the miracles of the Church is our educational system." He explained that most of the members here were converted elsewhere, many attending Moroni High School on Tarawa, the capital of the Republic of Kiribati, and/or BYU-Hawaii, then either returning home or moving here for one reason or another. For instance, new branch Pres. Timei Kaitaua and his wife, Timi, met while at BYU-Hawaii and were married in the Hawaii Temple. They and their five young daughters recently moved to Sister Kaitaua's native Christmas Island.
It was Timei Kaitaua who first contacted Pres. Workman a few months ago about the possibility of a branch on Christmas Island. "He told me that he believed that perhaps as many as 40 or more members of the Church may be living on the island," Pres. Workman recalled.
The young father was instructed by the mission president to gather reports. "Within a month," Pres. Workman continued, "I began receiving hand-written reports listing the names of people who are members of the Church. Timei urged that we do whatever we can to form a branch."
These reports were sent to Elder Dickson, and the ball was soon rolling for Pres. Workman's visit. The mission president also contacted Kiribati government representatives for the needed permission to create an LDS branch on the island. He discovered the government required at least 100 members of a particular church to grant approval but that a special waiver might be obtained if there were 40-60 members. Coincidentally, one Kiribati government official, Jim Taekiti, Honorable Minister of Lines and Phoenix [islands], was planning a trip that would take him through Honolulu. Pres. Workman made arrangements for a VIP tour of BYU-Hawaii and the Laie Temple Visitors Center, and a VIP welcome at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Minister Taekiti visited Hawaii while the Workmans were on Christmas Island and was impressed with the Polynesian Cultural Center and the other sites. Pres. Workman related, concerning the visit: "President Moore . . . presented him with a special gift to remember his visit to the PCC. For a moment he was without words, and then said: `I have no gift for you — but perhaps I have. Your church shall be recognized on Christmas Island and land will be made available for a church building.' "
Speaking of the flight to Christmas Island May 18, Pres. Workman said: "We wondered with some anxiety at our reception among those Saints so long absent from active participation in organized Church activity. Our anxiety turned to joyful amazement as we arrived on this remote island."
Some dozen Church members were at the tiny airport near the village of London to greet the small Church group. Almost immediately, Pres. and Sister Workman and their son were taken to the village "mwaneaba," a building, without walls or windows, in the center of the village used for gatherings. London is one of several villages on the island. There, a welcome feast was held. "Members kept coming and coming and to our joyous astonishment 61 members of the Church came to welcome our arrival!" Pres. Workman related. "They had prepared a program. We sang the songs of Zion in Kiribati from much needed Kiribati song books we had brought with us."
The following days brought more amazement. As Pres. Workman went from household to household to meet and interview members, he was referred to even more members. "Numerous times, the members recalled a name or a family. They took us immediately to those nearby and we went into their houses and visited. With only one exception, they all said they desired to attend the Church services when a branch was established. Our list of membership was growing."
By the time the May 23 sacrament meeting was scheduled to formally organize the branch at the village mwaneaba, more than 100 members had been found. Among these members were found many Melchizedek Priesthood holders worthy to hold leadership positions.
Continuing, he said that the Sunday the branch was organized "carried with it a sense of history. Some faithful arrived early and swept the floor of the open-sided mwaneaba and rolled out mats upon which the members would sit during the meeting. Ryan and a faithful returned missionary, Tenea Tenea, prepared the sacrament table and the emblems of the sacrament. How marvelously lovely the new white cloths and sacrament trays looked in this otherwise unadorned building. It brought an atmosphere of sacredness to the meeting hall."
From all over the island, some walking 15 miles, 58 members arrived and the meeting began. Sustained as branch president was Pres. Kaitaua, with Brother Tenea as first counselor, Tito Turerei as clerk and Kiraren Tiirate as elders quorum president. Aurata Tenea was sustained as Relief Society president and Tautara Turerei as Primary president. After the sustaining votes, members began bearing their testimonies.
"A wonderful feeling pervaded the entire meeting," Pres. Workman remarked. "I was especially touched by the testimony of Anami Tiouniti who wept that her worst fears, as she was released from her mission, was that she would lose the Spirit because she would return to Christmas Island as the only member of the Church in her family. In the absence of a branch of the Church, she feared for her opportunity to serve and strengthen her testimony. She wept as she expressed gratitude for the blessing of the branch not only for her but also for all the members."
The rest of the time on the island, Pres. and Sister Workman and Ryan trained the branch leaders and gave missionary discussions to many investigators.
Of the trip, Pres. Workman summed up his feelings: "I felt that the Lord had prepared the way and had revealed to us a step at a time how His work was going to be established on Christmas Island. I felt the Lord's influence powerfully manifest in the work done.
