PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — To LDS visitors to American Samoa, below are all the directions you'll need to find a Church meetinghouse:
Locate Highway 001 — the main road that traverses the 20-mile length of the capital island of Tutuila — then simply drive.
It doesn't matter if you travel east or west, you will soon find a building just off the road.
Maybe it will be the meetinghouse in Leone, a lovely, unassuming structure that blends comfortably with the surrounding village's greenery and traditional Samoan fales, or homes.
Or you might arrive at the Pago Pago stake center a block or two removed from the massive tuna plant on the edge of the bustling Pago Pago Harbor.
Passing near the center of the island? There you will discover the newly built headquarters of the Pago Pago Samoa Mapusaga Stake. It's the sort of place where members gather, then linger, visit and laugh. The stake center's many offices, classrooms and chapel encircle an open-air plaza that seems to invite Talofa' lava — the Samoan culture's pervasive attitude of warmth and hospitality.
Indeed, American Samoa's seemingly ubiquitous LDS meetinghouses are an apt symbol of the Church on the U.S. territory in the Pacific. The faith enjoys a defined presence in American Samoa. Some 18,000 members live here — about one in five of the inhabitants of Tutuila and its smaller, sister island of Aunu'u.
"And the Church continues to grow," said Pago Pago Samoa Mapusaga Stake President Edward M. Stevenson.
A lifelong member and native of Western Samoa, President Stevenson fell in love with American Samoa while serving as a young, full-time missionary.
As in many of the Pacific Islands, the efforts of missionaries played a pivotal role in American Samoa. A dozen years before the arrival of the 20th century, Joseph and Florence Dean were dispatched by leaders of the Hawaiian Mission to establish missionary work in present-day American Samoa. The territory's first convert baptism was recorded days after the couple's arrival at Aunu'u, according to the 2005 Deseret Morning News Church Almanac.
The bulk of the gospel work soon shifted to Tutuila, where the first branch began operating in 1893.
The Church enjoyed steady growth in American Samoa over the next several decades despite occasional lapses in formal missionary work. LDS schools were opened (which are no longer in operation) and worship services were often held in fales. American Samoa's first stake — the Pago Pago Stake — was organized in 1969.
Despite it's geographical remoteness, American Samoa is a multi-layered area. The territory is unmistakably Samoan in its culture and easy-paced lifestyle. Priesthood holders often wear the traditional lava lava to LDS functions and the Samoan language is prevalent. Aiga, or extended Samoan family ties, remain strong.
Church members and their neighbors here are Americans. Banners and other signs throughout the territory honor the patriotic efforts of American Samoan military personnel serving in Iraq and other foreign deployments.
Thousands are also devout members. When fire claimed the original Apia Samoa Temple, many of the American Samoan faithful still found a way to attend the temple monthly in Tonga or New Zealand.
The work continues in American Samoa. It's dynamic.
"We counsel the members in American Samoa to stay faithful," President Stevenson said. "Make service a (priority). Listen to our Church leaders, and apply the gospel teachings to their lives."
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
