IOHANI WOLFGRAMM

Man of Faith and Vision

1911–1997
Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber
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 WOLFGRAMM
IOHANI WOLFGRAMM

MAN OF

FAITH AND VISION

1911- 1997
1911 -1997

Compiled
Compiled by
Ivdt
£ 4jD

Tisina Wolfgramm
W olfgramm Gerber Cf.;;( I, '"' ~ ~
q~\S~
k.

FAMILY
FAMILY HISTORY
HISTORY LIBRARY
L1Pr:1' "Y
35
35 NORTH
Nor' i- WEST
WEST '•
SALT u ",_ CiTY
SALT LAKH l,iT'i. I . ~. J __
 PREFACE
P REFACE

lohani Otto Melila Wolfgramm to be a person worthy of our consideration, we

Considering Iohani
have assembled this book in his hi s remembrance. He was bom born in the Tonga Islands, in the northern
group of Vava'u in the village
vi llage of Ha'alaufuli.
Ha 'alaufuli. His parentage consisted of a German grandfather and
a Tongan mother from a highly hi ghly respected fam familyil y of the village.
village. He had quite an amazing life
hLlmbl e beginnings, his
considering his humble hi s large family of of 17 ch ildren , immigration
children, immi gration to the Un ited
United
States, and undeviating devotion to the principles of of truth and righteousness
righteou sness and his support and
whole hearted defense of the gospel gospel of Jesus Christ and his hi s life-long
life- long membership
membersh ip in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
His daughter Tisina has accepted the responsibility of this collection. She spent many hours
helping her father
father record on cassettes much of his hi s history,
hi story, his
hi s missions,
mi ss ions, his healings, discourses
and prophesies. It was through a spec special
ial manifestation
manifestation on one hand and a covenant on the other that
focu s of this work. Much of the voluminous
began the focus \·oluminous amount of data had to be translated into
English.
Engli sh. Then it had to be edited, typed and retyped until it reached its present state. Most of the
translation was done by his hi s daughter Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber, with the typing and editing done
for the most part by her aunt Edna P. Wolfgramm Bumingham. Burningham. Help has been received from many
other sources too numerous to mention.men\ion. Many hours, adding up to about two years, years , have gone into
the production
Production ofof this
thi s volume.
The book is not written in a narrative style, but is rather a compilation of numerous stories
and events that took place, freque
frequently
ntly with Iohani
lohani in the center of the event. If you look leok at the big
picture, there emerges an image of the times in which he lived that goes far beyond his personal
experiences, but in many ways typical of the whole social establishment into which he was born bom..
In order to get a perspective on the time in which these events took place, we have tried to place a
date on as many items
item s as we could. The name of of the author or person telling the story is given
following
followi ng the title of each item.
Many books have been written about Tonga going goi ng back to the mid 1800's. Almost without
exception these books have been authored by white Europeans E uropeans who had spent time in Tonga. I
think the value of this
thi s book is that it is written from the perspective of of a Tongan who was born and
raised in the culture and lived
li ved there into his middle age. There is nothing supelficial superficial about Iohani
lohani's
's
experiences (and it is not an outsider that is sittin sittingg on the sidelines recording them). Who better
could explain the experience of family
offamily life, birth, death, obtaining money and its necessity in their
life than a Tongan
Tongan??
Some of the concepts mentioned have no equivalence in American life. For instance, the
importance of the kava circle in the soc socialial and political life of Tonga cannot be easi easily
ly explained,
so I shall not try. The importance of correct family lines is jealously guarded, and has everything
to do with land acquisition and passing on the titles of nobility. These concepts pre-date the
Christian era. In the case of weddings or funerals funerals,, there is a very exact order of things as to who
is in charge and makes decision
decisions-and
s-and not the immediate family. Every person is inferior or superior
to other family
fami ly members, a fema female le always outranks a male, sometimes going back a couple of of
generations to prove that someone is sitting in the proper place.

v
 Some of the vignettes are concemed with early Tongan history back to the first white men
to be found in Tonga. Others show the expansion of ofthe
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
from Utah through Hawaii,
Hawai i, then to Samoa, and then to Tonga and more outlying islands. The
gospel
gospe l was first preached in Tongatapu with little success, and then to Vava Vava'u Ha'alaufuli
' u where Ha ' alaufuli
was the first stronghold of of the Church in Tonga. Two missionaries from Samoa were sent to
introduce the gospel
gospel to Tonga in 1893. Iohani
lohani served a total of seven missions
mi ssions for the Church
Church.. He
had a great gift of healing and people near and far sought him for blessings. Many of the stories
record those events.
We will touch only briefly
briefly upon his
hi s genealogy work, but it is very extensive and he was
invited
in vited many times to present his charts and lectures at firesides and to others interested. After
much research and inspiration, he made the connection to the Tongan Royalty and the Royal lines
of Europe back to King David who was promised: And thine
of Ihine house and thy kingdom shall he be
established
eSlablishedfor
for ever before
before thee:
Ihee: thy throne
Ihrone shall be established
establishedfor
for ever. II
IT Samuel
Samuel 7:16.
7: 16. Queen
Elizabeth
Eli zabeth of England heard of of this
thi s and asked him for a copy, which was del delivered
ivered by his
hi s son
family
Michael and fam il y when they toured Europe.

E.P.W.B.
E .P.W.B.

VI
vi
 FAMILY OF IOHANI WOLFGRAMM
recap

Husband: lohani Otto Melila Wolfgramm (19

Iohani (1911-1997)
11- 1997)

Parents: Charles Fredrick Wolfgramm - Sa

Salome
lome Fo'ou Afu
Wife: Salote Lasini Fakatou
Fakato ll (1915- )
Parents: Penisoni Kaufusi
Kaufusi Fakatou
Fakatou - Selu Vaia Mafi

Children: 1.
I. Henilieta Ana Malina (Marlene) Wo
Wolfgramm
lfgramm (1934)
2.. Ana Pau'u
2 Pall ' lI (Anna) Wolfgramm (1935
(1935 -1994)
Kuluni
3. Salesi Fritz K uluni (Charles) Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm ((1937)
1937)

4. Taiana Salome Fo'ou (Diana) Wolfgramm (1938)

5. Tisina Melila (Tisina) Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (1940)
6. Sam
Samuela Vainga
uelayai nga Fakatou (Sam) (1942)
7. Napoleone Finau (Napoleon)
Fin au (Napo leon) Wolfgramm (1943 - 1969)
8. Maikele Holger (Michael) Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (1945)
Leilani
9. Lei Etina
lani Eti (Leilani
na (Leil an i Edna) Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (1946)
10. Fololeni Nightingale (Florence) Wolfgramm ((1948)
1948)

11.
II . Uaileta Filipe (Walter Ph
Philip)
ilip) Wolfgramm (1949)
12.
12 . Noma (Norma Going) Wolfgramm (1950)

13. Loleita El
Elisi
isi (Elsie) Wolfgramm (1952)
14. Lisiate
Lis iate (LeGrand Richards) Wolfgramm (1953)
15. Tila Uei (Tila) Wolfgramm ((1955)
1955)

16. luni Uei (Iuni)

(luni) Wolfgramm (1955)
17. Ofa Moana (Moan
(Moana)
a) Wolfgramm (1959)
18. Italiame
ltaliame Lose (Rosie) Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (1959) Adopted
Dci Tonga (James) Wolfgramm
19. Semisi Iki Wolfgramm (1972) Adopted

V ll
vu
Pedigree of IOHANI WOLFGRAMM
Wolfgramm
Karl Friedrich Wolf ramm

August Ludwig Wolfgramm

Dorothea Maria Heidemann

Fredrick Gustav Ludwig Wolfgramm
Friedrich Wilhelm Fritz

Caroli na Wilhelmine Auquste

Carolina Auguste Fritz

Maria Rohrbeck
Charles Fredrick Wolfgramm
Fakaua Tu'i Ha'ateiho

Afi'a Folola Havea Tu'i Ha'ateiho

Fusioala
Fusipala Panaai
Pangai
Kisaea Sisifa
Pita Havea Tuli

llaisa'ane Pita Haveatuli

lIaisa'ane

Fane Kaufusi

IOHANI ana
IIOHANI OTTO MELILA WOLFGRAMM

Fetuani Afu

Uli Matanqilelei
Matangilelei Simione Nakalase Afu

Mele Ana Finau Toki

Pita Afu
Paula Tu'ivuia Sipa

Salame
Salome Fo'ou Sipa

Ilaisa Tanqaloa
llaisaTangaloa
Salome Fo'ou Afu
Fuimaono

Viliami
Vi liami Selu

Tahi si'i
Emeline Kefu
Vakili Kaetafa

Ana Pau'u

llaisa Lolo
lIaisa

V 111
vm
Pedigree of SALOTE WOLFGRAMM
T evi ta Oto'ota
Tevita

Atunaisa Tuilakahema
Tuifakahema

Alisi
Samuela Fakatou
Motekiai Taliki Mata'u

Lavina Finau

Ana Foli
Penisoni Kaulusi
Kaufusi Fakatou
Folautautei Aho

Fanueli Filita
Fifita Loloko

Alisi
Ateleita Filita
Fifita
Semisi Langi

Maleane Halamehi Semisi

Litea Na'a

L SALOTE LASINI FAKATOU I

Atunaisa Mali
Mafi

Soane Mali
Mafi

Salote Mali
Mafi
Isileli Mali
Mafi
Sioape Puli

Sokopesi
Sokopesi

Seluvaia Kelu
Kefu
Sela Vaia Mali
Mafi
Tava Slope
Tava Siope - Chiel 01 Hoi
Chief of

Sitiveni Matanivai

Vika Umulakapotu
Umufakapotu i Panqai
Pangai
Kalisi T eputepu
Teputepu
Hua'anga Sioemata

Mele Kaloatu
Kafoatu

Lupe Elenoa

IX
IX
x
 CONTENTS
Page
Chapter I:I: Background
Background ... .... ..... . . . . . ..... .... .. . .. . ..... .. ..... . .......... . . 1I
German Ancestry ... ... . . .. .. .. .. . ..... .. ..... .. ... . .. . .. . .. .. .. .. . . .•... 3
Gelman
Tongan Ancestrty, Kisaea's Fami Family ly Lines .....•.... .. •.. . .• . .... .... . .. . .. . ... 4
Sisimataela'aa and His
Sisimataela' Fakatou'io
Hi s Son, Fakatou' io . ...... . .... .... . .. . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . . .. . . 6
The First White Men who came to Tonga ......... . . .... .. ... . .. . . .. . . . .. ..... 9
Earlyy Methodist History about King Siaosi T
Earl Tupou
upo u I ... .. . . ...... .. . . ......... . . 10
David's
Dav Royall Line .. .. .. . . . ........ ...... . . . ... . .... .. ... . . . ... . ....... 12
id 's Roya
TThe Gospell Reaches Vava'
he Gospe Vava'uu .. .. . . . . .. . . ... ... . . .. ... . .. . . .. . ... .. .. . .. . . . 15
Vava'uu Islands . .. . .... . .. . . ......... . .. . . ...... . .. .. . . ... . .. .. ... . . . ... 16
Vava'

E: lohani's
Chapter IT: Childhood .. .. . . . ..... .. . . . . . ... . ... . .. ... .. .... ... .. . . .... 21
Iohani's Childhood 21
My Early History . . . .... . . ..... .. .. . • .. . ...... . .. . . .. . .. . . ..... . . . .. .... 23
A Special Gift for Chok
Choking
ing Victims . . .. ....• . .. .... . . .. . ..... . ... . . ........ 27
Influenza
Infl uenza Epidemic at Vava' u .. . . .... . ... . . .. . . . . •.. . .•. .... .... . . .. . . . . .. 29
Vava'u
Earthquake
Ealt hquake at Otualea Beach at Ha Ha'alaufuli
'alaufuli 1918
19 18 . . . ...... . .... .. .. .. .. .. . . .. . . 31
31
lohani was 10 Years Old . .... . . ... . . .. .... . . . .... . .. . . . ... . . . ... . .. . .. . .. 32
Iohani
Apostle David O. McKay .· .•.. . . .. . .. . .. ...... .. . . . . . .. . .. .. .. .. ... .. ..... . . 32
Hunting Wild
Wil d Goats ... . .... .... . . .. . ...... .. . .. . . . . . .....•.. . . ... ....... 33
While
Wh ile lohani was Sin
Single
gle (at Hangai) ..... .. . . .... . ...... . . . ..... .•... . . .. . .. 34
While lohani
lohani was Single (at Vaomaile)
Vaomai le) .. ...... . . ..•. .... . . .. .. . ... .. . . .. .... 34
Churches at Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufu li ......... .... . . . . .. ... .... .. .. ...... . .. .. .... ..... 35
lohani's
Iohan i's Body Arises from the Dead .. . . . . . . .. .. . .... .. ... ... ........ . . .. . . . 36
The Day my Falher
Father Died . . ..... . ... .. .. .. . .. . . . . .... .. .. .. .... • ... . . ... .. 37

Chapter HI:
ill: lohani's
Iohani's Young Married
Married Life ............... ... .. .. . ... . . ........ . . . . 41 41
lohani's
lohani 's engagement . . ..... .. .. . ... .. .... .... .•.. . .•.. . .. . ....... . .. . ... 43
Early Married Life at Vaufisi
Vaufis i .. . .. ...... .. . . . . .. . ..... . .. . .... . ........ . ... 43
Early
Earl y Translation
Trans lation of
of the Book of of Mormon ..... ..... . .. .. .. ..... . .... .... .. . . . 45
Fishing at the Sea Shore ... .. ... .... . .. . . . ...... ....... .. . . . ...... . ..... .. 45
The Truth
Trulh Must be Told ... . . ..... .. .. ....•. . . . . . ..... . .. . .•.. . ... .. . . .. . . 46
George Albert Smith
Sm ith Visits Tonga .. .. . . . ..... . . . .......... .. ... . .... . . . .... 48
Speaking Assignment at Tu'anuku
T u' an uku . .... ... ........ .. . . ... .... ... ... . . . ..... 50
Attacked by a 75 Foot WhaleW hale at Otea Branch . . ... .. . . . . .. .. ..... .. . .. ... ..... 51
Moving
Mov ing from Vava'u
Vava' u Mapelu
to Mapelu . .. ... . . . ... . .... . . .. . ..... .. .. . ..... . .. .. . 52

Chapter
Chapter IV:
IV : Salote, Supportive
Supportive Wife . . . . . . ... ..... . . .... ... ... . .. . . .... .. . . ...... 57
Salote's Beginnings
Begi nnings ........ . . ... ... . .. . ..... . • .. .. ... .. . . . . . ... . ........ 59
Faith and Prayer were Answered . .. ... . ...... ... . ........ .... . . .. . ..•...... 60
Care for a New Mother
Mother and Her Baby ... . ..... . . .. . ... ...... .. .. .. ... ....... 62

XI
X I
 Ana . . . ...... . .... . .. . . .. . .. . ...... .. . . . . .. .... ... .. . .. . ... .. . . ... .. .. 62
Relief
Relief Society at Ha ' apai about 1938 ....... . .... . ..... . ... . . . . ... . .. .... .. .. 63
Ha'apai
After
After the Death of my Son Napole
Napo le . ... . . . .. . .... . ......... . . ... . ... . .. .. . .. . 65
Coconut Palms . .... .. .... .. ... .. .. .... .. . .... . .. .. . . . . .... . . .. . ... . .. . . 66
Napoleone and his Son Napoleone
Napo leone Jr. Jr . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . • . ... .... ... . .. .. .. . . 66
S tory of Gary Frandsen ..... . .. . ... .... ............ . . . . . . . .. .. . .. .. . ... . . 68
Story
Food Storage in Ha'apai .. . ... .. .. .. .. ...... .. . •. .. . . . .... ... ... . . .... . . . 69
The Day President Spencer W. KimballKim ball Died . .. . . .... ... . . . . ... . .. . . ... ... .. . 71 71
A One Doll ar Bill ......... . . .... . .... ... .. .. .... ... .. .. .. ...... . ... . . ... 73
Dollar
The Missi ng Wa ll et . ... . .. .. .. . . . .. . ....•. . . . . . • . . .. .. .. ... .. . . . .. . ..... 73
Missing Wallet

Iohani's Missionary Years ..... . ...... . .... .. .. . . . . . . ....... .. .. ... .. 75

Chapter V: lohani's
Missionary Life in Tonga 1941 194 1 - 1943 ... . . . .. .... . . . .. . ....... .... . . ... . ... 77
Item I: Beginning
Beginn ing in Houma .. . . .. . . ... ... .. . ..... . . . . . . ..... . .. .... . 77
Item II:
IT: Our First Area - Ha'Ha'utu utu and Fahefa - 1942 ... . ... . . . . ... . .... . .... 80
Item BQ: At Kolovai,
ill: At Kolovai, Tongatapu,
Tongatapu, TongaTonga ...... ... ... ... . .. .. . ... .... .. .. 81 81
Item IV: A Special Blessi
Blessingng . .. . . . . . . . .... .. ... . . ... . .... . . .... . . . .... 81
81
Item V: Tracting at Ha'atafu
Ha ' atafu - 1942 .. .. .. . . . . . ......... . .. . . . . ..... . ... 82
Item VI: A Tomado
Tornado at Fo'ui
Fo' ui . ... . ..... . ...... .. .... ... . .. ... .. .. . ... . 82
Item VE:
VIT: Assisting the War Effort Effort - 1942 . . . . . . ............. . .. . . .. . . ... 84
Item VEL
Vill: War Years at Fo Fo'ui
' ui --1942
1942 .... .. . . ....... . . . .... . . ...... .... . 85
Item IX:
IX: Missionary
Miss ionary Life at Fo'ui,
Fo' ui, March 1943 . . ... . .. . . . . .. .. .. . .. .. . . .. 88
Item X: Tis
Tisina
ina Retumed
Returned to Life ....... . ..... . .... . .. . .. .. . ... . ........ 89
Item XI:
XI: Transfer
Transfer to Halalotu
Hala10tu Branch - 1943 .... . •............ . .. . . ..... . 92
Sam and Helene's Mission at Niuafo'ou
Ni uafo ' ou . ... ....... . . . . ... . •....•. .. ... .. .. .. 94
Item I: Mission to Niuafo'ou
Ni uafo ' ou in 1944-1945 .. .. ....... .... ...... ... . . . . ... 94
II: Blessing Patisepa . . . .............. . .. . ...... . . .. . ........ . . .. 95
Item II:
BJ: Harvest ........... . . . ....... . . .. . ... .. . ................. .. 96
Item ill:
IV: The Ulu'ave
Item IV: Family
Ulu' ave Fami ly ... . ... . .. .. ... .. . .. ...... . .......• . . ... . 97
Blessing
Bless ing of Missionary Work . ...... . ...... . .. . . ... .... . . . . .. . .. . ... ... . .. 99
lohani
Iohani and Motulalo
Motu lalo Tonga at Nukunuku
Nukunuku ..... .. ... . .. . .. . . ... . .. . .. . .. .. . ... 99
lohani's
lohani 's Carpentry Skill ............. . ... . .... . .. . . . ... . . .. . . .. . .. . .... . . 100
Home Made Car .. . . . . .. . . . . . .... . . . . ....•...... . .. . . . ..... . ... . .. . .. . . 101
Carl Weiss,
Wei ss, Labor Missionary . ...... .. . . ....... . ... . . .. ... . .. . .. . . . ... 103
Item I: Carl Weiss Tellss of His Father .... . ... . ... . .. . . . . . . . . . .. .. ... . .. 103
Wei ss Tell
Item B:
II: Carl Weiss
Wei ss heals
heal s Walter - 1950 . .. . ... . ... .. ... . . .... . . . . ... .. . . 105
Labor MiMissionaries
ssionaries and Liahona College .... . . . ..... . . . . . . .. ........ . . . . .. . 106
Matthew Cowley
Cowley's ' s Help .. ....... . .. ........ . . . . .. . . ... .. .. .... . . . . . . .. . 107
Item I: Matthew Cowley's First Visit 1947/ 1947/19481948 . . . . ....... . ... . . ....... . 107
Item U:
II: More of of Matthew Cowley
Cowley's 's Visit ........ . ... . . . . . . ....... .... .. 109
Item III:
ill: Unseen Presence 1970 in Salt Lake City .. . . .. .. .. ... . .......... 111 Ill

Xli
xn
 Item IV: Story of Makongai,
Makongai , Fiji,
Fiji , the Leper Colony ..... . . .. . ... . ... . ..... III l lI
An Do Kava Circle at Te'ekiu .... .. ... ......... . . . ..... .. . .. .. . .. .... . ... 1I II ll
lohani's tape from
Iohani's from the Missionfield
Missionfield . . . .. .. . ... .... .... .......... .. .. . .. .. . . 113
11 3
Davidic Line
Li ne in America
Amelica . ... . ..... .. ....... . . .. ... ... ..... .. . .. .. . . .. .. . 121
121
The Day of Reckon
Reckoning
ing .. . ... ... ...... .. .. ..... . . ... ... .. ...... . .. . .. . .. . 123
The Sei
Seini
ni Kivalu's Story . ... . .. . ... .. ...•..... . . . . . .............. .. .. . . . 133
Evil
Evi l Spirit Between Mata'ika
Mata ' ika and Feletoa ......... . . . ... . . . . ................ 137

Chapter VI: Imigration to U.S.A . ... ... . ....... ... .. . . . .......... . . ... . . .. . .. . .. 143
Preparation for America .. .. ......... .. ... ........... . ... .. ... . .... .. .. . . 145
A Copy of my Birth Certificate .... ...... . .. . .. ..... .. ......•.. . .. . .. .. . .. 148

Chapter VE:
VIT: Growing up with lohani and Salote . . ...... . . ... . .... ..... . . . . . ..... 151 15 1
Tributes
Tri butes to lohani and Salote ..... ..... . .... . .... . ... . ... . ... . . . .. .... .... 153
Last Days of Sam Samuelauela Fakatouv ........... .. ... .. ... .. .. . ..... .. ..... .. .. . 164
Memories of Tilaa Uei . .. . .... .... . ...... . ........ . ....... ... " .. .. . ... . . 165
ofTil
Memories of luni Uei
ofIuni Ue i . ... .. . .... .. ... .. . . . .... . .. ... . ........ . . .... . .... 167
Sketches of Mike and Vake ........... . .. . .. . .. . .. . . ....... . ..... .. .. . .. . 173
I: Love Affair
Item I: Affair of Mike and Vake ....... . .... .. . . .. .... .... . .. ... . . 173
of.Mike
Item E:
IT: Contribution ot Temple Fund ... .... ..... . . . . . . .. ... . ........ . . 174
Item IE: Family
ill: Fami ly Bus Trip .... .... . ... .. . . ..... .. ............ . . .. .. .. . 176
Leilani's Expediences .... . .. ... . . •... .................. .. . . . .. .. .. 177
Leil ani 's Great Expelfiences
I: Blessed by the Prophet . . ........... . ............... .......... . 177
Item I:
Item E:
IT: Leilani's Missionary Experience at Ha'apai Ha 'apai abt 1968 . . ... . .... . .. . . 177
i77
Item ill:
EI: Lelani
Lelani's 's Missionary Experience in Tongatapu abt 1969 . . ..... . .... . 180
Item IV: Leilani's
Lei lani's Crisis 1974 .. .... ..... . .... . ... . . .. .............. . . 181 18 1
Tisina's
Tisina 's Growing up Years ... . ........ . ..... . .... .. ... .. ..... . . .. ....... 182
Oh! To be BomBorn in Tonga ............. . .. .. . . . . .. . .. .. . ........ . ...... ... 187
Elisi Tells it Like it Is ....... .. ............... . ............... . . . .. .. .... 190

Chapter VEI:
Vill: Healings, Visions, Prophecies .. .. ... .................... . . .. ....... 199
A Patient at St.Marks Hospital . .. ........................ . . .. ... . .. ....... 20 201I
Blessing to Glendale Relief
Relief Society President ...... . . . . .. . . . .... . . . .. .. . . .... 202
A Mother in Bountiful
Bountiful .. . ....... ..... ...... .. .. . .. ...... .. . . ........ .. .. 203
Blessing of Norma's
Norma 's Baby ... . ... .•....... .. ..... . . . ..... •... .. . ......... 203
lohani Sought from a Dream . . .... ..... ... . . . .. .. . . . ......... . ..•........ 204
Healing a Gunshop Wound ........ ..... .. . .. . . ... . ... . . .. .. . . . . ... . ..... 205
Story of Manu
Man u Matanga .. ............ . ..... ... ...... .. . . . . ........ .. ... . 206
Liahona Taufa
T1'.ufa Tonga Fifita .. .. ...... .. .. ...... . .. . . . . .. . .... .. ...... ... . 206
Sione Olive . .. . . ....................... .. ........ . ...•. . .. .. ... ... .... 208
Healing of Piuela Fonua Tonga ... . ....•.....•....... . .... ...... . ... ...... 209

XIII
xm
 Home Repairs at the Gerber's . . .. . . ...... .. .... . .... . ... .. ... . ..... .. .... 209
Story of Sister Adams ...... . . . . . . .... . .. . . . . . ........ . ...... . ......... . 2211 1I
The Woman from Ca lifornia ..... . .. . . . . . .... . .... .. .. .. . .. .. . .. . ........ 213
Califomia
E lder Brown's Experiences and Testimony ..... . .. ... .. ... .. . . .. ............ 213
Elder
Ana
Ana's's Friend in Orlando, Florida ............... . . . .... . . . . . . . .•... •....... 215
Unexpected Help ..... . ........ . ... ..... ...... .. .......... ... .... ... ... 217
Return Missionary from Z
A Retum ion Vi
Zion sits Iohan
Visits lohanii . . .. . .... . ... . ... .... . . . . ..... .. 218
Item I:I: Vis
Visitit from Former Missionary about 1974 ... .. .. . .. . .... . .. . ..... . 218
Item II:
E: Needed Temple Work Done . . . ........... . . ... .. . . ... .. ... .... 219
Item EI:
ill: German Man in the Temple .......... . . . ... . ........ . . ... . .... 219
FV: Help from Beyond the Veil .. . . . ..... . ........ .. ...... . . . ..... 220
Item IV:
Blessing
Bless ing of Twins . . .. . . .. .. . . . .... . .... . . .... . . . . ... . ....... . ... . . .... 220
Healing Polio ........ . ......... . ... .. .. . . . ......... .... . ........ .. .... 221 221
My Friend Inoke . .......... . .... . .... . ...... . .......... .. . .. . .. . . ... ... 222
Healing of Siueti Vea ... ...... .. . ....... .. . . ........ ... ... ... .. . .. .... .. 223
My Son Lisiate (Richard) ... . ... . ...... .... .. .. . . . . .. .. ........ .. . ....... 224
Tisina and the CoiCoins ns . . .. .. . .. ... .... . . . .. . .. ... .. . .. . . ...... . . . .. ... .... 224
Samuela's Eye, at Vava'u Vava ' u ....... . .. . . ... ...... . ....... .... . .. ........ ... 225
Leprosy .... .. . .. .. .. .. . .. . . . ... .. . . . .. ... . . . . . .. ... .. .. . . . .. .. ..... . . 225
Two Coincidental Car Crashes .........•............. .. .................. 226
Escape from a Rapist ... .......................... . .... .•..... ........ .. 227
Samuela and Walter Serve in Vietnam . .... .. . .. . . .......... . .... . ........ . 228
Oscar's Newsletter from Florida . .. .. .................... ... ... . ......... . 231 231

FX: Farewell . .... . . . .. . . ........... . .... . . ... .. .. .. . ...... ..... ... . . . 23

Chapter lX: 2333
lohani's
Iohani 's Farewell ...... . .. .. .. .. . . ..... .. ... . .... . . . .. . .. ...... . ... .. .. 235
KSL TV Coverage of Funeral ..... . ... . ..... . . . . .... . .... . ....... ... ... .. 236
Tillll the Resurrection Rises
Ti Ri ses Thee (poem) .... . .. . . . .... .. . ....... . . .... ... . .. 238
Grandpa Iohani
lohani (poem) . .. . ........ . ..... . ..... . ................. • .. . ... 239
And You Heard His Hi s Call (poem) . . . . .... . . .. ......... .. .... .. .... . . .. . . ... 240
Walter's Problems ..... .. . .. .. . .... . . . . .. .. ....... ... .. .. ... .. ... .. ... . 241
Item I: Problems . . ..... ... . ..... . . . . . .. .. . . ...... .. ... .. .. . . . . ..... 241
241
E: Exhausted Traveler . .. .... . ... . ...... . .. .... .. . .... .......... 242
Item II:
Mighty
Mi ghty Miracle of Healing ..... . . ... . . .. .... . . . ... . .... .. . . .. . . . . . . . .... . 242

Bibliography . .. ........ . ..... . .. . . .. .. . .... . .... . . ...... .. . . . ... . . .. . .. ..... 247

XIV
xiv
 CHAPTER II

BACKGROUND
 3

German Ancestry
By Edna P. Wollgramm
Wolfgramm Burningham
Bumingham

^here
here was considerable excitement among members ofthe of the family when the announcement
T l
was made, "We got a letter from Uncle August today." It was received in Pyritz.
Pommern,
Pommern , Prussia, an area about 100 miles north of Berlin across the Oder River in the early 1870's.
Because ofthe
of the distance
di stance and slow transportation, to to get a letter was aa big event-especially from Uncle
August to find out where he was and what he was doing. doing .
This was an event in the fam family
il y because Uncle August was an adventurous spirit and left his
home country heading for the New World, U.S.A. Landing in Boston in 1848 he heard that gold had
been found in California.
Cali fornia . During the gold rush of of 1849 he made it to California
California where he settled down
for a few years of panning and prospecting for gold, and did quite well.
But again, learning of ofthe
the new continent down under, Australia, hi hiss adventurous spirit urged
him to see that country and its potential for making a livelihood there. He boarded a ship and made
it to the gold fields in Queensland and tried his hi 3 luck there for a few years, but was not content with his
finds.
While
Whi le in Queensland he heard ofthe of the Pacific Islands with its coconut oil which was almost as
good as go gold
ld in those days. Again he thought this over seriously, and finally made up his hi s mind to visit
the islands. He found a ship bound bounq for Tonga, boarded it and arrived in Nuku'alofa Nuku ' alofa in 1855.
1855. After
a few years he went on to to Ha'apai and then to Vava'u. He thought Vava Vava'u' u ideal for a trading station
so he settled there. He obtained a leasehold on some beach front property where he first first establi
established
shed
business
a bu siness of importing general wares from Genmany Germany and exporting copra to Hamburg Hamburg....
August was quite positive that he had found what he had been looking for. He wrote back to
his
hi s relatives in Germany
Genmany and also a young girl that he knew there by the name of of Sophie Doerner
Doemer
asking her if she would like to come down under and enjoy the hospitality of ofthe
the Friendly Islands.
Islands . She
eventually made her way to Tonga, and on the day she arrived they were married on board ship by a
white Weslyan minister.
Uncle August came from a fami family ly of six children. While he was traveling the world, his hi s ssister
ister
Wilhelmine Juliane Sanft
Caroline Wilhelmineluliane Sanft married Friedrich Wilhelm Wolfgramm Wolfgramm and had eight children
chi ld ren and
brother Wilhelm Heinrich Gottlieb Sanf Sanf t married Christine Caroline Guerr and had 12 children.
These children
chi ldren were all first cousins. Friedrich Wilhelm Wolfgramm had a brother August Ludwig
Wolfgramm who married maITied Caroline Wilhelmine Auguste Fritz and had 14 chi children,
ldren, making them first
cousins also to the Wolfgramms.
It was into this close family of of cousins that Uncle August's
August 's letter was received. Many of the
cousins were young adults by now and when it was suggested that they might like to come to this thi s
Utopia
utopia that he had found, his suggestion fell on fertile ground. It was early in 1872 that several
nephews of August arrived in the kingdom. They were made up of of Sanft
Sanft and Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm brothers.
Most of them settled in Vava'u,
Vava ' u, but one of
of the Sanft
Sanft boys went to Ha'apai.
Eventually
Eventuall y there were four Sanft
Sanft Brothers belonging to Wilhelm Sanftand Sanft and Caroline Guerr, four
Wolfgramm brothers belonging to 1Juliane ul iane Sanft
Sanft & & Friedrich Wilhelm Wolfgramm, and three brothers
that came from August WolfgrammWolfgramm and Caroline Fritz. The first first ones to come arrived in 1872.
4

Because
Because of of age differences,
differences . itit isis not logical
logical that
that they all came together. Life Life in
in Pyritz
Pyritz was difficult
difficult
especially
especially with large families to to support
support and the
the boys
boys were
were anxious toto better
better their
their lot.
lot. Before
Before leaving,
each had to serve a two-year
two-year stint
st int in the Prussian
Prussian army. Herman Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm was one ofthe of the youngest
and itit is known from
from his autobiography
autobiography that he traveled to the Islands by himself himself after
after his two brothers
were well established.
well establi shed.
With this
thi s background
background established,
establi shed , we will bring itit down to our principal subject,
subject, lohani.
Iohani.
Friedrich
Friedrich Gustav Ludwig Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm , fifth fifth child
ch ild of
of August
August Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm and Caroline Fritz, was aa
trader
trader for staple items
items of
of food and miscellaneous
miscellaneou s items in in exchange for copra made by
exchangeforcopra by the natives from
the coconut meat rich in oil. oi l. Lever
Lever Brothers was one of of the exporters to use the copra in their soap
manufacturing
manufacturing in Australia and the United United States. It was probably about 1885 that Fritz, as he was
known,
known , arrived at Vava'u.
Vava'u . He lived li ved with a beautiful
beautiful Tongan woman, Kisaia Ki saia Sisifa
Sisifa and had five sons.
They didn't
didn't marry until 1892 and she passed away in 1898. After After her passing he married Martha Emile
Sanft,
Sanft, daughter of of one of
of the original Sanft Sanft immigrants
immi grants from Pyritz. He was 25 years her senior.
Of
Of the five sons of of Kisaia and Fritz, only the eldest grew to maturity and married. He was was
known as Charles, also various Tongan nicknames. Charles married Salome Fo'ou Afu, Afu , daughter ofof
Pita Afu of of Ha'alaufuli.
Ha'alaufuli. Charles and Salome had 12 children and lohani Iohani was the eldest. Many of of
them grew to maturity and most emmigrated to the United States at various times, each having a large
posterity.
posterity. After
After the death of of Charles his wife married Josifa Josifa Naeata.
Naeata. Apparently they did not take
responsibility forthe
forth e children
chi ldren and they were split up and divided among the relatives to raise, including includ ing
Grandfather
Grandfather Fritz and his hi s new wife Martha Sanft. Sanft.

TONGAN ANCESTRY
TONGAN

KISAEA'S FAMILY LINES

Kisaea Sisifa came from the nobles and high ofthe

hi gh chiefs of the three great lines: ((1) Tu'i' i Tonga, (2)
I) Tu
Tu'i
Tu ' i Ha'atakalaua, and (3) Tu'i Kanokupolu, whose origins go backto Aho Eitu, Eiru, the first King of of
Tonga who ruled in the year 950 A.D.
Her father
fat her came from the nobles of the Fale Fisi (Fij
nob les of (Fiji)
i) which descended from the Tu'i Tonga
Fefine (female) being superior in rank to the Tu'i Tonga (male). She was so high in rank that no
Tongan was pelmitted
permitted to marry her.
However the Tu Tu'i' i Tonga Fefine Sinai Takala I Langi Leka left Tonga for a short visit to
Vasivasi, Islands. On a warm afternoon she went out to the lagoon for a swim. Prince Tapuosi
Vasivasi , Fiji Islands.
ofthe
of the royal family of Fiji came by. He noticed this beautiful
beautiful princess and picked up a fresh mapa fruit, fruit,
bit into it with his teeth, and threw it at Sinai Takala 1I Langi Leka. It landed on her chest. It is a
Polynesian way to let someone know that she is very beautiful and you are attracted to her.
She quickly looked around to see who did that trick. trick . She saw Prince Tapuosi with a big smile
on his face. She immediately liked the whiteness and how fine his teeth looked. It was love at first
sight. Soon the time arrived for her to leave Fiji for Tonga. Shortly after she arrived back at
 5

Tongatapu, her father, the Tu' Tu'ii Tonga, could tell that she was in love. She refused to eat and she was
love sick for Tapuosi and asked if her fathe fatherr the king, could send to Fiji Fij i and bring Tapuos
Tapuosii to Tonga.
The king sent 29 big war canoes to Fiji and soon returned at Holonga, Vava'u Vava ' u with Tapuosi
Tapuosi..
As an honor they didn't didn ' t let him walk, but several men carried him with poles on their shoulders all the
way from Holonga to Ta'anea and to Mata'ika, and the place where they carried him to at Mara Mata'ika' ika
was given a new name, Ha'amotuku.Ha ' amotuku . They finally finally left the Vava'u
Vava ' u gro groupup or the northern islands and
sailed to the middle islands or the Ha Ha'apai group.. T
' apai group There
here they rested again for a while whi le and decided to
continue on their trip tlip until they came to the small isalnd of ofU Uiha.
iha. They ate and rested there and finally finally
sailed back on their thei r boat to the southem
southern islands of Tongatapu.
Tongatap u. C lose Close to the island
is land of Tungua and
Ha'afeva
Ha ' afeva they found a perfect pplace lace to get Tapuosi ready to to meet the Tongan Princess. T They
hey took him
into
in to a small lagoon, and there they lit a torch so they could trim his hair in the current Tongan style.
They used sharp bamboo sticks to shave him.
Finally the king's men were ready at last to sai saill on to the Tongatapu
Tongatapu group and later landed at
Lapaha, Mu'a (the old capitol of Tongatapu), the home ofthe of the Tu'i Tonga (Royalty) and they call called
ed
their landing place Tuipui.Tuipu i.
When Tapuosi
Tapuosi and Tamaha Sinai Takala I Langi Leka were preparing themselves for their
royal wedding
weddi ng at Tongatapu, Tapuosi's
Tapuos i's family also came from Fiji to attend the ceremony and brought
with them gifts for the wedd wedding.
ing. The area given to the Fijians they named Peka (Mbega) after after their
island in Fiji.
Fiji . Later they moved to tc! another area and gave it the Fijian name Lambasa after another
island in the FijiFij i group. The land given to the Fijians, Tu'i T u' i Lakepa, was the richest part of that area.
Tapuosi and Sinai Takala ILangi I Langi Leka had two children:children: Fonomanu a son, and Fono Ki Moana
a daughter who later became the [amaha tamaha.. Daughter of the female Tu Tu'i' i Tonga and niece of the mal malee
lh th
131h T Tu'i
u 'i Tonga Fatafehi was the person of highest rank in the kingdom ki ngdom of of Tonga around the 17 IT !>
century. Fonomanu was the father father of the second Tamaha, Tu'imala Tu' imala for he married the next female
nex t fema le
Tu'i
T u' i Tonga Eiki Tonga Pipiki, the daughter of his mother's brother.
The highest chief's
chi ef's line is where K Kisaea Sisifa, her aunt Allau
isaea Sisifa, Anau Ki He Sinai, Ulu Ki Lupea Lea,
and Pauline Fakahiku 0O Uih Uihaa descends from and the lineage of ofthe house of
the house of Fiji has
has six
six representatives
representatives
among the landed chi chiefs
efs of modern Tonga. It is said also to be represented in Fiji. This lineage traces
its descent to the T Tu'i
u' i Lakepa ofof Vasivasi,
Vasivas i, F Fiji
iji who was married to the female Tu' Tu'ii Tonga Sina Takala
first about 1643.
Tongan chiefs of this lineage are T Tuiui Lakepa, Tu Tu'i' i Ha'ateiho, Malupo, Tu'i Ha Ha'angana,
' angana, Tu'i
Afitu and presumabley Lasike. Tu'i T u' i Lakepa is the head of this thi s lineage The first Tu'i Ha'ateiho,
Tu ' i Ha ' ateiho,
Malupo, and Tu'i Ha'angana
Tu ' i Ha' angana are said to have been the sons of a T Tu'i
u' i Tonga by a daughter of ofthe
the Fijian
Chief Tu'ii Neau of
ChiefTu' of Lakemba.
When Afi A Foloha Havea was the chief of Talafo
chief of Talafo'ou,' ou , Tu'i
Tu' i Ha'ateiho came to Mata Mata'ika' ika he
discovered that Mata' Mata'ika ika had not yet had any chief chief ass
assigned
igned to that village,
vill age, so CChief
hief Havea Tuli was
sent to be the ch chief of Mata'
ief of Mata'ika.
ika.
Afi Afo
Afolaho
laho heard about the civil war at Ha'amene'uli at Hihifo Hihi fo and immediately left Ha'apai
for Tongatpu to join the war about the year 1837. 1837 . Many
Man)1of the men from Hahake and other di districts
stricts
died in this war. They had no idea that Afi A Foloha had joined those who came from the Mu'a di district
strict
and Lapaha. The onl onlyy clue they had was the tattoo mark markss on his hi s tongue.
tongue . His whole face was badly
damaged by a war club on his face and head. After After they found his hi s body, a war canoe was brought with
other man to escort him back to Lapaha for burial. While men were paddling and repeating repeati ng their sad
6

songs with torches burning, on the shore Laufi Laufilili Tonga commented that it might be a high chief that
hi gh chief thaI
had been killed. And sure enough, it was Afi A Foloha. He is now buried at the langi at Mu'a,
Lapaha.
Kisaea Sisifa descended from the Ha'a Havea Tu'i Ha Ha'ateiho.
'ateiho. Her father was Tu'i Ha Ha'ateiho
' ateiho
Afi A Foloha Havea from Lapaha, Mu'a, Mu 'a, Tongatapu, Tonga. He was given this thi s title dating back to
1837. Her mother was naisa'ane
about 1837. Ilaisa'ane Havea Tuli of Mata Mata'ika,
' ika, Vava'u,
Vava'u , Tonga.
The son of Havea Tungua was Fa Otu Sia Veasi'i Veasi 'i Amelia Seini was given title Tamaha and was
responsible
responsibl e for the firstfirst written record ofofthe
the oral Tongan Genealogy along with King Mumu Mumu'i, ' i, Queen
Tupou,, chiefs, nobles and other genealogists from Tonga.
Salote Tupou
Kisaea's
Kisaea 's father was Havea Tu Tu'i'i Ha'ateiho Afi A Foloha Havea. He was quite a character. He
was a little more on the feminine side. Afi a Foloha Havea Tu'i Ha'ateiho came on a short visit vi sit to
Vava'u and met Havea Tuli Tuli's Ilaisa'ane and they fell in love. They lilived
's daughter llaisa'ane ved together
togethe r a few few
months. Later nIlaisa'ane discovered
aisa' ane di scovered that she was pregnant and the news reached Afi Afi A Foloha Havea
Tu'i' i Ha
Tu Ha'ateiho.
' ateiho. Since Christianity had been accepted in the islands, a new law was enacted that if a
woman had a child chi ld out of wedlock, the man involved must serve six months in jail. This would be a
great didisgrace
sgrace to the chief, so he begged and made an-angements arrangements with Havea Tuli to serve hi hiss jail time
for him. Thi Thiss he did. So Afi A Foloha Havea Tu Tu'li Ha'ateiho
' li Ha Vava'u
' ateiho left Vava ' u for his
hi s wife Ha'lauvalu
Ha ' iau va lu at
Ha'apai.
Ha ' apai. He had tattooed his
hi s tongue and wanted her to have hers done also. She refused
refused and later left
him for King Laufili Tonga at Mu Mu'a.
' a. Nine
Ni ne months later llai Ilaisa'ane
sa'ane gave birth to a beautiful girl gi rl and
they named her Kisaea Sisifa and they gave her to her grandfather grandfather Havea Tuli whose last name was
Tu'i' i Nahoki
Tu

SISIMATAELA'A ANDHIS SON, FAKATOU'IO

SISIMATAELA'A FAKATOU'IO
Story of Salole's
Salote's Family Name, Fakalou'io
Fakatou'io of Felemea

A True Story

Tl
T
here was once a lady by the name of Fataimoeloa who lived
ihere
belonging to 'the
li ved in Felemea (an island
the Ha'apai Group). Everyday, very early in the moming, she would go and
take a sw im on the beach of Felemea, and when the sun came up, she would get out of the water and
swim
sit on the sand, warm
warming ing herself, always sitting with her back to the sun. One day she di scovered that
discovered
she was exexpecting,
pecting, and fi finally
nall y gave birth to a baby boy. She name him Sisimataela'a. (S (Sisi
isi means a
festoonn made of flowers, Mata-e-la'a
festoo Mata-e-Ia'a means the face of of the sun).
Sisimataela'a
Sisim atae la'a grew up to be a very handsome young man. man . One day, the king, Tu'i Tonga, and and
his men arrived on the island of Felemea in search of an appropri appropriate
ate husband for hi hiss only daughter,
Princess Fatafehi. When they landed in Felemea, he ordered them to go and search the island. They
found
fo und Fataimoeloa and her son at their little home, so they came back to inform infon-n the Tu'i Tonga, saying,
"King, we have searched the whole island and found not a sing single
le trace of life except for an old woman
woman
and her son. ThiThiss man is the most handsome man we have ever seen. seen.""
The TuTu'i'i Tonga said
said,, "Go then and tell
te ll that woman that the Tu'i Tonga wants her son to join join
hi s crew."
his
 7

When the men came and told this to the old woman, woman , she was very sad. Ever since her son was
a little boy, she hid him fearing that somebody might come and take him away from her and now it had
come to pass. She could do nothing about it. So she told her son to go and fetch some piu (leaves of of
the fan-palm), and she made some clothes for him out of them. Sisimataela'a then came and joined
the Tu'i Tonga and his crew.
They sailed all around the Tonga islands and then on to Uvea and Futuna: they even came to
Samoa, but they could not find tlnd any other man that was as handsome
hand some as Sisimataela'a, so they sai sailed
led
straight from there to Tongatapu. For eight days and eight nights they sa sailed
il ed and on the eighth
night Sisimataela'a came into the presence of of the Tu'i Tonga and said to him,
him , "Your Majesty, if you
would allow me, me , I would like to go ashore here, while you and your men continue on your way to
Tongatapu."
The Tu'i Tonga then answered him, him , "Where and which island do you want to go to?"
"Right now, we are pretty close to the shores of Felemea."
"Do not go, but sail with us to Tonga, and when we get there, some of my men will bring you
back to your mother."
Not knowing what the Tu'i Tonga had in mind, Sisimataela'a again said, "Your Majesty, it is
best that you let me off off here now rather than giving your men the trouble of having to bring me back
here."
He was right when he said sa i~ that they were quite close to the shores of Felemea, but the Tu'i
Tonga was determined
detennined to take him to be the husband of his hi s daughter. The king ordered that the canoe
not stop but to sail round Tofua
nol Tofua and Kao so Sisimataela'a would wou ld not know they were in the seas of ofthe
the
Ha'apai Group
Group.. They timed it perfectly
perfectly so that it would still be dark when they passed Tofua Tofua and Kao.
It is said that Sisimataela'a could tell that they were quite close to Felemea by simp simply
ly feeling the flow
of the current, and he knew that it was from the strait in Felemea.
At last they reached Tonga, and went to Olotele, which was the Tu'i Tonga's residence in
Lapaha, Mu'a. Here Sisimataela'a was told to stay and marry the Tu'i Tonga's daughter Fatafehi. She
was informed
infonned that a man had been brought for her to wed, and she came to where Sisimataela'a was
to see what he was like. When she set eyes upon him, his good looks overcame her and she fainted fainted
right on the spot. The minute she regained conscious, she told her father that she would like to marry
this young man right away, for she was afraid of losing him. It was then announced throughout all of of
Tonga that the royal wedding was to take place. Sisimataela'a, too, was informed. infon11ed. He sought the Tu Tu'i'i
Tonga and asked him to postpone the wedding date for a later time, because he wished to go back to
Ha'apai and tell hishi s mother, and then he would retum,
return, and do as Fatafehi wished.
Sisitamatela'a then sailed to Felcmea
Felemea and told his hi s mother that the Tu'i Tonga wished him to
marry his daughter. Fataimoeloa instructed him to go and tell his hi s father about the coming royal
wedding. He was told to go to the sun for that was his father. She had to give Sisimataela'a directions
about the way because he did not know. She thus said, "Go straight up to the east, and in the very deep
ocean, you will find a great big rock. Here you will sit and wait, and when the sun comes up, you will
then speak to it."
8

Sisimataela'a rowed out in his canoe and reached the rock that his hi s mother had told him
about. It was quite dark when he reached it, so he sat down on it and very soon fell asleep. Dawn
came and he was still st i II fast asleep, for he was very tired from rowing the canoe. He was awakened
when he felt the sun on his face the following moming. morning. He sprang up just in time to see the sun rising
slowly. He spoke to it: "I am Sisimataela'a, and I have come to talk to you." One of of the sun's rays
reached out and took him up into the sky, and at the same time pulled a dark cloud to hide them from
the earth
eal1h below. They settled down to talk and Sisimataela'a said to the sun, sun , "My mother told me that
you are my father,
father, and that I should come and let you know of my coming wedding. I am to marry the
Tu'i Tonga's onlyonl y daughter, the Princess Fatafehi, so I have come here to find fi nd out what you think and
what you want me to do."
The sun then answered him, "Very well, you will take these two packages with you. One is
Good Fortune, and other Misfortune. Never open the one called Misfortune." Misfortune." When their
conversation ended, the dark cloud moved away and the sun put his son down onto the rock again and
started rising
ri sing high in the sky. It is said that when the sun rises in the moming,morning, it is always covered
from the earth by a dark cloud at a certain time every day. This is when the sun and his son had their
conversation.
conversation . It can still be seen to this thi s day.
Sisimataela'a got into his canoe again, again , and taking the two packages with him,him , rowed home.
Halfway
Halfway to Felemea, he could not hold back his curiosity any more. The package Misfol1une, Misfortune,
happened to be a very pretty package compared to the package of ofGood
Good Fortune
FOl1une which was really ugly.
It was then that he opened Misfortune and peeped inside. Suddemly Suddently there was thunder and lightening
lighteni ng
everywhere. Rain started to pour down upon him which developed into a very bad storm. The sea got got
very rough and it started to shake with earthquakes as well. The little canoe sank and Sisimataela'a Sisimataela'a
started to swim. The sun looked down upon him and felt sorry for his son. So he took Sisimataela'a
stal1ed Sisimataela'a
up into the sky again, together with the two packages. "Why have you disobeyed me? You will go
back again and thisthi s time, do not ever touch Misfortune
Misfortune until the ceremony is over," was the sun's last
warning
warnjng to Sisimataela'a.
Sisimataela'a once again found himself himself with the two packages on his canoe, and this thi s time he
was determined to do as his father had told him. At last he was back at Felemea again again.. He and his
mother readied themselves to go to Tonga taking with them the two packages. The only other thing thi ng
his
hi s mother took with her was a Tongan kie (fine mat) and this, thi s, she wove herself. This is said to be the
first Tongan fine mat here in Tonga. Sisimataela'a and his mother reached Tonga and were taken to
a place called Pale'amahu (Wreath of Bountiful). People flocked in to see them, and mocked them,
saying, "They are only very poor peasants. They have no wealth or any Tongan handicrafts handicrafts in their
possession, and they do not even have any people with them to prepare for and attend the ceremony."
Even though Sisimataela'a and his mother had no riches or wealth wealth,, they had something more
valuable, his good looks, the only important thing to Fatafehi. She did not care about the riches. riches. Her
H ;r
only desire was to get married to Sisimataela'a right away for he had captured her heart. It was the
moming
morning of of the big day, and Olotele was packed with people. Even the beach was full of of little canoes
of people coming in to see the royal wedding wedd ing ceremony. Almost every eye was on those two who had had
nothing in their possession.
 9

Everything was ready, and all the Tongan handi handicrafts

crafts were brought in before the Tu'i Tonga.
A messenger was sent to fetch Sisimataela'a as the big hour was approaching approaching.. Sisimataela'a then
unwrapped the package called call ed Good Fortune, and in a instant, a very long row of houses appeared.
They were full
fu ll of every kind of Tongan handicraft. There appeared many people as well as sumptuous
food presentations ready to attend the ceremony. Everybody present was amazed at the wonder being
performed. The people sa said
id that it was done by magic or witchcraft.
Fataimoeloa then made some sort of costume out of her Tongan fine mat for her son to put on.
It was something special as she had made it herself. he rself. Since that day every bridal costume or dress is
made up of Tongan fine mat.
When the wedding was performed,
performed, it was noticed that the groom's side had more wealth and
Tongan handicrafts
handicrafts than that of the bride. When all these were brought before the King, or the Tu'i
Tonga, he then told those who brought them to come and sit by him. Today, in big bi g ceremonies such
as this, the people of of Felemea still put their
thei r umu and Tongan handicrafts
handicrafts down before the Ki King,
ng, and
then come and sit down by him. him . This was done because the groom and his hi s mother were believed to
be out of this world.
After
After the wedding ceremony, Sisimataela'a
Sisimataola'a opened up the other package, Misfortune.
Misfortune. There
came a big storm which blew away all the garbage and rubbi rubbish
sh from the town, making it clean again again..
Even the big
bi g houses that were built
bu ilt by the wonder work of Good Fortune were blown away. The name
Felemea was started from this thi s ceremony, which reallyreall y means
mean s "things were scattered about.
about.""
Fatafehi and Sisimataela'a lived at Olotele, and a son was bom to them. The Tu'i Tonga named
him Fakatou'io which means, "Yea to either one: yes, he was the son of a living li ving human
hum an being, and yes,
he was also the son of of a god." One day, Sisimataela'a asked the Tu'i Tonga if he and his hi s family cocould
uld
go back to his home island and live there. The King reluctantly agreed, so Sisimataela'a, Fatafehi, Fatafehi, their
son and many people who were given to them, them , moved and li lived
ved on Felemea. The name Fakatou'io
Fakatou' io is
still used in Felemea up to this thi s day. There was also a special kind of kie, which was called the
Sisimataela'a kie, and it was under the keeping ofthe of the late Queen of Tonga. The firstfi rst name of ofthe
the island
Felemea is not known.

THE FIRST WHITE MEN WHO CAME TO TONGA

^he first European residents in Tonga were beachcombers. Those who arrived before 1797

Nomuka
Nomukaand
V.appear to have been convicts from New South Wales who left the American shshipip Olea
T he first

and Eua in March 1796. Morgan Bryan, an Irishman

Dishman liliving
ving in the Ha'apai
Otea at
Ha ' apai group, was perhaps
the most influential of these. He was certainly the first European to move about the group and and,, in
retrospect, he was the first white man ofof whom the natives
nati ves have any knowledge.
know ledge.
He was the protege ofofthe
the hedonistic
hedoni stic low-cultured beachcomber,
beachcomber, sk skilled
illed in the use of iron too
tools
ls
and weapons, but otherwise deficient
deficient in communicating the advantage of Western
Westem civ ili zation.
civilization.
The first
first missionaries
mi ssionaries who arrived on ihe
the Duff
Duff in April 1797 found him si singularly
ngul arly depraved.
No doubt he was near naked and tattooed and they did not like him near them.
10
10

Benjamin
Benjam in Ambler and John Conne Connelly ll y (or Kennelly) the other two convict beachcombers still
in the group in 1797, were seemingly less offensive offensive to god godly Ambler from London
ly men. Amblerfrom London,, England, and
Connellyy from
Connell Ireland,, both yo
fro m Cork, Ireland young
ung men in their twenties, had come to Tongatapu soon after after
landing
landi ng at Eua.
Eua.
Connellyy res
Connell resided
ided with Fatefehi
Fatefehi,, the TuTu'i' i Tonga designate at Mu'a,
Mu 'a, while Ambler appeared to
be attrached to the family of the Tu Tu'i' i Kanokupolu. In fact, he was married to the daughter of the
Commander-in-chief of the
Commander-in-chief thc fleet of Tukuaho.
Both Ambler and Connell Connellyy were fluent in Tongan and served the missionaries mi ss ionaries as interpreters.
Ambler latelaterr was put to death and Conne Connellylly was promised by the missionaries
missionari es a clock to be given to
Fatafehii and when they didn't he was removed by Capt. Wilson of the DlIilin
Fatafeh Duffin September 1797.1797. Bryan
removed to Yava Vava'u, ' u, but was clubbed to death in 1799 for raping a chief's daughter.
The first three missionaries were killed in Tonga on May 10, 1799. They were (1) Daniel
Powell,, (2) Samuel Harper, (3) Samuel Gaulton at their house at Pea vill
Powell village
age together with the
beachcomber Benjamin Bumham. Burnham . To the Chri Christian
stian world they became the first martyrs of Polynesia.
In January 1800 there was a ship wreck of the Argo in the Lau islands of Fiji. One ssurvivor urvivor
named Doyle was responsible for the massacre of the captain and crew of the American shi shipp Duke of
of
Portland at Hihifo on June 1, 1,1802.
1802 . All that survived of this thi s disaster were four boys, a diminutive
diminutive man,
man,
a Malasian and an American woman Elizabeth Morey and her negro maid Eliza. Eliza.
Elizabeth Morey lilived ved as a wife ofofthe
the important chi chief Teukava until she was able to make her
efTeukava
escape on the Union on September 30, 1804. Eliza was carri carried off to Num
ed off Numuka,uka, her fate unknown.
After
Afterth this,
is, Doyle, the four boys and the diminutive maid murdered their thei r captors and themselves
sailed
sa il ed away.
Another sea man, man , presumably from the wrecked ship Argo was Charles Savage. He was
afterwards taken from Tonga in the Eliza by Capt. Correy on May 16, 1808.
Charley, the Malasian servant from the Duke of Portland attempted to leave the Union and
KuiKui,
Ku iKu i, a Hawaiian, was leader in the capture of the PortAu POri Au Prince at Lifuka on December I1,, 1806.
William Mariner,
Willi am Mari Englishman
ner, a young Engl ishman of of intelligence and feeling
feeling,, lived
li ved with the family ofof
Finau Ulukalala
Ulu kalala 1..I. Later he wrote an almost compl complete ete history of what was goi goingng on in Tonga while
he was captive there after the Tongans seized their sh ship PortAu
ip Pori All Prince at Lifuka. Later he stowed off
on another ship and left for England and there he wrote the Tongan hi history.
story.

EARLY METHODIST
METHODIST HISTORY ABOUT KING SIAOSI TUPOU I

Tihis
hi s story was found in the joumal
1839 and they explain how Siaos
govemment and brought new leadership to hi
government
journal of an early Methodist missionary who came to Tonga in
Siaosii Tupou I was so open minded in knowing how to run hi
hiss people.
hiss

The first thing the early Wesleyan missionaries noticed was his great love and concern for hi hiss
people. Second hishi s strength to be a leader among his people. Third he had no fear and was not afraid
afraid..
 II
11

As he was reading
read ing thisthi s from M Misiisi Tomasi's writing about the fi first
rst Tui Kanokopulu Siaosi
Tupou I of Tonga, he was amazed at how he was able to become a great king at this time. (M (Misiisi
Tomas
Tomasii had the honor to baptize the king when he was just a small infant.)
He grew up and at a young age was able to make new laws at Pauono, Vava'u Vava ' u and in that
meeting he sai said, "Thiss building with the great posts will stand as a monument of your freedom to
d, "Thi
choose democracy. All laws will be the same for royalty and other people. "
Second was the law about keeping the Sabbath day holy. He encouraged his hi s people to feel free
to choose any church that they might like li ke to join. Third, he had seen so many men and women who
weren't
weren ' t married but living
li vin g together, that he put a stop to it when they became Chri Christian.
stian. Their lives
changed to the Lord's way and no longer wanted to dwell in sin.
Fourth,, he wanted to divide all his land equally among his
Fourth hi s people so they could raise a family
and be able to care for them also. I assume that is why King Siaosi Tupou 1I wanted to sail to Sidney,
Australia, so he mi might leam how to lease his land.
ght learn
In October 1, 1,1853
1853 there was an English man named Robert Young who came to Tonga as a
speciall guest speaker at a conference ofthe
specia of the Methodist missionaries
miss ionaries who first came to the south seas
on a vessel
vessel called .Iohn
John Wesley
Wesley.. King Siaosi Tupou I needed to go to Australia for more information
on how other countries run their government. govemment. This is where he witnessed how some people were
comers, some were begging for money, some were sleeping
sleeping out on street corners, sleep ing in parks. After
seeing the towns of Sydney, Australia,"\ustralia, they again sai sailed
led to Hobart,
HobaJt, Tasmania with some other leaders
of the Wes
Wesleyan
leyan Church and missionaries on the same vessel John
.Iohn Wesley.
On the trip to Tasmania, King Siaosi Tupou I wan wanted
ted a pair of new shoes. They didn't have
the right size, so when he went to the store, they took a long stick and used that to measure the length
and width of his feet. The shoe store decided to keep those sticks as a memory of the Royal King K in g of
of
Tonga. Never in their hi history
story had a Royal King entered their shoe store store.. Shortly after
after that trip the
store owner gave those sticks to the Methodist Church at Tasmania to keep.
After they left Tasman
Tasmania ia on this vessel, Robert Young sat down and was interviewing the king
how he liked the trip, their beautiful cities and especially their wharf, their bright lights. The king
replied,
repli ed, "Oh yes, I likeli ke everything that I can see and witness for myself. But the main thing in my
mind, I want to know how these people live and are they really happy, and if they had their freedom freedom
to share and to choose for themselves,
them selves, what they would wou ld like in the future
future."."
In another book called Southern World, Robert Young mentioned that he had been with high hi gh
officials throughout their trip in the South Seas but had never met anyone like Siaosi Tupou I of Tonga.
officials
Robert Young said the King of Tonga is one of the bravest with a very dignified character. In
meekness and love he ruled his hi s people as he pledged at the beginning of his reign, reign , that God and Tonga
are my Heritage, and he would leave Tonga to guide and rule by God above.
Again Siaosi Tupou I promised promi sed his people that the land in Tonga would not be all allowed
owed to be
bought, but he would protect his hi s own people and those foreigners
foreigners who might like to come and lease
for a business or otherwise, if they are Tongan citizens or not.
When the crown Prince of of Tonga, Tupou IV joined some of ofthe
the missionary children at school
Nuku'alofa,
in Nuk u' alofa, he really enjoyed it. it. Later he attended Tupou college and joined Tupou College chorus.
When he was a young ad adult
ult they left for Sydney, Australia on a singing trip. trip . During this trip one of of
12

the missionaries from the Wesleyan Church gave him these sticks his grandfather Siaosi Tupou I used
hi s grandfather
for his shoe measurement
meas urement at the shoe store.
store. Tongans display them at their museum at Tupou College
which is now called Toloa College in the year 1933.
1933. The sticks had been at the missionary's
mi ssionary' s home
1853 to 1933 and it was almost 80 years that these sticks were kept by the Wesleyan missionaries
from 185310
in Sydney, Australia, and now are kept at the museum at Toloa, Tongatapu, Tonga.

DAVID'S
DA VlD'S ROYAL LINE

ihe
he promise was given 10 to King David: And thinethine house and
and thy
thy kingdom
kingdom shall shall be
he established
established
T;
T for ever before thee: thy throne shall he established
shet/! be establishedforfor ever. II Samuel
Samue!7:16. 7:16.
At the end of of the 70 years of Babylonian captivity the Jews were reslOred restored to Palestine-a
kingdom without a king of Davidic line. If Daniel and his associates were of of that line, they made no
claim to the throne. Publicly, in Judea, the royal line of David disappeared and seemingly has been
lost,
los t, as they sa said,
id, to latter days.
Long after the ten tribes had been carried away by Shalmaneser, NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzarcame came up from
Babylon and subd subdued
ued the Jews and made the reigning King prisoner. Zedekiah had a number of sons.
The Bible tells
tell s us that they were all put to death before their father, that hi hiss eyes were put out, and that
he was carried down into Babylon where he lived in darkness the remainder remainderof of his days. (II Kings 25:7)
hi s days.
Thus it seemed that the royal house of Judah was at last obliterated, for since then the Judean throne
confined to the area of ofthe
the Holy Land has known no royal son of ofthe
the house of David. But in ssupposingupposing
that he had obliterated the Davidic line, the Babylonian King was mistaken, as are all those sec secular
ular
historians who name the foregoing events as the ending of that line.
We learn
leam from the Book ofMormon Mormon (Helaman
(Helaman 8:2) 8:2) that Mulek,
Mulek , a young son son of
of Zedekiah
Zedekiah was
taken secret
secretly ly by friends and removed from the jurisdiction
jurisd iction of the Babylonian ruler. Probably they
traveled to Egypt initially, with other Jewish exiles of whom a number were di distinguished
sti nguished personages;
and the company conveying him, him , probably impressed with the warning of the prophet Jeremiah that
the Jews who remained in Egypt would be put to death (Jeremiah 44:12-14) took lOok a hasty departure.
The onl
onlyy way to safety was by sea, westward along the Mediterranean Hnd and passing the Pillars
of Gibralter
of Hercules, and the Straight ofGibralter from the latter point, ships from all along the Mediterranean
coast frequently went to "the isles beyond the sea"-the British Isles, but in this thi s instance,
in stance, willing or
otherwise, the ship ship's' s company was drawn across the the.Atlantic ocean instead and reached the Western
hemisphere. Here they flouri flourished
shed for centuries (from about 585 B.C. to after after 200 B.c.;
B.C.; yet having no
records
record s of scriptures for a gu guide
ide in divine instruction,
in struction , they wandered from the worship of the God of
Israel into idolatry {Book of Mormon Omni 15-17)
ido latry (Book
The Nephites had their own problems in the new world, and through inspiration Mosiah lead
a group of righteous Nephites to the people of Mulek. They were embraced by the Mulekites and
merged with them and although the Mulekites were more numerous, accepted Mosiah as their King
delighted
and were deli ghted with the information
information he brought them about their ancestry and history. hi story. Even their
language had been corrupted and King Mosiah taught them in his hi s language. The Mulekites were lead
by a man by the name of Zarahem Zarahemla,la, who was a direct descendant of of Mulek, thus thu s the Davidic line
carried from there to the Nephites through their merging. merg ing.
 n3
13

From that direcI

direct line of David was born bam a man named Hagoth ' hips. He needed a
HagOlh who built ships.
captain for his ship and found one of his hi s royal cousins
cousin s named Hawai iloa from David's
Hawaiiloa D:I\'id-, royal line to lo
help find these Nephiephitete people a new home. Another way our Heavenly Father wanted scatter the
wam<!d to sameI'
House ofIsrael
of Israel around the world and later will gatherthem gather them through the gospel. It was w' - God-;;,
God's plan fromfrom
the beginning. Prophet Spencer W. Kimball told us it took 400 years to 10 scaner
scatter these people OUI out to Ihe
the
South Seas.
Seas, and they were Nephile
Nephite people. From Ihe
the area of col onization.
colonization, Hawaiiloa len B.C
left 88 B.C. His Hi-
wife was Hualalai.
Hualalai . HiHiss oldest son Mau
Maui i ai Alu was bom 65 B.C. A econd child. a daughler
second child, daughter Iltmled named
Oahu was bom 63 B.C. and another son Kanai was bom born 61 6 1 B.C.,
B.C.. and the Hawaiian islands.islands were
named after him. Laler Later his
hi s royal descendants were Tangaloa Tangaloa.. .Monuka,
Monula Tangarkoa
T:mgarkoa Rangi,
Rangi. Tangaloa
Hawaiiloa 's younger
Motua, and Hawaiiloa's yo unger brother Kei. Kei wanted to sail and find him new islands. island.,. He
discovered Tahiti. AfterAfte r being there he found out that some Tahitians were cannibal cannibals and he joined
them.. He was surprised that the peop
with them people le in Tahiti spoke the same languageJ:mguage a. as he.
There was a Nephite man named Opuka Honua who married a Lanlanite Lamanite named Lana in Ihe the
year 263 A.D. who used to live li ve in Central America. He left left with
wilh his family
fami ly because he didn'ldidn't like
wars. He sailed out to sea and found E3ster Easter island. They populated that island and war again began
i land ,md
on Easter island and the land was getting gelli ng too small for their population,
populati on. so some
ome decided to he<ld head OUl
out
to sea and look for new land. That That's 's when they found Tahiti. Later they found New Zealand, Zealand. the land
with
wi th the long white
whi te cloud, Rarotonga, and other islands. Tangaloa Moruka found Fiji, but when they
Fiji. diey
first arrived it was inhabited by some dark skinned people living li ving up by the mountain. Theycame
They came from
the Solomon Islands in a ship that wrecked during a hurricane. They drifted drifted out to sea and landed at
Fiji. But the Tongaloa people lived li ved by the sea.
Tangroa Langi said he needed to head out to sea also and to look for a new island for himself.
fo r him elf.
When they sighted the tall mountain of Samoa it reminded him of Hawai Hawaii,i. so a they called the isltmd
island
Savaii. He remained in Samoa.
Tangaroa Motua the ooldest, ldest, decided to look for a new land for himself himself ,mdand his people so they
left Samoa and headed out alit to sea Ilike
ike the other two. It didn't take him long before they sighted ighted the two
Nuia
Nu ia islands and Tafahi
Tafahi,, and the third one was Toku Island. That is where the first royal line of King
David
Dav id resided. It is a beautiful
beautiful small island with beautiful white sand and lots of different different colored tish fish
around so Tangaloa Motua stayed at Toku. To this descendants
thi s day the descendant s of Tangaloa still own that
island. Later the king found out that big foreign ships would come and trick these islanders to come
inside their ship to trade their wares, penny nails nail s for a pig
pi g or food or tapa dom cloth or mats or whatever
the Tongans had, as they didn't know any better. As 75 to 100 people were inside their ship. ship, they
closed and locked the doors. They used the people in the hold as slaves to clean their boats, boats. even sold
the children for 50 cents, women for 50 cents and men for one dollar. They did this throughout th roughoul the
south seas.
learn that the Lord took the royal line of David (the male heir to
We leam lo the royal line) because it
came from Mulek and hid him upon this thi s tiny
ti ny island of Tonga, so he could remain there wi thout fear
without
and to protect him.
him . And he will not go to war. The blood lines from the Royal house of Judah Judah,, Levi,
Levi.
Ephraim and Manasseh flflow ow in the veins of the Royal couple.
14

Now we willwi ll retum

return to the time of King Zedekiah at the time of his Zedekiah at that
hi s captivity. Zedekiah
time had two daughters. The prophet Jeremiah was the great grandfather grandfather of these two girls. Hi Hiss
granddaughter was the wife of Zedekiah, the King. In order that they might mi ght be protected against the
Babylonians, they were left in the care of Jeremiah,the prophet. He became their guardian and
ccustodian of their welfare. Jeremiah escaped with them down into Egypt, it is said
ustodian of said,, to the same place
where Joseph and Maiy Mary went with Chri Christ,
st, our Lord, at the time of the decree of Herod by which the
children of Bethlehem were put to death. They abode there at a place called Taphanes, the ruins of of
which are now well we ll known.
known . The natives refer to it to this day as the palace of the Jews' daughters or
the house of ofthe
the oold
ld Prophet (see Jeremiah 41 41:10,11,14,15, 43:1-7).
: 10, 11 , 14, 15 , and 43: 1-7).
After
After the conquest of Palestine, the Babylonian armies invaded Egypt and it became evident
that they would
wou ld be victorious over the Egyptians.
At this
thi s time we loose sight of Jeremiah and the two girls so far as the Bible is concerned. At
this time the ships of Tyre were sailing the Mediterranean. The tribe of Dan, one of ofthe of Jacob,
the sons of
was the sea faring nation. Their ships brought in from the British Isles the tin used to make the brass
that went into the Temple of Solomon. After the fall of Jerusalem, a ship landed upon the coast of of
Spain, from which
wh ich an old man and his hi s secretary and two young women disembarked.
di sembarked. They remained
forr a short period in that country where one of the girls married into the reigning house of SSpain.
fo pain.
The old man
man,, who is referred to in Ireland Deland as Ollamh Fodhea (old prophet) in their traditions
and songs which they will sing of him, him , crossed the channel and landed on the coast of Deland, Ireland , taking
with
w ith him the elder ofthe
of the two girls
gi rls whose name was Tamar Tephi, Tephi , which translated from Hebrew into
English
Engli sh means, "The Beautiful Palm or The Beautiful Beautiful Wanderer.
Wanderer.""
Eochaidh was the reigning King of Deland Ireland (there were two kings at that time on the little
island). When
W hen there was an invasion
invas ion from the outside they all joined together and had one king, who
was ack
acknowledge
nowledge their leader. When there was no danger from the outside, they fo fought
ught against each
other.
othe r.
Eochaidh solicited the hand of Tamar Tephi in marriage, to which the old prophet consented,
provided
prov ided the king would accept the religion reli gion which
whi ch he brought. He brought with him a small chart,
strongly bound, which was very jealously guarded and the contents of which whi ch were unknown. The King
of Ireland agreed to this.
of thi s. The marriage ceremony was performed, perfOlmed, and the religion of Ollamha Fodla,
which corresponded almost exactly to the service to God under the law of Moses, was established in
Ireland. After a time the king went over and effected
lJ·eland. effected the conquest
conquest ofof the southern part of Scotland.
Both he and his Queen
hi s Q finallyy died and were buried
ueen finall buri ed at Tara in Ireland. A great monument stands there
today over their graves.
Modem genealogists now at work upon the collection and definite establishments of
Modern of
genealogical
genealogical records, trace both the Tudor and the Stuart lines of of Kings from the present Queen
Ki ngs from
Elizabeth
Eli zabeth of England directly back to the girl Tamar Tephi. So it would seem that, unknown to men
at the time, the Lord has preserved that th at lineage.
So the Lord has kept the royal blood of the house of Israel until today; and when the final final
determination
determ in ation of it all is made we will wi ll find out that he has been watching over those people, peopl e, that it is
he and not their numerical strength that has made Great Britain Britai n and European co countries
untries the dominant
powers of of the world.
world . Put them together in union and they lead the world financially, in civilization,
in development, in education and modem modern thought.
 15

In 1989 lohani and Salote fifinally

nally completed the Royal line. The genealogy of of the King and
Queen of Tonga had been traced, researched, and checked over and over, and finally connected with
the Royal line of Queen Elizabeth
Eli zabeth of England. The Tongan Royal line from Mulek Mu lek and Queen
Elizabeth's
Eli zabeth 's line came from Mulek's Tephi,i, and the royal line of Spain from the younger
Mulek' s sister Tamar Teph
sister. All are hom
from David's Royal line.
-Excerps taken from Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Vol23, Vo123, pp 6-8
And Ancient Israel Pedigrees told by Pres. Anthony W. W . Wins.
Ivins.

THE GOSPEL REACHES VA

VAVA'U
VA'U

ihe
he first missionaries
miss ionaries ofthe
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who came by boat,
T
T! called S.S.
5.5. Ovalau,
Ova/au, arrived from Tongatapu to Ha'apai, then to Vava'u around the 8'" 8th of
of
Sep. 1895. Elder Walker and Elder Jensen came to start the missionary mi ssionary work there.
Before they left for Vava'u
Before Vava' u they
the)' visited the King at his
hi s palace at Tongatapu and showed him
how the church mi missionary
ss ionary work is done and made church history and records; and also showed him
some pictures of Salt Lake City.
C ity. There were three missionaries who visited Elder Andrew Jensen Jensen who
was an assistant to the historian for the ChurchChurch.. He was sent down to teach the missionaries
mi ss ionaries how to
th
keep records, arriving on the 17 17'" of August 1895.
1895 . The Church had been in Tonga four years.
Some Elders had been serving at Tongatapu: Elder Robert Smith, Elder Walker, and Elder
Schill
Sch ill since November 18941 believe. The
1894 I believe. 8th of
The 8'" of September
September 1895
1895 these
these missionaries
missionaries were
were transferred
transferred
to Vava'u.
Vava' u. There was a meeting held that afternoon.aftemoon. There were about 50 Europeans who were all
living at Vava'u and all came. I believe our Gelman German Wolfgramm and Sanft families who were living
at Vava'u
Vava' u at that time were present at this meeting, and lots of sailorssai lors from the ship also came to join
them.
About 6:00 am the next morning these missionaries walked up to the Mount Talau area about
two miles away and sang We We Thank Thee 0 God for a Prophet. After that they went down on their
bended knees in a very humble prayer offered offered to the Lord, and dedicated the land and the people of of
Vava'u
Vava' u for preaching and that missionary work would thrive there.
These three missionaries were filled with the spirit of our Heavenly Father. At that moment,
their prayer had been received and gratefully
gratefully accepted, they felt His
H is love and peace and joy come upon
them. The happiness they felt revealed to them through God God's grateful
's spirit that they were worthy and grateful
to serve him and needed to continue his work among these people.
A few days later Elder Jensen left for Samoa and left the two elders to continue to work at
Vava'u.
Vava' u.
(This
(Th is was recorded by Elder Jensen)
16
16

VA VAtU ISLANDS
VAVA'U
Described by Tu
Tu'ifua. aunt of Queen
'ifua. aunl Queen Mata'aho
Mata 'aho from
fro m Vava'u,
Vava'u , Tonga Is.

'ava'u
ava'u Islands were chosen by the early
earl y German
Gennan and European visitors above other
V;
V islands in the South Pacific.
Two hundred years ago on March 4, 1781, 178 1, the first
first European visitor landed in Vava'u. He
was the Spanish commander,
commander, Francisco
Franci sco Antonio
Anton io Mourelle, ofthe
MOUl'e ll e, of the frigate
frigate LaPriausa, who chanced
upon this northem
northern group of the Tonga Islands whilewhil e on his
hi s way from the Philippines
Phi lippines with
dispatches
di spatches to the viceroy of Mexico.
Mex ico. The modern visitor will discover that some aspects of
Vava'u's
Vava'u 's lifestyle have changed little si since
nce Mourella's
Moure lla's time. Foot power is still the chief chi ef means ofof
transport
tran sport on these islands where horses outnumber vehicles. People find time to walk and are
rewarded by absorbing the pace and way of of life,
life , while
whil e discovering
di scovering interesting sites at every knoll
and tum.
turn .
Vava'u group population of of 40,000 was spread over most of of its 50 or so islands. The name
is so oold
ld that its meaning is not clearly understood in the Tongan language of of today. My favorite
explanation is that Vava'u expresses
Vava' u ex presses a feeling of
of securi
security,
ty, particularly in face of
of the hurricanes that
visit
visi t the south
southwest
west Pacific periodically.
periodicall y.
Vava'u is also called Fonua Mounga—mountainous
Mounga--mountainous country. For wherever the wind blows,
there is always a sheltered place, even though the highest hi ghest point in Vava'u
Vava' u is a mere 204 meters (650
feet) above sea level.
Mourelle named the harbor "Port of of Refuge" when he found foun d safe anchorage during his hi s two-
week stay in 1781.
178 1. The name is applied to the length of the land-locked channel into Neiafu. He
called Vava'u Islands de don MartinMaI1in de Mayorga, afterafter the viceroy of Mex
Mexico,
ico, but the name never
caught on. Vava'u enjoys a subtropical
subtropical climate with temperatures seldom rising above 32 degrees
Centigrade or falling below 10 degrees Centigrade. The hot and humid rainey season lasts from
December to April,
April , while it is cooler and relatively dry from May to November. The hUITicane hurricane
season usually
season us ually runs from November through April Apri l most places. The roads and tracks are un unsealed,
sealed,
so walkers
wa lkers require suitable foofootwear,
twear, especially because of the sticky clay underfoot
underfoot in wet
weather. Vava'u
Vava' u offers
offers pleasant weather. There are no snakes or malaria-carrying mosquitos to
worry about and no aggressive wild animals except loud Tongan domestic dogs and loose pigs pi gs
roam everywhere.

OLD NEIAFU, population 5,600, is at the heart of the Vava'u Archipelago.

Arch ipelago. During the
13th and 15th centuries, belief
belief was that some of ofthe
the Tongan ancestors came from Samoa--a
Samoa—a vill
village
age
on the island of Savaii in Westem
Western Samoa is also called Neiafu.
Neiafu . In ancient times, Neiafu
Neiafu. was a
sacred place.
place . There was a sayi
saying
ng that all who went to Neiafu
Neiafu should wear a Ta'ovala (waist mat) as
a mark ooff respect. It was a burial area and a taboo place between the fightfighting
ing of tribal war. About
1808 Finau
F inau Ulukalala E II "The Warrior K King
ing of Vava'u" built a fortress at Neiafu.
Neiafu.
Today at Neiafu
Ne iafu as you stand on the wharf, just above you can be seen the beautifu
beautifull
European cemetery called Aho Aha Mata Folau
Fa/au that stood by the home of Percy and Ana Wolfgramm
Harris by Mount Talau. Most ofthe of the German families
Gennan famil ies have been buried there. You'll find beautiful
 17

marked tombstones on each one of their graves; mostly the Wolfgramm, Wol fgramm , Guttenbeil,
Guttenbeil , Schulke,
Schaumkel,
Scbaumkel , and other families. But the Sanft's
otber families. Sanft's have been buried
buri ed at Neiafu Tah
Tahii Cemetery by the
sea. This cemetery was called Houmelei. lohani's [ohani 's parents Sale and Salome Wolfgramm are buried
in the Ha'alaufuli
Ha 'alaufu li cemetery. So is Helman and Maele Wolfgramm. Kisaea was buried at Maca'ika.
Herman Mata'ika.
JI believe Fa'alupenga
Fa ' alupenga Makehele Sanft's husband A Alipate
li pate Sanft and hihiss brother Sione Unga Sanft
Sanft
are also
al so buried in Ha'alaufuli.
Ha'alaufuli . Osika's
Osika 's son Palauni Lisi and Minna Ula Naeata's son Lisitoa Li sitoa are
buried there also. Onesi
Onesi and Kalolaine
Kalol ai ne Wolfgramm are buried at Makongai, Fiji, and Ana
Wolfgramm is buried at the Telekava cemetery by Matavaimoui
Matavaimou i in Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu..
Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu
Just above Mata Folau
Folau,, the European cemetery, you'll
you' ll see the beautiful area for the Royal
armed forces, their living
Tongan aImed li ving headquarters and training center. Just one-fourth
one-fourth mile from there
stands the beautiful palace of King Taufa Ahau T Tupou
upou IV surrounded witb with wild tropical
tropi cal forest,
vines, tropical flowers, and wild birds.

CENTRAL NEIAFU,
NElAFU, GERMAN ARRIVALS - SANFTS AND WOLFGRAMMS

Today the town spreads out from the traditional site, com commanding
manding a view over the most
picturesque harbor in the Sou~h Seas. Around the Post Offi
tbe South Office
ce property you yo u see the arrival of crui
tbe arrival cruise
se
ships. It transforms
transforms the
tbe area into a bus line, market place where people come to sell their tbe ir
handicrafts,
handicrafts , the excellent baskets and mats and tapa cloth, black coral coral jewelry,
jewe lry, food and clothing.
Office does a busy trade on boat days with stamp collectors
The Post Office coll ectors seeking Tonga's usual free-
form commemorative stamp issues which have earned
fonn eamed up to 18 percent of the Kingdom's revenue
in recent years.
In the early 19th Century thi thiss malae was at the center of the Finau Ulukalala Fortress which
extended to the seafront. It's name, Vaha'akeli, means between trenches, trenches. referring to the deep
ditches that surrounded the fortesss.
fortesss. The exploits of this
thi s warrior king were made famous famo us through
the book,
book , Tonga Islands by William Marriner, one of the survivors of the Port au Prince massacre
in 1806, who spent several years in Vava'u.
POU'ONO
POU ' ONO is the historic
hi stori c spot where the first written law of Tonga was promulgated
promul gated on
November 9,1839. It was a first step towards the end of serfdom. It was also al so at Pouono that the
Governor of of Vava'u entertained thetbe Spanish navigator, Alejandro Malaspi
Malaspina, na, whose ships the
Peseubierta and the Atrevida reached Vava'u on 20 May 1793. 1793. Malaspina intended to annex
Vava'u on behalf
behalf of the Spanish Crown following Mourelle's discovery. He was on a mission mi ss ion of
of
scientific examination and to conduct a ceremony to ratify the claim in the eyes of Europe. His
scientific Hi s
journals describe the beautiful Tongan/ales
Tongan fales that stood at Pou'ono
Pou ' ono (six-posts)
(s ix-posts) referring
referring to the large
fale
jale with six posts that once occupied the center of the malae, and that is where til thee L.D.S.
L.D.S . Stake
center is at now. Pouono, the Neiafu Malae or village green, has the court house at one corner. comer. At
the opening of each court session a tatoo is sounded on the hollow log drum drumss which can be seen in
a small shelter outside the veranda.
18

CEMETERY-an
POUONO CEMETERY --an ancient rectangular slab-faced mound forming the center of of
the modem
modern cemetery. This mound is a "Langi" or Royal Tu'i Tonga's burial ground known as
Pangai.
Pan oaai . It is the langi
lanai
0 or
royal Tu'i Tonaa's
Tonga's
0
burial ground
0"round for
the daughter
'-'
of Tu'ipulotu
ofTu'ipu lotu Langi
Tuoteau, the 35th Tu'i Tonga. The princess was called Tae mo Mimi. Her name was not unusual
in that era. The dynasty of the Tui Tonga once ruled as the earthl earthlyy representatives and divine
descendants of ofthe
the Gods. The 39th and the last ofthe of the Tui Tonga died in 1865.
1865. At PouPou'ono
' ono
cemetery two of ofthe
the early Wesleyan missionaries
mi ss ionaries who came from England in 1840 and became the
first Wesleyan missionary
mi ss ionary to ddie
ie in Tonga. They were Rev. Francis A. Wilson, buried beside
David Cargill.
NEIAFU T TAHI,
AHI, once the main harbor because of its shallow water over the reef and sandy
beach area, made it most su suitable
itable for the landing of sailing canoes. Otumohemohe Cemetery has
some of the Sanft's buried there.
PALESI-Pasis
PALESI--Pasis Hill thought to be named by the French priests who establi established
shed the first
Catholic Mission
Mi ss ion in Vava'u or the hill in 1859. From the Catholic Cemetery at the top, there is an
excellent view of the archipelago.
A strange phenomena was reported there during the burial of the fathers who founded the
mission.
mi ss ion. A century ago Father Joseph Brenton died after 18 18 years in Vava'u leading the so solitary
litary
life
Iife of an ascetic. He was buried at Palesi in 1881. 1881. When the vault was opened for the burial of
Father Pierre Caslanier 27 years later, Father Brenton's body appeared whole, startling the
onlookers. It crumbled to dust when exam examined,
ined , and only the head remained whole. There was an
opening in the forehead through which the brain could be seen in tact. It was removed, sealed in a
glass phial and reburied. The next burial on the spot was not until 1938 when the mourners were
amazed to find the brain still in tact. Another grave of Sister Marie Albine was the first and the
last French sister stationed in Vava'u who died in 1975. Bemadette
1975. She was the founder of St. Bernadette
Convent north of Vava'uVava'u..
GERMAN pioneers had home businesses and built straight from Vaha'akeli on both sides
of the street along Hala road, now Fatafehi, that whole area was theirs, Mangele, Fungarnisi Fungamisi and
Everything was built up by them. They used to have stores, copra, factories
Villa. Evelything factories,, trains, workers,
sewing, and big homes at Neiafu. They used to have Lotuma, Fofoa Island. Some of the
WOLFGRAMM and SANFT cousins had homes at Otea, Falevai, Utungeke, Ha'alaufuli Ha'alaufuli,, Mala
Mata'ika,
' ika,
Feletoa,
Feletoa. Makave, Leimatua, Holonga, and Vaimalo. There was SCHULKE and cousi cousinsns named
GUTENBEEL
GUTENBEIL who stayed in Neiafu, Neiafu Vakaeitu,, Hahake, Tuanekivale:
Neiafu Tahi, Koloa, Otea, Vakaeitu
and in Tongatapu, Ha'ateiho, Liahona, Mapelu moe Lau and Nuku'alofa, Nuku'alofa, and in Ha'apai,
Ha'apai , Pangai,
Pangai ,
Hoi and Kanokupolu
Kanokupolu..
The two concrete pillars beside the path mark the spot where French astronomers observed
the eclipse of ofthe
the sun on April 19,19, 1911.
1911. The sun was obscured at 9:37 A.M. and the clickets crickets sang
their even
evening choruss while chickens roosted in the trees for the night that lasted three and a half
ing choru
minutes.
LOLO A HALAEVALU--oil
HALAEVALU-oil of the Princess Halaevalu, is a poetical name given to the Port
of Refuge harbor referring to the time when the water becomes so smooth it looks as if oil has been
poured on the surface. Thi Thiss glass effect
effect is due to the many fresh water springs along the shoreline
 19

and that some may be actuall actuallyy releasing

re leas in g an oily
oi ly substance into the harbor. On the wharf wharf road,
road. the
Neiafu Town Hall is named UtukalongaluUtuka longalu after after a small sprin
springg that
th at used to enter the harbor at this thi s
point. It nears a point where the sea can be choppier than anywhere else in the harbor--very harbor-very
appropriate for most Friday and Satu Saturday
rday night
ni ght dances are held at the hall. Across the road stands
the flag pole
pol e and memorial to the Vava'u so soldiers
ldiers who Served and fell fe ll in the World War I.
FALALEU was the name given to this thi s area by the early residents in memory of their thei r former
Wa lli s island or Uvea island.
home in Wallis
MAT
MA ALA VE at Neiafu
TALA Neiafu Tahi is still a popular
popu lar bathing place.
pl ace. You get the red cclay lay from
Hola Tafengatoto to wash your hair with, w ith , for there
the re is the fresh water spring further further around the
shore line.
MAKAVE was on once
ce a cap
capitol
itol of Vava'u.
Vava'u . It was founded during the reign ofPui of Puipuifatu,
puifatu , the
26th Tui Tonga, when told of regular reg ular ssightings
ightings of some tall and very dark people peopl e in the area.
Puipuifatu
P ui puifatu sent out his hi s warriors to investigate.
investi gate. T They
hey landed at the cave and made their way around
to the beach Fietoa. They shouted while searching for the intruders. The chall challenge
enge means, Do you
want to do combat? And ever since then the beach has been ca called
lled Fietoa. The legend doesn doesn't't say
if the mysterious
mysteriou s dark people responded, but Puipuifaru's Puipuifatu's warriors remained as founders of
Makave.
Many years later, in the early 1800's, the beach was the source ooff an ambush and
particularly cruell massacre.
particu larly crue massacre . After making peace with his hi s Aunt Toe'umu,
Toe' umu , Finau Ulukalala
Ulu kalal a ca called
lled
for a kava party and general meeting to which whi ch he invited most of the chi chiefs
efs and warriors
warrio'rs who had
been particularly activeact ive against'him in the late war. During
D uring the meeting Ulukalala's men emerged
from the bush and slaughtered most of ofthethe warriors. The remainder
rem ainder were taken prisoner pri soner and piled
pi led
into leaky canoes, which were towed out to the deep water near the Isle of Lekeleka where whe re they
were left to slowly sink.
MAKAVE means to remove a stone. Th This
is refers to an ancient Kilikilitefua
Kili ki li tefua custom in the
area where the parents of every first first bom
born son carried one stone and added it to the pile, pi le, which
forms an ancient wall. In the 1920's this th is wall
wal l was 200 to 250 feet long and six feet wide
(investigated by an archaeologist). In places it was five feet high, but in 1921 1921 it was partlypartl y
destroyed.
destroyed . The date this
thi s wall started is unknown.
EUROPEAN CEMETERY: Most of our Genn German families,
an fam ilies, the Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm,, Sanft, Sanft,
Gutenbeil,, Schu
Gutenbeil Schulke,
lke, Schaumkel, and missionaries
mi ssi onaries are buried there. There is so much bush covering
the hill,
hill , but the prettiest is by the German or European cemetery where the scenery has changed
little since the days when Polynesian canoes sai sailed
led up the sheltered waters to the oold Tongan
ld Ton gan fort at
Feletoa. Some outrigger canoes and small boats on the water belong to villages vill ages from
From Taoa and
Vaimalo, who cross over to the Neiafu shore daily. A short bush bu sh walk to the water's edge at
Mata'aho (w (where
here Ana Percy Harris now has a beautiful
beautifu l home at Vava'u) the boat landing place is
enjoyable in itself, but it is possible
poss ible to continue to take a boat across Vaipua for a longer bush
walk. You can climb Sia Ko Kafoa which offers offers a splend
splendid id view of Vava'u.
VEITATALO.
VEIT ATALO. Matangi Malie-pleasant
Matang i Mal ie--pleasant wind-the
wind--the home of Ulukalala
Uluka lala EI, III, the holder of the
title T
Tui
ui Vava'u or called Loto A Lahi. Later moved to Veitatalo and later moved up to Talau hill
called Takaunove, then later shipped to Pangaimotu, Pangaimotu , facing south. The Sai Sailoame
loame market offers offers
produce
local prod uce and fruit that is plentiful in Vava'u including lesi (papaya), pineapple, a variety of of
bananas, vi, avacado, and oranges. The best ufi, breadfruit, breadfruit, and kape are plen plentiful.
tifu l.
20

TOULA-VEIMUMUINI. Shaded water, is a subterranean cave holding a large amount of

TOULA-VEIMUMUINL
fresh water. It's a good place for bathing. The cave looks dark sometimes. Take a flflashlight ashli ght so
you can take a good look at the cave. This cave and pool used to be owned by a Tu'i Tonga's
daughter Princes Lasini and that's where she used to come to to bathe daily.
OFU. It was after
after leav
leaving
ing Ofu that William Mariner, a survivor of of the PortAu
Port Au Prince
massacre (Ha'apai 1806) met with disappointment when he was refused refused permission
pemlission to board an
American ship 'onon his first attempt to escape after several years in Tonga.
ANA OTUA. God's cave is set in the low cliffs above the high tide level. It covers human
remains which have since been removed. At one time strangers to to the village were not allowed to
be buried
buri ed alongside the local people. They were considered outcasts and when mortally mortal1y ill, they
were brought to this
thi s cave to die.
HA'A KALUA LANDING. A name once applied to the whole village. It refers to the
lowering of sail
sailss of the old Tongiakis war canoes as they passed this thi s point, slowing the approach to
Feletoa near the end of the inletinlet. .. . .... . ..... . ... . . . ..... . ........ . . .. .. .... .
FELETOA means an abundance of brave warriors, about 1808 and early 19th Century.
NGU HOSPITAL. It is named after Wellington Wel1ington Ngu, a grandson of King George Tupou I,
rebuilt with Australian aid.aid . The 61
6 1 bed hospital was operated by H.M. King Taufaahau Tupou IV
on 26th Feb 1981.
KULIFEKAI.
KULI FEKAI. Wild Dogs Bay, by Vava'u club. Under Ulukalala, unruly ufU'uly warriors were
once stationed on this stretch of shoreline. Now we just visit vi sit and leam
learn of the beautiful
beautiful islands for
which all our Wolfgramm and Sanft's decided to leave Germany.
 CHAPTER II

lOHANI'S CHILDHOOD
IOHANI'S
 23

MY EARLY HISTORY
^From personal rapes
'From tapes recorded by
hy lollani
lohani

was interested and capable of work ing and creating. with my hands. This grew and de~e l oped
Ii;'was interested and capable of working and creating with my hands. This grew and developed
-in me even as a small child. Each spare piece of lumber found around my father's store,
111 me even as a small child. Each spare pIece of lumber found aro und my father s store,
along with any tool available, would be put to good use by me. Each day as I played carpenter in my
father's store, my talent for building became a part of of my life. My mother complained
compl ained to father ofthe
father of the
waste of lumber filled with nails,
oflumber nail s, but father reminded her that they should all allow
ow me to use this talent
which came so natural and easy to me. "Some day lohani may become a very fine carpenter." In later
years, I was able
ab le to use my talent to construct many lovely edifices.
My first toy was made from an empty tuna fish can with a sti stick
ck nailed
nail ed to it. I would saw
leftover
leftover lumber and nail the pieces together to form boxes. Empty corned beef cans became wheels.
Two narrow pieces of of wood became the handle which pulled the cart which I had created. This Thi s
brought much joy to my little brothers and sisters who rode in it.
My favorite pastime was to take food to my grandparents. I was served first, and was allowed
to eat anything I wi wished
shed from their table. I took them corned beef, sausages, fish, yams, breadfruit, breadfruit,
sweet potatoes, cocoa, bread, milk, milk , butter, pork and biscuits. My kind and loving
lov ing grandparents wanted
very much to have me live li ve with them, but I grew lonesome for my parents and other members of my
family.
fami ly. My younger brother Osika dec decided
ided to go over and make his home with them, as the th e
grandparents would go boating'and
boating 'and fishing each day, or sometimes to their plantation
plantation..
As I grew older I spent time with my friend Pita Pauni. Paun; . We would
wou ld build play houses of of three
different
different sizes. While down at the beach, my friend would go out to swi swim. Stillll carrying my hammer
m. Sti
and nails, I would be busy on the beach building a small wharf wharf or perhaps canoes or a steamer shi ship.
p.
One aftemoon
afternoon I attached all the boats to the little wharf
wharf and went home for a bite to eat. Two hours
later I retumed to check on my little wharf. I heard loud noises, such as a group of ch children
ildren perhaps
swimming near our play area. As I approached the spot I was greatly surpri surprised
sed to see 50 or so rats of of
all different
different sizes having a wonderful time running up and down my whaIf wharf and sitting inside the canoes
and steamer. The instant they saw me they all scrambled into the water. I laughed and laughed.
FLOODING IN HA'ALAUFULI
Sometimes it rained hard for three weeks straight on the island, island , causing
caus in g much damage to the
roads.
roads . One day, I remember being asked to go to the store for some sugar and flour. flour. It was very
difficult to cross the school field to Malakai Manu's store. I swam for about 25 yards and as I looked
difficult
back I could see all the pigs, chickens (?), and ducks swimmingsw imming in my direction. I put the sugar and
flour in my vaia,
vala , and tied it upon my head and swam back home. That was so much fun. fun.
One day Mufale Vaipapalagi,
Yaipapalagi, a Samoan Relifef
Relifef Society Sister was swept out of of her home by
the waters, over across the school field and down to a 200-foot 200-foot deep hole. She wasn't wasn 't sure she could
co ul d
survive, so she waved goodbye to us. Finally the flood waters took her down to the ocean below. be low. She
was caught between two Tongo Tonga trees, and remained there until someone rescued her. For this she was
very thankful.
24

BONFIRES FOR MOSQUITOES

After a rainy season in Tonga we would be plagued with mosquitoes, millions of of them.
them . We
had only one mosquito net for the family
family.. Naturally the youngest children would
wou ld be the lucky ones
protected at night by the net. Sometimes the Tongans would bum burn a certain kind of
of bark off
off a tree
for smoke in the hut. We suffered
suffered with the smoke in our lungs, but it helped get rid of
of the
mosquitoes.
mosq uitoes. We often
often were badly bitten and the bites were painful
painful and could become infected
infected if
scratched.
scratched .

BAPTISM
1919: On November 25,25,1919
1919 I had reached the age of
of eight and was baptized into the
Church of
of Jesus Christ of
of Latter-day Saints. My father Sale, and his
hi s grandfather's
grandfather's brother Hamani
(Herman), were all baptized by Sekope Olsen (Norwegian). I received much enjoyment
enjoyment at this
period in my youth.

TOYS AND HANDIWORK

I created by hand
hand,, home made coaches,
coaches, very well constructed from scrap materials II might might find.
find.
Firecrackers were made by saw sawinging a scrap of iron to pieces, removing the dust particles, placepl ace
in a small sack together with a piece of long thread and wrap it around with newspaper. I would then then
shape them to look like a firecracker. After After lighting the firecracker,
firecracker, I would throw it into the air to
explode. The children enjoyed these for holiday fun fun.. Firecrackers were different
different sizes as well as all
colors. Mother taught me how to knit doilies, dresses, dresses , scarves and afghans. I also mastered the art of
weaving baskets and assembled tongo slicks sticks together to make beautiful
beautiful trays. I wove beautiful Tongan
objects from the leaves.
I used different
different dyes for the leaves I wove, thus creating lovely napkin holders. These I would
sell to the tourists on boat days. Because of their exceptional workmanship, they would lend their
beauty to many lovely homes. I taught myself myself while young to be proud of of the work I created with my my
hands. I was blessed with innumerable talents which I developed even at an early age.
1920: At the age of of nine I made toy guns out of of tapa cloth and bamboo sticks
sticks,, cutting a small
piece of tapa cloth and folding it into a small ball and cutting bamboo sticks about nine inches long.
Both ends would be tied with long tie threads, so it wouldn't break. A small square hole would then
be cut in the top of the bamboo so air could go through.through . After
After cleaning the inside of of the bamboo stick,
I would then insert tapa ball inside
inselt one lapa in side the bamboo
bamboq and another ball behind it. Taking a slender stick
I would push it through veiyvery quickly. The little ball would fly out just as if firing a real gun. It would
iffiring
fly through the air because of the air pressure created.
I also made home made flutes out of bamboo sticks and raw papaya sticks. I would create the
same instrument out of of coconut leaves and coconut sticks, which when played, sounded exactly like
the flute.
I made a humming bird twist fly. Thi
twi st fly. Thiss small toy would be made out of coconut leaves and
sticks.. The faster you twisted this object the louder the noise
sticks noi se it made. It sometimes sounded like an
airplane flying.
flying .
 25

COOKING
In 1920
1920 I became very interested in leaming
learn ing the art of cook
cooking.
ing. My parents were very happy
and encouraged me, as they needed my help in preparing the food for the royal roya l family whenever they
visited Vava'u.
Vava' u. My grandfather and grandmother's family was responsible and in charge of food for
the royal feast.
I was ab
able
le to leam
learn how to bake bread,
bread , sweet buns, and pies. I also mastered the an art of special
cowboy pancakes. I would wo uld cook them and then toss them in the air and try to catch the pancake with
frying
a fry pan. I became an expert at th
ing pan. this.
is.
I was taught by my parents how to make Tongan Pudding. (It's a huge pudding that is made
out of flour, sugar, milk,
milk , baking
bak ing powder, oil and coconut milk, raisins
rai sins and nutmeg). The mixture is
poured ins
inside
ide a floured
fl oured cooking cloth
cloth,, tied, and boiled in water for to r' one hour. ThThisis pudding would
wou ld
serve 30 to 50 people.
I also learned to to make special drinks:
drinks: lime, raspberry, pineapple, and orange. I was taught
special gravies and sauces for sa
about special salads
lads and desserts. 1 leamed how
I learned how toto prepare
prepare different
different types
types of
of
seafood—jelly fish
seafood--jelly fish,, kuku-vasua, kuku kuku-kuku,
kuku-kuku , aga, lobster, shark, whale and lo./ilCla.
tofuaa.
I would prepare these dishes and take them to the horse races where people were happy to buy
them fro
fromm me. I would sell them to the public on boat day. People would wou ld look for me as the food
was delicious
deliciou s as well as being priced that
th at they could
cou ld afford
afford my delicacies.

FIRST TRIP TO TONGA

FlRST TONGATAPUT APU
During
D uring the same year I visited Tongatapu for the first time. I was
was invited by by the
the parents of
of my
friend Feleti
Fcleti Vi,
Vi , to accompany them. They sa sailed
iled on a mail steamer called
mai l st.eamer ca ll ed the Mokoea (B (Bums
urns
Phillips boat). TThis
hi s boat used to come there every two weeks.
weeks . I1 stayed
stayed with
with Ve'ehalu
Ve'ehalu,, aanobleman
nobleman
at Nuku'alofa,
Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu. I got to see a movie for the first time in my life. I al also
so tasted my first ice
cream cone and ice block. They showed me around the telegraph office office and how they sent messages
back to
to Vava'u and Ha'apai
Ha'apai.. I was very excited to watch the cowboys riding horses in the Western
movie. I saw my first truck while visiting Nukualofa.
Nukua'i ofa. After a month I had to return home.[lOme.
On the retum
return trip between Tongatapu and Ha'apai the boat was attacked by a huge whale.
Everyone on board got wet, but luckily no damage was done to either the ship or passengers. In
Ha'apai we stayed at the home of Via, Ula, a friend. He was a member of the Latter-day Saints Church,
as I was.
was. I also visited
vi sited the Lavaka family. They gave me two female cats which I named Vasiti and
Tema. We spent two weeks in Ha'apai.

BACK IN VAVA'U
We finally
fina lly retumed
returned to Vava'u on that same boat. After see
seeing
ing the movies at Tongatapu I
leam how to walk on wire. So rI hung a wire between two orange trees and would practice
wanted to learn
walking on it day after day. I finally learned
leamed how to do it well and people would come and watch me
perform. They enjoyed this skill I had developed by perseverance.
learned how to wrestle. I organized a Boy'~
I leamed Boy's Club and taught them boxing. I taught myself
to ride horses, to round up cattle, and rope them. I accomplished anyth
anything
ing I set my mind to because
I didn't mind spending my time learning about those things I was interested in.
26

At this same time I became interested in training horses to count with their hoofs. I trained
them to si
sit, stand,, walk forward and backwards at my command, to talk or neigh as horses do.
t, stand do. 1I
worked with roosters and hens. They would lay down and get up, and as I beat two cocon
coconut
ut shells
together, they would run up to me when cal called
led for them.
them .

HOUSEKEEPER
I was very lucky to have my parents train me in every way. They taught me how to care for
our home and the importance of using my time wisely. They had a time sched schedule:
ule: At 7:00 A.M. our
mother Salome always had our breakfast ready. Family prayer was held, held , and after this,
thi s, the children
ccleaned
leaned their bedrooms, made their beds, after which the dishes were washed and put away. School
was at 8:00 a.m
a.m.... It would close at 1:00 p.m. and between 1:00 p.m. p.m . and 55:00
:00 p.m. we were free to do
as we wished,
wished , perhaps swim, visit
visi t a friend,
fri end , or play. We were home at 5:30 p,m. ready for baths, with
dinner at 6:00 p.m. Homework staJ1edstarted at 7:00 p.m. with bedtime and prayers at 8:30 p.m. T This
hi s was
the schedule each school day.
On Saturday everyone would work outdoors. The leaves were raked, windows washed, the
trash bumed
burned and weeds pulled. Inside the house everything was polished and cleaned, the windows,
furniture,, mirrors, woodwork, and doors. Everyone took his
furniture hi s tum
turn working in the garden
garden..

EMPLOYMENT
1927: Whenltumed
When I turned 16 years old, 1I payed payed the
theGovernment
Government 221 shillings for
1 shillings for my
my property
property tax
tax
and after that I was ab able
le to work for the Tongan Government. It is a law for every 16-year old male
to pay their
thei r debts first. I was hired by the government
govemment to be the chief chief right-hand man to the captai
captainn
at the wharf
wharf of Vava'u. Thi Thiss was the well known Pu Pu'utalefusi
' utalefusi wharf. My responsibility was to fifire re
a huge ggun
un when a large ship arrived at the harbor. I also took care of all the government govemment property
at the wharf. I1 would
would raise
raise the
theTongan
Tongan flagflag atat Utulei
Utulei to to alert
alert the
the people
people in
in the
the village
village about
about the
the ship
ship
in the harbor. Day and ni night
ght I was held responsible for the bombs and bullets that were stored in
Vava'u by the government.
govemment.
I went with the Captain and the pilot to bring the bi bigg ships safely into the harbor. Another of of
my tasks was to see that there were lights li ghts for the incoming ships and to extinguish them as the ships
left the harbor in the evening. I enjoyed my work but the pay was very small--only small—only six shillings a
month. I decided to look around for another job. I applied at the government to work for the street
department.
1928 I worked for the Street Department for eight shillings a month. The work was hard and
the days were long in the hot sun sun.. Mother encouraged me to come back home and work again as a
carpenter. I quit my work in in Neiafu and decided to to help build aa government
govemment school building. I helped helped
with the construction of school houses, hospitals,
hospita ls, churches, stores and private homes all over Vava'u. Vav a'u.
At this
thi s time my father accidentally hit his hi s leg severely on the comer corner of the table. The
accident
acc ident broke one of of the main veins in his hi s leg. I was then asked to leave my employment and return
home to stay and help out with the family family.. I was not very happy, for my desire was to work and earn
he lp support the family.
money to help
 27
27

There was
was an American
American ship in the Vava'uVava ' u harbor. Tongan sailors sai lors were
were needed to do repairrepair
work. II applied for, was interviewed,
interviewed, and accepted for fo r the job.
job. II was very very happy
happy forfor this
this meant
meant II
would
would go to Vancouver, Canada
Canada and the U.S.A.
U.S .A. II hurried home that evening and told my father I was
going to Canada and the U.S.A..
U.S.A .. MyMy father
father was as happy happy as I for for this opportunity
opportunity.. All the the family
got together
together and had a big farewell feastfeast for me me at Mata'ika.
Mata ' ika. I was expecting to leave leave the
the next
next day.
A Mission
Mission Conference
Conference was held the next day. The Mission President President James Cutler Cutler heard the
news concerning me. He became worried. The family family and loved
loved ones and friends friend s were at the wharf
wharf
to bid
bid me goodbye. My father father and I went up to see the captain. capta in. As we approached the captain's
~ urprised to hear President
quarters, we were surprised Cutler ask me what Ir was doing on deck. I excitedly
President Cutler excited ly
answered, "Don't
"Don't you know I'm leaving
leaving for the the U.S. today?"
today?"
President
President Cutler
Cutler said, "Is that right,
right, Brother
Brother Wolfgramm?" At the same time he reached reached out
for lohani's
Iohani's hands to hold and then said,"
said, " 1I feel
feel very
very strongly,
strongly, that
that this
this isis not
not yet
yet the
the right
right time
time for
for you
you
to leave for
for the U.S.A..
U.S .A .. You shouldn't leave this thi s beautiful
beautiful island for for a strange place. It is a very
difficult
difficult time now in the United States. If If I were you,you . I would
wou ld stay back here in in Tonga,
Tonga , at least for
now,
now." It

President Cutler discouraged

d iscou raged me about going. I felt within myself myself that this was the right right
decision. My father
father and I shook hands with the President, Pres ident, then went over and shook the Captain's
hand and informed
informed him of of my change in in plans.
plans.
The family
fami Iy went back to Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli that aftemoon
afternoon and rejoiced because of of my decision
deci sion to stay
in Tonga. All through my life I was very obedient
obedient to those in authority, even though it was a sacrifice
and disappointment
di sappointment to me in many instances.
in stances. I was always cheerful cheerful in following
follow ing the advice I was
offered. I have been blessed with developing great strength in spirit and to be a noble nobl e example for
others.

HA'ALAUFULI HOME USED AS A MOVIE HOUSE

1948: While raising my family in Vava'u Vava ' u I was unable to send them to a movie theater
because there were too many children and I didn didn't't have the 6 pence each to pay their fare, and they
wanted to attend so badly. My cousin Otto Sanft in Neiafu owned the theater.
I made arrangements with Otto allowing US us toto see
see the movie free
free of
of charge.
charge. In
In exchange
exchange Otto
Otto
brought his
hi s film to our house and the public could use our Ha'alaufuli
Ha ' alaufuli home as a theater. Ours was
the largest house in the village. This way I worked things out so my ch children
ildren could see the movies.
mov ies.
The children enjoyed the next momingmorning finding all kinds ofof coins on the floor and they didn't
didn ' t mind
sweeping up the peanut shells
she ll s and papers.

A
A SPECIAL GIFT FOR CHOKING VICTIMS

r
hen I was about four or five years old, a special patriarchal
patriarchal healing power was given to
W
" T rme by my great grandfather,
grandfather, Tu'inahoki, from Mata'ika,
Mata ' ika. Vava'u. Thi
Thiss is one of
ofthe
the very
dear and special gifts that the Polynesians hand down from generation to generation
generation,, just like their
similar
genealogy; simil ar to the special gifts given the Israelites
Israe lites in Jerusalem. I was a member, but bur not old
enough to be baptized into the L.D.S.
L.D.S. church at that time.
28
2S

Crushed, green leaves of the uhi were mixed with a little warm water and oil then ru rubbed
bbed
together in the patriarch's hands. T The grandfather took the two hands, usually
he great grandfather usuall y ofofthe
the eeldest
ldest son
or grandson and offered offered a prayer, ask askinging the Lord to bestow His healing power to that descendant.
This power was especially used for fo r people who choked from ffish ish bones and such.
The
T he grandson, or chosen one, wou would ld have to repeat after after his grandfather
grandfather words something like
this: "1, "I, T
Tu'inahoki,
u'in ahok i, the patriarch
patri arch of this
thi s family am giving giv ing you, my grandson, lohani lohani,, the power and
the authority of healing which 1I have; have; that you will be able to carryon carry on this responsibility to ad administer
mini ster
and help those who choke or suffoca suffocate. te. And when you do this they will be able to get well. At the
same time you gently touch to uch their neck and work the fish bone out, repeating these words: Go in or
out,
oul , Go in or OUI. out, Go illin or out, Go ill in or oul.
out. Say this as long as you need to, and pretty soon
whatever they have been choking on will eeither ither go all the way down to their stomach, or come out
through their mouth. Thi Thiss way it will never fai faill you." 1I did just as 1I was told, sometimes taking a
piece of bread for fi fish
sh bones.
When
W hen 1I was still a childchild,, about six or seven years of age, my grandfather grandfather Pita Afu ate some
fish for his
fish hi s lunch and got a bone stuck in his hi s throat. He did all he could to get the fish bone out but
was unable to retrieve it. He sent for me. My grandfather grandfather Pita Afu Afu sent one of my younger brothers
to ouourr home after me, to come and see if 1I cou couldld help his hi s throat. He had fa faith
ith in my great grandfather
grandfather
Tu'inahoki,
Tu ' inahoki , but he was so far away, and was very old, so he sent for me. me. 1I was kkindind of scared, but
I felt very responsible, or obl obliged
iged to do the duty of my great grandfather, so I came. I went up to hi hiss
little Tongan hut at Tu'akolo. My mother had sent a hot teapot of cocoa and some bread w with
ith me for
Pita. I1 took
took ititininand
and went
went up upto to him
him,, gave
gavehim
him aabig big hug
hugor orsqueeze,
squeeze,andandthen
then IIddid just as
id just asIIwaswas told
told
by my ggreat grandfather Tu'inahoki. As I was repeating, "Go in or out,
reat grandfather out. Go in or out," about 25 times,
while
wh ile gently rubbing on his neck, my grandfather grandfather started to cough and cough. Pretty soon he was able
to spit it out. I couldn couldn't't believe it, but it helped the fish bone come out.
Many people from ddifferent ifferent villages
vill ages near and far came to me for help. Most of them had fifish sh
bones stuck in their throat or windpipe. Some would wou ld be near suffocation.
suffocation.
At one time, Naeata's grandmother Fusi Malapo and the mother of Vika Palemo, ate some
includingg some porcupine fis
seafood, includin fishh call
called soki saki.
ed saki soki. Some of it's bones are shaped like a T pin,
and that's what Fusi Malapo accidentall accidentallyy swallowed, and stuck in her throat. I gently worked and
worked with my fingers around her neck and repeated what I was told to say. Pretty soon, that big bi g
fifish
sh bone came slowly up. Fusi coughed it out, and kept saying, "Oh, thank you, now I can swallow
my saliva once more." more ."
At one timetime,, an older man named Sione Nuku went fishing at Otualea beach. Tongans have
this habit of killing the fish by biting their heads before bringing them home fo forr the family
family.. At th thisis
time Sione was a little slow with this th is fish in hishi s mouth, and it went half-way down inside hi hiss throat
and got stuck there. It couldn't go in or out any father. Sione tried and tried to get the fish out, but
his
hi s scales, bones and fins were ccutting utting Sions's throat. He almost died there, trying to get the fi fish
sh out,
but he couldn
couldn't't move it. He remembered me at his hi s time of difficulty,
difficulty, so he ran all the way to our
home in Havelu,
Havelu , and fortunately I was home. 1I helped him, and about twenty-five minutes later the
whole fish came out. His saliva continued to run from his hi s mouth.
 29

Sometimes it wasn't on only

ly people who came to my home for help. help. AA man
man from
from Holonga
Holonga owned
owned
the number one race horse in town. His horse ho rse broke loose from his hi s restraint and went over to his
neighbor's plantation and ate up all his hi s neighbor's tapioca leaves and whatever else he could find. 1I
guess the horse was trying tryin g to eat fast before someone would come looking for him from the
plantation. In doing so he dug up some tapioca roots and Sliuted started to eat them too. As the horse was
eating a piece of hardhard,, wh
whiteite tapioca, it stuck in in hi
hiss throat.
throat. A few minutes later, the owner came and
found
fo und the horse and saw what had happened. He hurriedly hurri ed ly brought the horse over to our home. I still
remember when I saw that horse for the first time. Oh, I truly truly fe
felt so bad
lt so bad,, hi
hiss mo
mouth was full of foam
uth was foam,,
he could hardly breathe and was in so much pain. pain . I had never seen an animal suffer suffer like that before.
I didn't give up but worked and worked with that horse and slowly a big piece of tapioca worked loose
and the horse sp spitit it out.
ou t. My, what a relief.
relief. We all cheered and were thankful in our hearts for this
horse. The owner was so happy he brought us a hundred pounds of yams the next day for fo r the
recovery of his
hi s horse.
Another time,
tim e, a little
littl e pig was brought from Ta'anea vi village.
ll age. She accidentally ate some hard,
green, premature bread fruit fruit,, and a piece stuck inside her throat and and almost killed he her.
r. The older pigs
know the difference
difference between the ripe breadfruit and green breadfruit. The ripe ones are mostly sweet
and soft and easy to swal swallow,
low, but the green ones are just the opposite. When Ana brought this pig in,
his mouth was full of foam and saliva, and a little littl e bloody. I worked and worked with this th is pig until
he was free from what he had eaten. We were all thrilled to see him happy again.
A cousin
cousin,, Mafil
Mafileoeo Lagi choked on some fish bones and was brought over for treatment. treatment. A A few
few
minutes later he went home a happy harpy teenager again.
Once I worked and worked with a cat which was choking chok ing from something; finally it was
alright.
Note by Ti Tisina:
sina: 1997:1997: A few weeks before his death, lohani Iohani passed on this thi s gift to hi
hiss SOl]
son
Walter,
Walter. lohani felt he was his hi s most spiritual son and worthywOIlhy of it. Walter is currently living near
Oakland,, California.
Oakland Califomia.

INFLUENZA EPIDEMIC AT V
VAVA'U
A V A 'U

ihe
lhe influenza came to Tonga in 1918. 1918. Many people
peop le all over the Islands got influenza.
T F
Even as far as the Samoan Islands and I'm pretty sure throughout the islands
is lands in the South
Pacific that received visitors from ships. ships. They called that the flu bug.
In November 1918 1918,, thattrial
that trial came
came upon
upon the
the Saints
Saints at
at Vava'u.
Vava'u. There
There was
was aamission
mission conference
conference
held at Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu during that month. A boat had arrived to take the members to attend
this
th is conference. My mother Salome and her baby Ela were alllong among them. Uncle
them . Unc le Rudy's mother
Martha Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm was there with baby Rudy and a lot of members went on that ship, without
knowing that there was an influenza epidemic brought with the ship. ship. Even the ship
ship's
's crew didn
didn't
't
know. Our sm small
all school band was among the passengers to Tongatapu. We left Ha'laufuli Ha'iaufuli to go to
Neiafu,
Neiafu but after
,
after we '"got
"ot to Neiafu one of ofthe
the missionaries, Elder Jacob, decided not to leave with us
for the conference, but to remain at Vava'u. Vava ' u. At that lime
time he was the district missionary
mi ss ionary leader at
Vava'u.
Vava' u.
30

The members didn't know what made him change his hi s mind, but I'm sure he wanted to go also,
but he heard and obeyed the still small voice. The Lord had another mission for Elder Jacob back in
Vava'u. didn't't take very long after we got inside the boat, many people started to get sick. Their
Vava ' u. It didn
bodies
bod ies felt so weak all the way to Tongatapu. Many of of the members couldn't attend the conferenceconference
because
beca use they were so sick. The same thing happened to many of ofthe
the missionaries.
mi ss ionari es. Some just couldn
couldn't't
get
gel up. Oneof
One ofthe the missionaries,
mi ssionaries, Elder Langston,
Langston , was ill before with influenza and passed away at that
time.
tim e.
Elder May was a very fine director, very musica musically talented.
ll y tal ented. We played throughout the islands
of Vava'u,
Vava'u , and at the wharf
wharf welcomed the arrival of ofthe
the big ships. Tourists used to throw coin coinss at us.
We played for the Royal family famil y and big cultural events held for the natives nati ves and people enjoyed
enj oyed the
school
school band. Some ofthe
of the members in the
inlhe band at Ha'laufuli
Ha ' laufuli besides me were Onesi,
Onesi , Osika, Koloti,
Koloti ,
all Wolfgramms and Ana Tu' Tu'ifeleunga
ifeleunga Langi, Netane, Fusiloa, Tevita Makihele, Pita Pauni, Viliami
Naeata, Afa Wolfgramm, Ana Vanila Vanil a and many others.
It was so strange when we finall finallyy got to Tongatapu to play, one by one, some of of the band
members would be pl playing
aying and pretty soon would fall down and couldn couldn't't stand up any more, Many
of them got very sick sick..
conference was over, Martha
When conference Manha Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm was so sick with the flu flu she was unable
un able to
nurse baby Rudy, so my mother took baby Rudy and fed Ela on one breast and Rudy on the other.
Salome was very blessed.
blessed . She was spared so she could feed the two babies. Martha Wolfgramm Wolfgramm was
Relief
Rei ief Society president in Neiafu Neiafu at that time and was a greatly respected, hard worker and she loved
the people
peop le in caring and feeding the missionaries,
mi ssionaries, including cook cooking serving
ing and serv ing the Royal families.
This was the very first mission conference held in Tongatapu in 1918 and Pres. Smith
mi ss ion conference Sm ith presided over
the brand new chapel built bu ilt on solid Tongatapu ground at Matavaimoui which was completed in
December 1923.
During this conference there were not enough doctors or nurses to care for the sick. Each
family had to care for their own by digging holes and burying their dead. Someti Sometimes
mes they would burybu ry
three or four bodies together in the same hole because they were all infected with the influenza.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 died during that time. Finally Finall y a four-masted American ship arrived
at Vava'u
Vava ' u harbor and also at Tongatapu and the government govemment leaders asked if they could hire some of of
their
lheir sailors
sail ors to help bury their dead. Even though tho ugh their sailors were drunk,drunk , they were still wi
willing
lling to
help out.
In some oftheof the missionary
mi ss ionary journals they told about what they heard and witnessed with their
own eyes.
eyes. The home where the missionariesmiss ionaries reside was not very far from the graveyard graveyard.. They saw
hundreds
hun dreds of families
fam il ies and friends carry their dead up for burial, so weak they almost couldn couldn't't make
it
il up the hill
hill,, and some dropped dead before they aITived arrived to bury three and now fo four
ur to bury. The
missionaries were saddened by what happened at Vava'u Vava ' u and other Islands. They continued to pray
and thank God for preserving their lives at this difficult difficu lt time while
whil e they were out on their mi mission.
ss ion.
conference, people
After conference, peopl e who left Vava'u
Vava ' u and Ha'apai
Ha'apai retumed
returned home and were shocked to
find half of their fam il ies and loved ones had died also.
families
 31
31

Elder Jacob, who had

bad decided to remain in Vava'u with the saints, was the only one in Vava'u
who held the Melchizedek Priesthood. During this period Elder Jacob was called from house to
house, and town to town,
town , to come and administer to loved ones who were so ill. Elder Jacob sa said
id
when he arrived at a family house, almost everyone was sick. He laid his hi s hands and gave them a
priesthood blessing, many people recovered and later joined the Church. Those he administered to
became very close and loving friends ofthe
friend s of the missionary
mi ss ionary through his kindness to them and the Lord
helped them recover from their sickness.
Elder Jacob said it was from God that made him stay back to help out these people in time of of
their need. It was amazing during this thi s time they had 65 students attending Makeke College in
Tongatapu and not one single student was affected,
affected , for they had the Priesthood to protect them.
schoolss died.
Students from other school
I too, want to thank God for the love, service, testimonies, and language of these pioneer
Elders who gave their all to come and bring us the light li ght and teach us the gospel so we can enjoy our
blessing in the Church of
of Jesus Christ. During thisthi s time many homes in Tonga had asked the mission
mi ss ion
priesthood holders to come and chase evilevil spirits from their homes.
homes. Some received food that had been
poisoned,
poisoned , so they had a real rough time after World War I in 1918.

EARTHQUAKE AT OTUALEA BEACH AT HA'LAUFULI 1918

EARTHQUAKE

"very
very Wednesday night at Ha'alaufuli the missionaries
mi ssionaries preached on the street corner.
E 'Salome,
Salome, went out with some neighbors to hear them. My father, fath er, being
heing very weary
decided to put the children to bed early, and then retire himself. Soon after, there was a great
earthquake. This was 1918. I remember being thrown from my bed. bed. We chi
children about
ldren were tossed Jbout
the floor, as the ealth
earth beneath us shook violently. Hurrying to our feet, we all ran outside to see what
was happening. The missionaries
mi ss ionaries were still preaching. Suddenly we heard a veiy very loud noise coming
from Otualea, our favorite beach. We discovered it to be a very big tidal wave, climbing nearly half half
way up the cliff. This was my first experience, witnessing a tidal wave, which was so devastating.
It took with it, eveiy
every single beach house. The sand was thrown to the deep part of of the ocean; only
rocks were left
left behind. Fish,
Fi sh, sharks, and sea life of all kinds were thrown on the tree tops. Coconut
Cocon ut
trees, and toa
loa trees, were pulled out from their roots; wildwi ld flowers and vines were crushed against the
rocks. All the sand had been washed away, and there were holes everywhere upon the seashore. All
the people rushed to the beach,
beach , to see what had occurred. Children
occulTed. Chi ldren immediately envisioned
env is ioned using
usin g the
holes for their individual
individual swimming holes;holes; they thought it am
amusing to see
using to see fish
fish and
and shark
shark hanging
hanging upon
upon
the trees.
The Vava'u group of islands was of volcanicvolcan ic origin and the village was on the top of these
high rocks. Fortunately, no lives li ves were lost on the beach that night.
32

IOHANI WAS 10 YEARS OLD

ihis
his was the most fun time of my life when I was about 10 years old (1921). We used to
T;
T have so much fun with my little brothers and sisters and all my cousins. On the week
ends we would
wou ld go out to Mata'ika and ride the buggy and the horses. Some of Grandfather's Grandfather's
(Frederick Gustav Ludwig Wolfgramm) employees would woul d come and put all the cousin
cousinss inside the
cart and race through the village with them—that
them--that was so much fun. fun . There would
wou ld be Oscar, Claude,
Arthur, and Ernest. One Saturday they were getting on the cart and Arthur whipped the horse and the
horse took off
off with all of them. Grandfather
Grandfather and all the people in the house came out to see where the
horse would take them. I was the first one to fall from the can. cart. I landed by a Koka tree and injured
my back, but thank goodness it didn't hurt my head. I didn't tell a soul what happened.
During that time one of my favorite friends was Tevita Makihele who told me he cou could
ld fix
my back. I came and stood by Tevita. He took both of my hands and put them behind my back. He
arms and started to shake me. rI heard something crack in my back and fell to the ground
twisted my anns
and that's when blood started to come from my nose and ears. rI felt very sick and went and lay down down..
My fever rose to 105 degrees
degrees.. My friend felt very bad about what he had done.
My father kept on asking if I remembered anything that had happened that week that might
have caused this
thi s condition. I had been afraid to tell about my fall, but finally admitted, yes, the horse
took off
off with the cart and I1 was
was thrown
thrown against
against the
theKoka
Koka tree
tree and
and hurt
hurt my
my back.
back.
There was a little man named Vea Yea in Ta'anea, the next town, well known for fi fixing
xing fractures.
He was sent for and was brought back to our home. As I lay on my bed Vea Yea took his
hi s medicine made
from certain green leaves and bark of the trees, put it insidein side a kava bowl,
howl , and mixed iT it with
wiTh warm
water. It was strained with
w ith coconut fibers. He told me to drink the whole cup. After I drank that, a
few minutes later 1I regurgitated
regurgitated everything
everything inin my
my insides.
insides. Day
Day bybyday
dayIIregained
regained my
my health
health back
back toto
normal
nonnal again.

APOSTLE DAVID O. McKAY

This was
\1 'as Olle
one a/the
ofthe stops ol/tll trip of David O.
on thee around-the-world !rip 0. McKay in 1921,
which lohani
and \1'lIlch attended as a fell
fahani oflended ten year
vear old child.

11 the people from Vava'u came to Ha'alaufuli to see the apostle, David O. McKay He
ll the people from Yava'u came to Ha'alaufuli to see the apostle, David O. McKay He
AA'talked to them about a vision. He spoke ofthe lovely sunset glowing in the beautiful red
talked to them about a vision. He spoke of the lovely sunset glowing in the beautiful red
/It
sky. As he gazed upward
upward,, he saw Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles. They were standing together in
a cloud. At this point in David O.O. McKay's talk, the interpreter, Lui Wolfgramm, a cousin
cousin of
of lohan
lohani's
i's
was unable
un able to continue. Lui understood what the apostle was saying, but, as the tears fell upon his
cheeks, he sat down
down,, and one of
ofthe
the missionaries from Zion, Elder May, continued on. After a few
moments
moments Lui again took
Lui again took his place and
his place and finished
finished translating
translating Apostle McKay's talk.
Apostle McKay's President Heber
talk. President Heber
J. Grant was the prophet at the time.
Apostle McKay al also
so told the people this short experience. He was once called to attend a
meeting for all the apostles. Before the time to leave he rested in a chair and fell asleep. At this time
ti me
he had a dream: it concerned
concemed the meeting. He arrived at the designated place, but was sent home
 33

before the meeting started. Within a few minutes, the apostle awakened and hurried to make his hi s
appointment, giv giving
ing no further
further thought to his dream
dream.. While
Whi le driving along in hishi s car, he was brought
to an abrupt stop. A rope had been tied across the road. It hit the windshield causing the glass to 10
break and the sp splinters flew
linters fl ew into the apostle's face
face.. The sk
skin
in was pealed offoff in some areas. He missed
his
hi s meeting, and was taken directly to the hospital.
The saisaints
nts in Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli exam
examined
ined his
hi s face, but could
cou ld see no ev
evidence
idence ofofthe accident.
the acc ident. During
this same talk,
ta lk, he asked for a glass of water. He likened the clear, pure water to a virtuous virtuou s person.
He put one drop of of ink from his fountain pen into the same glass. glass. The discoloration was an examp example le
of what sin could do.
He picked a lovely red rose from an arrangement on the pulpit. As he examined it, he drew
the audience's attention to the beauty and fragrance of the flower. flower. He said the thomsthorns acted as a
protection to the rose, therefore they shou should ld not be removed. There is good and bad in all people.
Try to always look for the good qualities. We always find fau faultlt with our neighbor,
neighbor. but do not see our
own weaknesses.
The Apostle was reminded of the lily-very lily--very fragile to look upon,
upon , but many times they are
found in muddy water. The lovely flower finds strength to rise above the murky waters and lift li ft it's
head upward to the sky. We too, can rise ri se above
dbove our environment if it is an undesirable
undes irable one.
rI learned
leamed three good lessons from the apostle's talk that day. day. II have used them as gu guides
ides
throughout my Ilife,ife, and am grateful
grateful for the examples of our leaders. At the age of 66, 66,1I am
am sti
still very
II very
appreciative
appreciati ve of my many blessings.
bless ings.

HUNTING WILD GOATS

'had
had a cousin
cousin,, called Netane Lea'aevai,
Lea'aevai , and a friend named Hale Makehele. One day ddy they
Ii:-decided
decided to take me hunting at one of the big cliffs by Hangai Tokelau Tokelau.. The rock covered
cliff is several hundred feet high.
cliff hi gh. Beneath it is the beautiful
beautiful blue ocean
ocean.. In[n these waters, the
whales and sharks come to feast on any goats that happen to fall off off the pinnacles of the cliff
cliff into
inlo
the deep ocean below. These goats love to roam during the daytime. They make their home
inside small caves.
rI really
reall y didn't want to go with them but they insisted rI go just this once. At seventeen
years of age rI knew it was a very dangerous sport. The cliff cli ff was so steep it was very difficult
difficult to
hike around it. I final ly found a very narrow space about two and a half feet wide. rI was trying to
finally
hang on to a small tree branch so I wouldn't fall into the ocean.
While reaching out for more branches to hang on to, my friend Hale Maki Makihele
hele saw a great
big goat standing about 50 feet right above where rI was standing. Ir knew for sure that if Hale
decided to shoot this goat, that would be the end of my life, plus the life of of the goat.
Hale, in his
hi s excitement, immediately took a shot at the goal, goat, which killed it. rI looked up
and saw the goatgOal fall straight at me and it landed right on my back. What an experience in nearly
losing
lOSing my life! I was holding some branches with one hand and the other grasping some rocks.
As the goat hit my back, it slid down and his small tree Ir
hi s neck and head were stuck between the smalllree
was hanging
hangi ng on to.to . Two of his legs were stuck inside small rock holes, and the rest of his body
was hanging in space. r1 was was very
veryfortunate
fortunate totoget
get home
home safely
safely that
that afternoon.
aftemoon.
34
34

WHILE IOHANI WAS SINGLE (at Hangai)

'tt was about 5:00 p.m.

p.m. thi
thiss certain afternoon.
aftemoon. I1 needed
needed some
some kerosene
kerosene for
for my
my lamp,
lamp,also
also
Ii;-some spending money. I jumped on my horse and headed to the bush at Hangai to make
some spending money. I jumped on my horse and headed to the bush at Hangai to make
some copra. First thing I did was to collect about 350 coconuts.coconuts. I could take copra into any store and
exchange it for money. That amount of copra would be worth about 20/- 20/- (shillings) or one pound in
money.
English money.
I went straight to the big cliff at Hangai, collected my cocoanuts
cocoanuts,, and started toto cut them open
with an ax.ax. I cleaned out the meat from each coconut shell as I sat with my back facing the top of ofthe
the
200 foot cliff. Finally, the sun went down at 6:00 p.m p.m.. I had worked hard to make thi thiss copra because
I didn't't have a lilight,
[didn ght , and had forgotten to bring any matches.
Darkness fell. I could barely see the coconut meat. The crickets began to sing. A huge tree
grew behind where I sat, and after removing the meat from the coconut shell shell,, I would throw the husk
over my shoulder behind thi thiss tree.
tree.
As IJ was hurrying to finish this task, IJ heard aa new
new born
born baby
baby crying.
crying. The
The sound
sound came
came directly
directly
behind the large tree. I tumedturned around to see if anyone was there.
there. Seeing no one,
one , I continued with my
copra, so I might finish and retum return to town. I continued to throw the husks behind the tree, the baby
crying
cryi ng all the while. Finally finished, I threw my sack of copra on the horse's back, and headed for
town. I was frightened because JI knew Satan was trying to scare me that night.

WHILE IOHANI
IOHANr WAS SINGLE (at Vaomaile)

'went
went out to the bush one day to plant sweet potatoes, but before I worked on my plantation,
Ii;-II decided to build myself
myse lf a small Tongan hut. It would be six feet long and six feet wide,
and three feet high.
hi gh. After
After that was completed I built a ch chicken
icken coop; then I went out and found a
mother hen and one rooster which I put in the chicken coop, and cared for them. In the days to come
it wasn't long until I had eggs and more chickens.
The
T he day after
after building my hut, I started planting sweet potatoes. First I hoed and pulled the
weeds, clearing the area for the kumala
kuma/a (sweet potatoes).
potatoes) . Soon the kumala
kuma/a began to grow. I worked
hard on my plantation. One day the sun was very hot. 1I had a severe headache. I decided dec ided to go back
to my hut and restres t until sundown. 1J would
would then
then return
return to
to my
my garden
garden when
when itit became
became cooler.
cooler.
As I lay down to rest, I closed my eyes but did not sleep. As I lay resting, a feeling of of great
weariness
weari ness overcame me. I felt as if if I was inside
in side a deep hole, and had difficulty
difficulty breathing. My body
became very weak. As I opened my eyes, they fell upon two women who had entered my little hut.
The first
first woman had beautiful
beautiful long, black hair. She was very attractive and wore very little clothing.
Around
Arou nd the lower part of of her body she wore a small tapa clothc loth that covered her hips and upper thighs.
Her legs were bare and her hair was so long and thick it became a covering for the upper part pan of
of her
beautiful
beautiful body. She looked like a Samoan beauty. Her spotless skin, with a blush in her cheeks, cheeks , and
a beautiful smile,
beautifu l smi le, made a great impression
impress ion on lohani. She walked towards him and sat down near
where my head lay.
 35

The second woman entered the hut behind her. She also was beautiful. Her skin was as dark
as a Fijian,
FUian , her hair, short and curlcurly,
y, made a lovely frame for her beautiful
beautif ul face. She sat at my feet.
Neither woman spoke but continued to smile at me.
I experienced thithiss between the hours of II
11:00
:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. I became so weak,weak, I could
could
hardly breathe. Some power seemed to enfold me. As I1 lay laythere,
there,IIlooked
looked up
upatatthese
these two
two women,
women,
who were now laughing at me, but still not uttering a sound. I realized that these two must be Satan
of Fehuluni, femalee devil that Tongans see at the bush quite often.
Fehuluni , a femal
said,
I finally sa id, "If that is you Satan, by the power of the Melchi
Melchizedek
zedek Priesthood which I holdhold,,
and in the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to get out of here and stay out. Just then, 1I sat up
and my little
littl e hut was full of smoke vapors. The two women both di disappeared.
sappeared. I then knew that they
were Satan tempting me again.

HA'ALAUFULI
CHURCHES IN HA ' ALAUFULl

1t the time I was growing up in Ha'alaufuli there were on

only churches
ly three ch urches in our village:
vill age :
A-one
one was the Methodist
Methodi st Church,
Church. one the Church of Tonga, and the other was a small
branch of the Mormon Church Church.. Sunday was always a holy sabbath that we kept while whil e attending
Church. Primary was after school on Tuesdays. Wednesday was for Relief Relief Society in the mom morning
ing
and M.I.A. was in the evening. Friday a social or dance was held. Sometimes we had genealogy on
Thursday night. We also found time for choir practice on M.I.A M.I.A.. night. This was was the
the regu
regular schedule
larschedule
for our branch.
The other two churches would woul d hold meetings on Sunday. For a special month each year,
every day, Monday through Friday, their the ir members would go to ch church
urch at 5:00 p.m.
p.m . and read their
the ir
Bible. In a short time, one by one would get up and "pour out his hi s heart". Before long, 75 [0 to 80 people
would be overcome with a certain kind of spirit, and and they would talk and scream and yell "Hallelujah!
"Hallelujah!,,
Hallelujah".
Hal lelujah". Pretty soon they would work themselves up, and fill their soul soulss with love for the Savior.
Soon they wou
would
ld fafallll upon the chapel floor and pass out. They ca called
lled this
th is , "the Spirit of Love" for
the Savior that fe
fellll upon them, but I wonder sometimes if that's what it real reallyly was.
When these people passed out, especially the women, the L.D.S. members would wou ld be ready to
help them.
them . We would
wou ld carry them outside the chapel into the fresh fresh air, and then pour cold water on
them. The on only
ly way for them to be able to stop this emotional meeting meet ing was for someone to run
quickly or on horseback to another village vill age to find the president of their church.
the ir chu rch. He would be the on onlyly
one who could come out to that chapel and call the meeting to an end. Each village had their own
steward or missionary to lead them in their ch church
urch meeting.
One day, I remember there were people who had come from the nearby villages of of
Tu'anikivale,
T u'anikivale, Ta'ane, Holonga, and Mangia to our town fo forr thi
thiss spec
special month.. They worshiped every
ial month
day of that month,
month , and pretty soon this "Spir "Spiritit of Love" as they call called
ed it, fell
fe ll upon these people. We
asked around for extra men to ass assist
ist us that day, but there were too many visitors who had come to
church
attend chu rch at Ha'alaufuli. We started carrying these people out, one by one. As I carried this little
old lady, Finau Fale
Fa le Vai,
Vai , out the door, I[was
was surpri
surprised
sed to fifind
nd out she had just pretended to to faint. She
36

opened her eyes, and whispered to me, "Iohani"lohani,, before you pour any water on my face, be very careful
careful
with my hat. It's brand new, and I don't want to get water on it, OK!" She closed her eyes again, again , and
pretended that the "Spirit of Love" had fallen upon her too. Instead of feeling sorry for her, I just
smiled at her and told
to ld her to get up and run home quickquickly
ly before the men poured water on her.
friends and I became tired of carrying this crowd out. Instead of these L.D.S. yo
My friends young
ung men
carrying each person out to the lawn and lying them gracefully
gracefully down, then pouring cold water over
their faces, they tried something elseelse.. They just marched these people up to the front door of the
Mormon chapel and just dropped them down, or just let them roll down the steps. The more people
MonTIon
they let go at the top of the stairs, the more awoke at the bottom as others fell on them. A few hours
later someone fina
finally
lly found their president. He came and closed the meeting.

IOHANI'S
lOHANI'S BODY ARISES FROM THE DEAD

'here
here was a conference
conference held in May 1931 at Koloa
1931 at Koloa and Elder JJames
and Elder ames CCutler was the
utler was the mi
mission
ssion
T president at that time. Elder Marti
Martinn was called to start his
hi s missionary Ha'alaufuli.
mi ss ionary work at Ha'alaufuli.
Ulufonua and Mele gave my mother Salome some shark's liver for dinner and I ate
Sione Ulufonua
quite a bit of it.
quile
There was a cricket game at Ta'anea. I left for the game but felt very dizzy and left for home.
I decided to stop at a small sweet water lagoon call called Pu'ipuaka
ed Pu' aftemoon bath hoping to make
ipuaka for an afternoon
me feel better, but as I[ looked up at the sunsun,, everything looked yellow or greenish.
couldn't
I cou ldn't figure out what was wrong with me. me. I began to walk back home at Havelu to rest
but felt very sick to my stomach.
All I remember was trying to walk back to the missionary housing at Tapuhia (means sacred
place) to see if the new Elder Martin was back from Neiafu to give me a blessing.
On my way there, I remember feeling dizzy and losing my balance. I fell down three times,
but finally made it back to Tapuhia. That's where the Ha'alaufuliHa'alaufuli chapel, missionary home, three
cement cisterns, a kitchen and a dance or social hall and the church bell were.
When I first arrived, older church members were engaged in a kava party to honor their newly
arrived missionary at Ha'alaufuli,
Ha ' alaufuli, including SiosefaNaeata,
Siosefa Naeata, Fusiloa Unga, NetaneLaevai,
Netane Laevai, Pita Pauni,
Pauni,
Fifita Motua, Sione Ulufonua, Saia Lange, Viliami Naeata Fehoko, and Elder Martin Martin's's new Tongan
missionary
mi ssionary companion Elder Sione Filipe of Ha'apai who was married to Ane Brown Brown..
As soon as Siosefa Naeata saw me on the front step of the missionary home, he wanted to
know if I was sick? I said said,, "Please get me a missionary, awfully sick."
mi ssionary, I'm awfully
Sione Felipe got up quietly to go and check on Elder Martin,but he was taking a short nap
hi s long boat trip to Vava
from his Vava'u.' u.
I started to en
enter
ter from the porch to the living room,, but fell and died on the floor.
li ving room floor. At that time
they called for Elder Martin. He came and checked on me, but I was dead.
The Elder again went back into his room and brought with him the consecrated oi oill and asked
his companion to assist.
 37

At this time my mortal body was laying on the floor and my spirit was taken above and I could
see what was going on down below.
I saw Elder Martin open up the consecrated oi oilI and begin a priesthood bless blessing me. It
ing for me.
seems that my spirit was taken farther and farther away from this thi s earth. In a veiy
very humble and sweet
voice, E
Elder
lder Martin called for my spirit and said, "lohani
"Iohani Otto Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm , by the holy power of ofthe
the
Melchezidek
Meichezidek priesthood which I bear, and in the name of Jesus Chri Christst I command your spirit to to return
return
and for you to arise from the dead."
It seemed to me that I was far away from this world when I heard my name called and and that was
was
the last thing I heard. My spirit immediately retumed
returned and entered my mortal body and life returned.
My heart began to pump purnp normally
normall y and 1 began toto breathe
I began breathe again
again..
I stood up and quickly left the building and went behind the house and vom vomited
ited out all the
poisonous food that caused my problem and what a relief. Salome and I expressed our love for the
missionary and hishi s companion. Priesthood leaders were eye witness to the power of God that is given
to men to raise someone from the dead dead..
We left to go home. By the time we got home we were on our knees thanking God for his hi s
blessing and for sending Elder Martin to Tonga.
The next day Elder Martin came over to our home with his companion
hi s compan said
ion and sa id to us, "Today
I would like to bear you my testimony as a witness to what took place yesterday. Just before I came
on my mission I was given a patriarchal blessing that told me that through God's God 's power given me,
I will help raise someone from the deaddead."."
With Everything going on yesterday Elder Martin didn didn't' t remember about his hi s blessing, but the
next day he remembered and came and shared that with Salome and me.
Through this blessing I gained much love for missionary work and it gave me much faith and
willingness to serve wherever the church needs me.

THE DAY MY FATHER DIED

| arly
arly Wednesday
Wednesday morning,
morning, May
May 20,
20,1929, wejust
1929, we just barely
barely got
got upupfrom
from our
our sleep,
sleep, IIheard
heard my my
E /father,
father, Chares Frederick Ludwig Wolfgramm Wolfgramm,, call me to come to his hi s bedroom and say,
"lohani,, today I feel
"lohani fee l like I'm going to die, and by 4:00 o'clock
o 'clock I will be gone. I would
wou ld like to prepare
you, lohani,
you,Iohani , to be a father to raise the rest of your brothers and sisters. If your mother, Salome Fo Fo'ou
' ou
Afu,
Afu, decides to marry again, again , there will be no problem
problem,, but will have her wish. Let her make up her
own mind, whatever she would like to do. Go out to the back room and there is a large book there
about 10 inches thick that contains the accounts of everyone in Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia,
that owe money to the store. Many of their names you will wi II find inside this book. Some of them have
taken loans out for food; some of of them have taken loans for building new homes, loans for their
funeral,
funeral , and some for their copra and some for spendin
spendingg money. I want you to look through this thi s book
at
at the
the names
names of of the
the different
different companies
companies that
that owe
owe us
us money,
money, andand make
make aa promise
promi se to
to me
me that after II die
that after di e
you will
wi ll not go after them, not even a penny. Those that we have helped out, whatever need and
services that
services that wewe have
have rendered
rendered them,
them, the
the Lord
Lord has
has blessed
blessed us and it
us and it is
is not
not for
for you
you toto worry about itit
worry about
any more.
any more. It It was
was aa blessing
blessing forfor us
us to
to be of help
be of help to
to them."
them."
38

My father Charles was living at Ha'alaufuli Ha 'alaufuli and ran a little store. At the store there was sharp
corner on a table on wh which
ich he constantly bumped his hi s leg in walking back and forth in his work. Thi Thiss
caused a large lump on his hi s leg that began to grow larger and larger. It may have been a tumor or
cancer and became very painful, but there was no medication med ication to help him. One day the pain was so
severe he grabbed the lump and tried to pull pu ll it out, hoping to stop the pain. He reached down and
ruptured a blood vessel. At this thi s time it began to bleed profu profusely.
sely. Salome brought a bucket so the
blood cou
couldld drain into
in to it. Osika was sent to Neiafu to ffind ind a doctor. A few hours later they arrived
in a horse and buggy. When the doctor arrived the bucket was almost full of Sale' Sale'ss blood. He turned
around and said said,, "I'm very sorry to tell you this, almost all of Sale's blood has drained out and I do
not have anything to get it back inside. ins ide. He will soon die."
"lohani,, come stand by my side, because tomorrow after I die you will have to look after
"Iohani after all
the children. Make sure they are cared for and maybe you must leave your schooling and look for a
new job so you will be able to raise them. I would like you to fix me my last meal." meal. " I turned around
and went into the kitchen and made father some porridge and toast in the kerosene oven and some
hot chocolate. That was father's favorite breakfast. I brought it over to him and he ate it. The rest
of the kids were not there at that time except Osika. I was about 18 years old, Oscar 17, Kaloti 16, 16,
Caroline
Caroli ne 15,
IS , Ana J14, 11, Christian 10, Walter 9, and Makanese 6, and Martha
4, Ella II, Mal1ha 4, Heinrich 3, and and
Simione was 2. My mother had had 5 miscarriages. About 4:00 o'clock that afternoon aftemoon Sale passed
away.. All the family from Neiafu, Mata'ika, and Ha'alaufuli, Koloa, and Otea and some from
away
Tu'anekivale
Tu ' anekivale and the lilittlettle island of Falevai where Sulunga came from from,, came for the funeral. Some
came from Leimatua and some from Ta'anea, and others.
eveningg after the funeral Icou
The evenin I couldn't rest. My
ldn ' t rest. My heart was
was aching
aching and
and II couldn
couldn't stop the
't stop the tears
tears
couldn't' t understand why thi
and couldn thiss happened to father while wh ile the children were so very yo young.
ung. So I
came to my bedroom and layed there and cried and cried That evening I saw the beautiful full moon
showing over the graveyard where father had been buried. It was almost like daylight, I could see
clearlyy from my bedroom to father
clearl father's' s grave. I got up on my knees and started to pray fervently fervently and
asked the Lord to help and comfort my heart and help me find a way that I could become a good
father to the rest of my brothers and sisters.
While sitting on my bed and praying and looking at the grave, I saw a man walk in. His feet
didn't touch the ground and he said to me, "I've come to take you, Iohani lohani,"
,"
I immediately said, "Where are you going to to take me?
me?""
"I have come to take you to the spirit world."
"Good, because I was wondering in my heart where to go next? I've been thinking of my
father and the deep love I have for him and I cou couldld not relax and get it off
off my mind, because I don't
know how I'm going to care for all of these children."
The angel told me, " You have to get up and follow me."
When I got off off the bed to follow the man, man , I could hardly breathe and came to a stop and felt relt
like I was passing out. My body fell back on the bed and I could see my spi spirit
rit leave my body. The
angel said, "Come with me.". me.". At that moment I saw my body on the bed and my spirit follow the
angel. We left this thi s earth to go to another place.
 39

The angel said, "Ioilani

"lohani,, do you know where we are standing now?"
No"..
I answered ," No"
I saw an open area and many, many spirits were there, even from the lim timee of Adam. Some
of them ran up to me touching part of my clothing and some oflhem
ofrhem of them had clothing
c lothing on and some didn't.
Some of them had faces that were sad holding their chin in their hands. There were no houses around. around.
The spirits were sitting in this thi s hot area with nothing over their heads, crying for help, he lp , and
p!eading,"Iohani,
plead in g,"]ohan i, I hope you remember us. us . They have shown us to you so that when you retum return to
earth you will take our names to the temple so we can be redeemed. Please, we beg of you to do that.
Promise
Promi se us to do that th at when you return, Iohani."
lohani."
The angel spoke to me, " That's why you are here so you can see and be an eye witness that
their
thei r work is waiting to be done on the other side." 1 promised them
] promised them that
that ifif I1hadhadthe
theopportunity
opportunity I1
would.
would .
The crowd oftheof the people seek
seeking
ing lohani's
lohani 's help were calling, "Please, anyone, take our names
to the temple
temp le or any member ofthe of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to do baptism for us
so we can leave this horrible place and go on to paradise and continue work there." there. "
I answered them, "Yes, if I ever have a chance to go to America, I wi willll take your names and
have your temple work done."
"In a short time we will wil l go through this gate and I will let you see some of of your fam
family
il y
members here," the angel declared.
The angel said, ""lohani,
lohani , we must leave this place now, we don don't' t have enough time left."left. " As
we were leaving this thi s area these people began to rush out to be close to us and even touch our clothing,
but were unable to do so because in front of of us we were facing a huge
hu ge white gate, and a long
white cloud or fog stood between us and these people; therefore wc were separated by this force of of
energy. They would be shocked if they came any closer or touched us. They tried to enter this thi s gate
but were unsuccessful.
unsuccessful.
The angel asked me, "lohani, do you know where we have come from?"
I said, "No."
He said
said,, ·'That
"That was the spirit prison.
pri son . These people need to be baptized before they can enter
the gate. The reason you were brought to them is so you can see how they suffer suffer and wait fo forr
someone to do baptisms for them from the other side. That is your mission mission." ."
A big force of energy from the cloud pushed us inside the gate and those who were com cominging
first place couldn't get in.
from the first in . This area was so much cleaner, homes were painted and very
clean, flowers were in bloom. The angel said to me, "Now you will meet some of you family here."
They were onlyon ly ten feet away from us. us. They received me well, and one by one they came and hugged
and kissed me in a long line. Some sa said,
id, "Please, lohani,
lohani , when you go back, take ou ourr family names
to the temple and continue their work."
Shortly after that the angel
angel saidsaid,"," Come with me."
We saw a building
buildin g and inside was a waiting room like at al the temple and the first lady I met
was Martha SanftSanft Wolfgramm, my step-grandmother who lives in Neiafu. She was the one that was
waiting at the door and let us in. in . There 1 met everyone
I met everyone ofof my
myfamily
family that
that hadhad passed
passed away
away and
and they
they
were very happy to see me. me . But I couldn
couldn't 't find my father. As we looked up to our left out the window
there was another building on the top of a hill capped by the statue of a woman. She had a crown
on her head with 12 stars on her crown and the moon under her feet.
40

The angel asked if I understood the meaning mean ing of the woman?
said,, "No."
I said
He sa
said,id , ""It
It represents the twelve tribes of ofIsrael
Israel or the 12 apostles of the true Church of Jesus
ofthe
Christ
Ch ri st of Latter-day Saints, until everyone will repent and some will join the Ch Church."
urch."
That
That's' s what I cou ldn
couldn't't quite understand in my heart because I was 18 at that time.
The angel sa said,
id , "You must understand about the true Church of God and have fa faith
ith in the
Prophet Joseph Smith and even to the time when you yo u will study and learn about the life of Brigham
Young also and their mission mi ssion to organi
organizeze the Church in these last days. You must be able to see and
understand and witness wi tness all of this and things that will take place before the second coming of the
That's
Savior. That ' s why you were brought here to witness what will take place a few years before Cht; Christ's
st 's
second comcoming.
ing. " And the angel spoke to me again again,, "Would you like to see what is go going
ing to take
place in the last days?"
said,, "Yes, I would like to see that very much,
I said much , but I would lilikeke to see my father." The angel
told
to ld me to wait and he would send for him. As we were looking around the wa waiting
iting room,
room , I saw
David
Dav id O. McKay and Uncle Rudy Wolfgramm Wolfgramm who were sti still
ll living
li ving at the time. I saw a lot of of
missionaries that were in Tonga at the time, and then my family, but sti stillll couldn
couldn't' r find my fathfather.
er.
The Angel took me outside behind the building bu ilding where we fo found
und my father standing. He
couldn't
cou ldn't enter that building and he begged me to forg forgive
ive him,
him , because when he died he hadn't quite
repented of all his hi s sisins.
ns . Then he asked me to take his hi s name to the Temple. We hugged each other
and he told me how much he loved me. The Angel said, "Hurry, we don't have much time left." So
he took me over to a little hill facing the setting Ssun UIl and said, "Listen," and we heard the thunder and
the
th e lightening hitting and the rain starting to come and then a big roaring of the thunder and the
lightening
li ghtening come again, and I heard the people from the other side crying and screaming- screaming-they they needed
help. My heart fe feltlt for them. I was very sad to hear their cries. I wanted so much to help them, but
at that time I cou couldn't.
ldn ' r. The angel was showing me a panorama of what was to take place in Old
Jerusalem,
Jerusa lem, in the United States, and in the New Jeru Jerusalem.
salem.
After I witnessed and heard everyth everything
ing that would
wou ld take place the angel told me, "You must
come with me to the room where the Savior will come". As I came to the door 1 I saw my
grandmother, Ma'ata. They were preparing the room where the Savior would come. The angel went
inside the room and as I put my right foot fOOl forward my spirit retumed
returned to my body. body.lI sat up on the bed
and I knew the reason why I was taken that even evening
ing so I could see my whole life' life'ss mi
mission
ss ion to work
for the dead and leam learn and have a strong testimQny
testimony of these holy men of God, Joseph Smith and
Brigham Young.
 CHAPTER III

lOHANI'S
IOHANI'S

YOUNG MARRIED LIFE

 43

lOHANI'S ENGAGEMENT
IOHANI'S

'n 1929 Elder Stone, a young elder, (who later returned to preside over the mission) was
n 1929 Elder Stone, a young elder, (who later returned to pres ide over the mi ss ion) was
Ii:-called to come to Ha'alaufuli. He encouraged me to go to the United States with him. He
called to come to Ha'alaufuli . He encouraged me to go to the United States with him. He
would help train me in the field of carpentry when we reached Elder Stone's home in Oakland,
California.
Californ ia. I asked my father's permission,
pennission , and father agreed to let me go to the United States. Once
more a change of plans had to be made. Father hurt his hi s leg when he bumped it on a table. He broke
a vein and lost a lot of blood. This accident was the cause of hi hiss death as th
thee leg never heal
healed
ed
properly. The responsibility of caring for my mother and brothers and sisters was now mine. I1 quit quit
schooll while in the sixth grade so I could help my mother. OUl'fami
schoo Our family after father died.
ly was very poor afterfatherdied.
As the time drew near for Elder Stone to retum return to the United States, he once more approached
me. I told him of my financial problems, and the load I carried while trying to care for my brothers
and sisters. 1 wasbusy
I was busy rai
raising cows,chickens,
sing cows, chickens,andand pigs
pigsandand the
the plantation
plantation needed
needed care.
care. Elder
Elder Stone
Stone
was disappointed, but understood. Some of ofthe
the children
chi ldren went to schooschooll at Makeke on Tongatapu.
In 1930 a mission conference was was held at Ha'apai celebrati
celebratingng aa centu
century ofthe
ry of organization of
the organization of
the Church and honoring Joseph Smith. During the same year, Umupuaka, a nobleman, and a
relative, planned to come to the Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah . They had saved enough money and
had prepared themselves and were taking me with them. During 1930, death came to Umupuaka, Umupuaka,.so so
once more the dream of receiving my endowment was still, "just a dream".
I continued to play with the church school band from Ha'alaufuli. One Thursday, we arrived
at Ha'apai from Vava'u. Lui Luise
se Brown, whose great great grandfather
grandfather was a King, asked her friend Me
Mataele to give me a message. She wished to meet me after after the band finished playing. Our first date
was that night walking on the beach with Me Mataele between us. We once visited a Catholi Catholicc Church
and on that day Luisa and I became engaged. I gave her my father's ring. Our plans included schoo schooll
for both ofof us as I returned
retumed to Vava'u.
Ana, my younger sister, became good fri friends
ends with Luisa at school. Luisa was very attractive
and everyone liked her. She was a good actress, and was in a concert Children of Israel. Lui Luisa
sa also
performed
pelformed as a dancer. It wasn't long until Luisa became interested in other boys, even though she
was engaged to me. Ana wrote me informing informin g me of Lui Luisa's
sa's activities.
The first time I met Salote whom I later married, I learned leamed that she was Luisa'a best friend. friend.
After
After receiving word of Luisa's attraction to other boys, I broke our engagement and began to date
Salote, who was a very beautiful girl too.

EARLY MARRIED LIFE AT V

VAUFISI
AUFISI

ight after Salote and I were married at Ha'alaufuli in 1933,1I was

in 1933, was still
still building us
us aa large
large
R
R; -lumber
lumber house
hou se in the main town at Lalo. While
WhIl e waiting completion
waltlll g for the completI on of our
ou r home
I decided that it would be a lot of fun to build us a small Tongan Fale or house at Vaofi Vaofisi
si (in the
bush).
bllsh). It was to be used as our honeymoon hideout hut just for the two of us.
44

One day we were out looking for that right spot, when we came upon a small hill. It could
be compared to a small jungle-many
jungle--many coconut trees, trees,fekika in bloom, llIirui
fekika trees were in tuitui trees,
trees, orange
and lime trees. Beautifull wi
trees. Beautifu wildld birds and lovely flowers surrounded the area. I said, "See that hill, hill .
that's go
going
ing to be our new home." Salote agreed, mainly because when it rained, at least our home
would not be flooded.
flooded.
The next day we pulled pu lled all the weeds, saved the big trees to give us plenty of shade, besides
adding beauty to the land. While digging the foundation for our new home, I came upon many skulls
and some skeletons. 1I carefu
carefully lly wrapped the human bones in a tapa cloth cloth,, and put them aside as we
worked hard and long to fin finish
ish our hut. The roof was on, walls up, and even the floor was completed
the same day.
day. II built some shelves where II layed the skeletons and sku skulls.
ll s. II made us a bed from the
trees. This was put on one side of our small home. The other side of the room we used for cooking
eating.
and eat ing . SaSalote
lote and II received much joy working together on our first home. Tongan curtains
were put around the doors to keep out the mosquitoes.
When evening came, we were tired, but happy, and went to bed. I dreamed of a Tongan
woman who came to visit us in our new home. The woman was weeping. II spoke to her, "Oh dear,
who are you and what can I do for you?"
The Tongan woman replied, replied , "You do not know me, but I'll tell you now who II am. My name
is Luisa and you have built your house hou se on top of my grave. II would like to know what you are going
to do with my skull and bones?" After that she left.
II awakened and called to my wife, "Salote, wake up I'm sorry about this, this, but II didn't know."
JI then told her of my dream
dream..
Salote was sorry too. As we sat there, II spoke saying, "Luisa, II apologize for our mistake, but
Sainte
in the moming,
morning, we prompromise ise you we will put the rest of your bones together and return them where we
found them."
The next moming
morning Salote
Sal ate and I were up early, and the first thing we did was to get some tapa
cloth and wrap the human bones and skull inside it. Then we dug the sand out from the area from
which we had taken the bones and replaced them. II spoke again, saying saying,, "Luisa, don't be angry with
us. Everything is alright now now.. We won't move away from here. here. We have decided to stay. stay."" The
bones were buried deep in the middle of our living room floor, covered with dirt, and hulu, tapakall, tapakau,
and mats. Although
A lthough Salote and II spent our honeymoon there in our little hut, Luisa seemed content. content,
for she no longer bothered us
One Tuesday, mutual night or MIA, MIA , Sa l ot~ and II walked from the bush to the main town about
Salote
a mile away after dinner to attend this meeting from which we we received so much joy. The moon
lighted
li ghted our path. After
After MIA we retumedreturned home in the rain. We started running, so we would not be
soaked. As we approached our house we saw a great light, much like a kerosene lamp, which seemed
to be in the middle
midd le of our living
li ving room floor.
floor.
I1 turned
tumed to to Salote
Salote sayi
saying, "I wonder
ng, "I wonder whowho isis inside
inside our
our home?"
home?"
Salote
Sal ate replied, "We better hurry hUITY and see who is there; maybe its Uncle Taul Taulata
ata or perhaps its
your cousin Kalama, or one of our relatives." As they came closer, II noticed the light was not shinjng shining
from the middle of ofthe
the living room, but outside the house.
 45

sure."" Salote
I said to Salote, "You stay here in the dark while I go and see who's out there for sure.
agreed. I sneaked up behind the house and saw a light li ght that looked like a torch burning Ollt
out from the
ground. It was about six inches around and about two or three feet high. hi gh. It seemed to stand between
tuitui tree and our front door about three feet on each side of the light.
a lUifui light. I approached the light very
slowly, then quickly jumped out, and tried to grab it. The light li ght moved from its ori
original
ginal source and
seemed to di disappear
sappear into the earth.
thiss light was not an earthly thing, but perhaps an ev
I realized thi evilil spirit. Salote started
screaming from the other side of the road,
road , "What is it?"
I answered, "1
"I don't know. I tried to catch it with my hands, but it disappeared down into the
ground."
ground ." Salote was frightened
frighten ed the remainder of the night,
ni ght, even though
th ough I did my best to help
he lp her
forget the incident, she had nightmares
ni ghtmares all night
ni ght long. Thi
Thiss occurred during our honeymoon.

TRANASLATION
EARLY TRAN ASLATION OF THE BOOK OF MORMON

Ii;'t-mission
was 1937 when Elder Ermel J. Morton arrived at Ha'alaufuli on a Friday moming, the
t was 1937 when Elder Elmel J. M0I10n arrived at Ha'alaufu li on a Friday mornin g, the
president met him, then brought him straight to priesthood meeting. He asked
mission president met him , then brought him straight to priesthood meeting. He asked
Elder Morton to take a few minutes to to speak to
to the
the people. The Tongans
Tongans were shocked
shocked as as they heard
Elder Morton speak in the Tongan language for two minutes. I went up after the meeting to shake
hands with
wi th the new elder, thanking him and also remarking how I could hardly believe that he was
able to speak our language so well.
well .
Elder Morton asked Salote and me to help him with Tongan words whil whilee he translated the
Book of Mormon.
Mormon. ThisThi s was
was the second time
time itit had
had been
been translated into the Tongan language. Half Half
was translated by Elder May about 1920, but never completed. Elder May's manuscript was never
consulted nor known to later missionaries.
mi ssionaries. It would
wou ld be several years later before the trans translation
lation was
completed and the Book of Mormon
Mormon printed
printed in
in Tongan. Elder
Elder Morton
Morton lived at the missionary
missionary home,
which was the headquarters for the church in Tonga. Salate Salote and IIjust
just lilived
ved across the street from the
Church,, so we were able to help him often. Each day Elder Morton would run back and forth
Church forth across
the street to ask for a meaning or spelling of a Tongan word. word.
In 1947 the first copies of the newly published Tohi a Molomona
ofthe Molomolla (Book of of Mormon) were
taken to Tonga by President Evon W. W . Huntsman.

FISHING AT THE SEA SHORE

t times in our life when money was scarce and so many chi children
ldren to care for, I wou
wouldld

fish
A:
A ^always
always be the first one to ask if any would like to go to the sea fishing
fish ing for mussels, jelly
fish,, clams, or sea weed. All the children and many women in the neighborhood always joined us fo forr
a fishing trip by foot at Havelu, Tuku Tonga, ana and sometime at Fatai for clams,
clams, land crabs or big
hukilau (in Hawaii) with other men,
men , women and children. They used green coconut leaves to form
a big long curved line from the deep water and would chase the fish to the sea shore, shore, and when the
46

tide was low, fish could be caught by the hundreds. We used to come home with big baskets or sacks
full of
of different
different kind offish.
offish. All day Saturday or Friday after
after school was always our
oUI' favorite time for
fishing.
fishing .
Mother and the younger children would always remain at home with a big cooked pot of of
tapioka, taro,
taro , or bananas waiting anxiously for our retum
return for some special sea food or fish, for a raw
fish salad or whatever. What a special blessing for our family to be able to received those blessings
from above.

THE TRUTH MUST BE TOLD

This story is hy
by Salote
Sa/ate Fakatou
Fakatoll Wolfgramm as related to
her daughter Tisina
Tisilla Wolfgramm Gerber

"ihis
hi s was a very difficult
difficult time for lohani
Iohani trying
trying to be a father to all ten ofof his brothers and
T:
T sisters, and be a husband to Salote and their four young children. chIldren. He felt very bad
sometimes when he had to leave Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli each Monday moming
morning and wouldn't return until Friday
evening
even mg
At this time lohani often trained his brothers and cousins how to do carpentry work. He
sometimes
somet imes took his hi s younger brother Walter with him to do ajob a job but Haini was still too young.
young. Haini
loved to hunt and work at the plantation. Koloti loved to weave fish nets and go out fishing. Koloti 's
talents were composing music and poetry and playing the guitar and singing. Osika worked for the
Vava'u
Vava ' u copra board, had a small store that he enjoyed operating and they all helped out with the
plantation and copra for extra money. At that time Makanesi was living li ving with Uncle Vuna and Aunty
Bertha; Ela and Ana and the girl cousins were at Makeke for school; Ma'ata Ma ' ata was with Aunty Helene
and Uncle Samuela Fakatou.
Around Dec 1939 lohani Iohani was asked by Arthur
Althur Schulke to come and do some remodeling for
him and build a cistern at his home at Vaimalo. Iohani lohani and his
hi s family were living at Ha Ha'alaufuli
' alaufu li
village about five miles from Neiafu, Neiafu , and it was another four miles to Vaimalo from Neiafu. Neiafu.
Makanesi,
Makanesi , Vuna and Arthur Schulke and his son Harold had a lot of of experience in running his
motor boat around the different
different islands ofof Vava'u but as for lohani,
Iohani , he had to use his bike or go
horseback for transportation. He took his bike to Neiafu and a motor boat to Vaimalo that same
week.
week . He had no choice on this matter because he was the only contractor that did carpentry work
around Vava'u
Vava ' u after
after some of of the Germans went to New Zealand. When lohani Iohani had a chance to do
a job anywhere close to Vava Vava'u,' u, he was very happy so hehe could support hi hiss own family at school plplus
us
his
hi s wife and his
hi s young children.
During this time there was a married man who was attracted to Salote. He used to stalk her
everywhere.
everywhere . He lived at Tu'anekivale,
Tu 'anekivale , a village adjacent
adjacent to Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli where his wife was from from..
Salote had no idea that this man was so crazy about her. This couple had adopted a few children but
as far as I knew they had one child and she later died.
Neither lohani nor Salote had any idea what was going on inside this man's mind until Salote
gave birth to my older sister Taiana on 14 Decemberl938.
Decemberl938 . This man went around spreading the
rumor that Taiana was his hi s baby. When Salote and lohani
Iohani heard this
thi s news they thought this man must
 47

be out of his hi s mind. They just ignored him. You couldn't couldn ' t believe
be lieve the gossip that went around the
village.
vi llage. It was ooutrageous.
utrageous . It didn't bother my parents much any more because they knew that story
was not true.
About Dec. 1939 Arthur Schu Schulke lke came to Ha'alaufuli
Ha 'a laufuli and asked lohani to come back to
Vaimalo again for fo r another job. lohani didn't didn ' t like to leave Salote and the young younob children home alone, alone ,
so he asked his hi s younger brother Haini and a cousin Kalama if they cou couldld help Salote get food from
he lp SalOle
their plantation at Uta and make sure that the family would be safe until he returned on the weekend weekend..
At thi
thiss time Malina was five years old old,, Ana was four, the third child Chalres Chaires Fritz was two and baby
Taiana was a year old.
Salote remembered that ugly ugl y dark black night. Salote and their four small children chi ldren went to
sleep early at their home in Ha'aluafuli.Ha 'aluafuli. Their kerosene lamp was empty. Haini Hain i and Kalama were
out fishing.
fis hing . This man who had been stalking my mother for almost a year somehow sneaked inside in side
the home while whi le everyone was fast fast asleep and the whole house was in darkness. He felt his hi s way
around and found where mother was as asleep,
leep, tied a cloth over her mouth to keep her from scream screaming,in g,
and tied Salote's
Salote' s hands above her head, head , and raped her.
Salote tried to scream and fought him with all her power, she bit him and scratched his face,,
hi s face
but it was too late. T This
hi s ugly dark, evi evill minded man had tortured Salote. She felt so dirty and
frightened and cried all night. ni ght. During her struggle that night ni ght the children didn't didn ' t hear her because
Salote's mouth was covered and her hands were tied. tied . The intruder left her home quickly. Salote felt
so helpless. Through her struggle her hands became untied and she recognized his hi s voice
vOice
immediately. She hurried hun'ied and untied her mouth. Salote was shocked and unable to sleep for fo r the rest
ofthe
of the night. When dayli daylight ght came she sent for lohani to come home right away. away. When lohani came
Salote told him what had happened. He was especiall especiallyy upset because Salote was at that time three
months pregnant and he feared for the unborn unbom child. She would have another chi child
ld around June 1940.
They had been deli delighted
ghted with the announcement and had told some of their thei r close family and even
Arthur Schulke about the good news prior to this time.
He was so incensed at what this thi s man had done to Salote, he wanted wan ted to go and find him. Talk Ta lk
about a German temper, yes, at this thi s time Iohani
lohani was so irate he went inside our house hou se and looked for
his
hi s shot gun.
gun . then went out in the village looking for the man. When lohani found fo und him he told him
he had better run as fast as he could run because he was going to use his gun gun.. What a terrible mess
you have caused in the life of my wife. lohani Iohani took one shot in the ai airr as a warning to him. The man
was really frightened and began to run like li ke a mad dog. lohani
Iohani ran right behind him. him .
TThis
his man kept saying to lohani, "So sorry lohani, lohan i, I didn't mean to hurt your wife. I swear I
will not do it any more. P Please,
lease, lohani,
lohani , I swear to God I will wil l never do this again.""
thi s again.
lohani said
Iohani said,, "You
"You had better keep on running runn ing man,
man , or I' I'llll shoot you." lohani Iohani opened fire
again, not to the sky, but shot down some coconuts off off a coconut tree. T The
he man was so scared he
thought he was going to be next.
lohani kept on chasing thi
Iohani thiss man all the way down to the beach and said, "I'm "I' m going to put a
stop to you today. I better not see your face again in this village. Do you understand me? You are
not allowed in this village as long as I live here. Now you can swim swi m to Tu'anekivale
Tu'anek ivale where you
belong and if you don don't' t hurry, I might open up my gun and start shooting again. again.""
48

It didn't
didn'l take longlong before
before this man
man swam out to sea back back to his
hi s own village
vi llage again.
again . lohani
wanted
wallled to to teach
teach him a lesson.
lesson. He He wasn't
wasn't going to
to hurt him,
him, but
but in Tonga families
families have
have to watch ouou
for
for their
the ir own
own security.
sec urity. Sometimes
Sometimes when law officers
officers come to a village to check out a complaint,
comp laint, the
the
young men men of of that village disagree with what he says and beat up the police officer.
After
After lohani chased that man out of of Ha'alaufuli,
Ha ' alaufuli. Salote wanted
wallled to go over to their branch
branch
president
president and tell him what had happened to her during that night. That was in the aftemoon, afternoon, but
but
before
before they got gO[ there, this
thi s man that had raped her, who was a member ofthe of the Tu'anekivale
Tu 'anekivale Branch,
had
had gone to to the
the branch
branch president and told a completely different
different story about what had happened. He
said my mother was in love with him and had agreed to sleep with him, him , which was a big lie. This
man was so upset upset with Salote that he stalked her even after after that.
By the time lohani and Salote went over to report this, the branch preisdent preisdent believed the story
from
from this
thi s rapist,
rapi st, and he decided to disfellowship
disfellowship them both. My mother was disfellowshipped
di sfellow shipped for aa
whole month for for telling the truth. It almost killed both my mom and dad. My mother mother couldn't
couldn't stop
crying. She was broken hearted. Word went wenl out real fast about this problem. There was much
contemptible gossip about my mother.
But after
after this my parents went to the Lord and asked Him to please forgive the man and all
those who had been scattering the lies and rumors. Most of of their friends
friend s and close family wanted
lohani
Iohani and Salote to take this thi s man to court, but lohani decided to forg forgive
ive him for what he had done
and Salote
SalOle agreed also. also . If you want the Lord to forgive you, you must forgive those who trespass
against you.
you .
A month later Salote was accepted back into their branch. So sad for this thi s man. He reneged
on his
hi s promise.
promi se. A missionary
mi ss ionary couple came from Ha'apai
Ha ' apai to serve at Ha'laufuli
Ha ' iaufuli and he did the same
thing to that wife. It caused them to return to Ha'apai, Ha ' apai , an unwanted birth, and later a cause for their
divorce.

GEORGE ALBERT SMITH VISITS TONGA

lohani
l ollOlli was
H'05 living in
ill Vava'u at this time and
Vavo'il ar comments
alld commellfs
on the travels of
ol11he thee Authorities
of th

ihis
hi s was a very exciting time for the members of ofthe
the Church in Ton
Tonga
ga when President Emil
Em il
T Dunn received word that they were to be visited
vIsited by George Albert Sm
th
Smith, ofthe
ith , a member of the
Quorum of ofthe
the Twelve. He would arrive on May 9 9'" 1939 in Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu.
district leaders received telegrams about Elder Smith's visit to prepare the saints in
Many distlict
other islands for their
the ir conferences. Elder Smith was accompanied to Tonga by Elder Alex Wi Wishart.
shart.
Elder Rufus K. Hardy of the Quorum of the Seventy had come from America, but had remained in
New Zealand because he was ill.
finallyy arrived at Vuna's
They finall Vuna 's wharf
wharf in Nuku'alofa and were welcomed by Elder Preston
Wilding, Mosese Muti and all the students of Makeke who belonged to the Boy Scouts and Girls
Guides. They lined up in their clean uniforms to shake hands and said, We
Guides. We want 10to Welcome YOLI
you to
TOl/ga.
Tonga.
 49

Around noon time at Matavaimo'ui (mission headquarters) there were about 1,000 members
gathered foforr a big feast honoring this general authority and to hear what he had to say.
When Elder Sm Smith
ith was assigned to speak, he said, "In a very short time there will wi ll be a big
war. There will be famine and we will wi ll experience very difficult
diftlcult times. It won't be much longer, the
Lord will gather His Hi s people. At this time the Lord's should
Lord 's saints shou ld be united together as members of of
His church in peace and harmony.
,h
Five days later on May 15 15,h,, Elder Smith arrived for another conference at Vava'u.Yava ' u. He called
on the people of Vava'u
Yava ' u to let their light shine before the world, so when others see this light, li ght, they
will accept the light of of the gospel
gospel and join them.
Elder Smith spoke also abo about ut the Book of of Mormon,
Mormoll , and told the Polynesians that they are
descendants of the people
peopl e ofof the Book of Mormon. He
olMormon. He encouraged
encouraged the saints
saints to pay a full tithing
tithing and
promised
prom ised them blessings
blessin gs for doing so. so. He reminded the saints at Vava'u
Yava'u and aalsolso Tongatapu to be
temple worthy, and the importance of preparing themselves and their families to be worthy to enter
Ho use of the Lord when that blessing comes to them in the future.
the House future.
He expressed
ex pressed his love for the Scout program in Tonga and those who came to welcome him
at the whalf
wharf.. How he loved Scouting. It is important impOltant for them to continue with the Scout program
and those who would like to join should do so.
A few days later they left Yava Vava'u ' u for Ha'apai and another conference. He told them the
importance
impOltance of keeping records. It came to us from the Lord himself
himself and is our sacred obligation to
keep our records and write them down and do it now.
He bore wi witness
tness and hish·i s testimony for the restoration of the gospel of of God and his ChurchChurch..
He taught that Joseph Smith the prophet was given all the keys and powers to organize his hi s Church
upon the earth that you and I are part of today.
In Ha'apai
Ha ' ap ai there was no car or truck available (none were on the island because it was WaS so

small) for
fo r Brother Smith
Smith's 's transportation so President Dunn went to the Morris Hedstrom store and
bought a bicycle for Brother Smith so ride. That way he could visit the different different towns,
towns, and branches
and meet members who lived a distance from Pangai. The rest had to walk. walk . The last town they were
to visit Brother Smith
Sm ith told the group of priesthood leaders to go ahead as he would like a quiet time
alone to pray to God by the sea shore at Koulo for the safety of the saints in Ha'apai. Ha' apai.
Retuming
Return ing from the Ha'apai conference, Elder Smith and a few church leaders finally arrived
back at Nuku'alofa.
Nuk u'alofa. A meeting was arranged with the Premier, Prince Tungi and Queen Salote
Tupou.. Elder Smith
Tupou Sm ith taught them about the Church and the Book of Mormon
th
About the 8'"8 of of JJune
une Elder Hardy finally arrived from New Zealand. Zealand . They wanted to visit all the
Govemment
Government offices
offices and work places in Tongatapu. They also wanted wanteo to visit
visi t every town and village
where there was an L.D.S. Chapel.
There was a fina finall conference held for the missionaries from Zion who had come to Tonga.
After that meeting a Tongan saint named Atonio Atonia Amasio
Amasia and his wife Sela, brought their new little
baby girl and requested that she be blessed by Elder Smith Smith.. The name given was Ana Lilio Amasio.
The visiting guests left that afternoon on the Matua.
tile MalLIa.
50

SPEAKING ASSIGNMENT AT TU'

TU'ANUKU
ANUKU

r
y family was liliving
ving at Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli about 1938. 1938. I was assigned to go to the island of
M
MP -Tu'anuku
Tu 'anuku 10to speak at their
theIr sacrament meeting
meetmg the followlllg
following Sunday. We got up early
and had OUI' our family
fami ly prayer, I said goodbye to my family,
fami ly, and walked Ta'ane,
to Ta 'ane, then to Mata'ika down
by Tufutele
Tufutele to 10 the beach.
I had a lot of water 10 to cross to Tefisi, so I lOok took off all my clothing except my shorts and
wrapped my scriptures and hymn book in my clothing, then placed them on top of my head and began
to swswim
im from Mata'ika
Mata ' ika to Tefisi.
Tefisi . There was no boat or canoe in that area on Sunday moming morning and I
wanted to keep them dry.
I swam quite a ways in this deep blue water unti I got 10 to Tefisi. From Tefisi I had to swim to
the island of Taoa. After arriv arriving
ing at Taoa 1I had to get to the island ofTu of Tu'anuku
'anuku and finally made it
there. The saints were so gratefu gratefull 10
to have me come. I1 preached
preached andand taught
taught them
them aa lot.
lot. We
We enjoyed
enjoyed
a good dinner, then at 4:00 p.m. I said goodbye to all all my friends and retumed
returned the same way way..
By the time I was at sea swimming between Taoa and Tefi Tefisi,
si, it was very difficult
difficult because the
tide was high, wh which
ich means I had deeper water in which to swim back to Mata'ika. When I was half half
way between Tefis Tefisii and Taoa, I noticed the sun disappearing into the sea, and only for half half an hour
could I see any more light. I tried to quicken my strokes, but darkness came too fast. fast.
At that time I heard a big fish of some kind coming straight at me. The fish flippingg up
fi sh was flippin
in the air, then kept heading straight at me. In my mind I thought it could be either a whale or a shark shark
so the spirit told IOld me that I should try to sw swimim to the closest beach as soon as I could. cou ld. I obeyed and
began to sw swim
im towards MataMata'ika
' ika beach. I soon arrived and got out of ofthe
the water. I saw a beam of light li ght
coming
com ing stra straight
ight at me aiming to hit me on my head from the highest point of Taoa village. I quickly
turned my head and missed mi ssed that target. I again thought I might be wrong. wrong. Maybe someone was trying
to get back to Taoa or Tefisi. More beams of light kept coming at me trying to hit me on the head,
but couldn't. 1I again again thought
thought ititmight
might be
be some
somefisherman
fisherman out out late
lateatatsea
seatrying
trying toto return
retum home.
home. Then
Then
I remembered that couldn't be, it was Sunday so no one would be out fishing at that time, so maybe
it's
it 's something else.
I started to walk toward Mata'ika and more light changed position. Now they all turned tumed
around
arou nd facing me and kept on coming straight at me, but it didn't scare me at all. I kept on walking
right straight at these lights.
The closer they got to my face, they quickly went over my head and landed on lOp top ofof the
highest elevation at Taoa village. I couldn couldn't' t believe what I saw when I tumed turned back to watch these
li ghts .
lights.
1I again
againturned
turnedmymyhead
head forward
forward.. There
Therewere
wereaahundred
hundredmoremorelights
lightsoutoutatatsea
seawhere
whereIIhad hadbeen
been
swimming,
swi mming, and from the westem western part of Mata'ika there was the villages of Feletoa and Leimatu Leimatu'a. 'a.
To my surpri
surprise, se, as I looked over their graveyards, every tombstone had lights shining on me. To me
they looked like Christmas time in Amelica. America.
1I knew
knew there
theremust
mustbebehundreds
hundredsof ofevil
evilspspirits tryingtotoget
irits trying getmemetotoswim
swimback
back into
intothethedeep
deepwater
water
in the dark so a shark or whale could destroy me or prevent me from doing my assignment for the
Lord.
 51
51

II again looked out to the beach.beach. At this time the whole beach
beach was covered with lights.lights. 1I was
was
not
not afraid
afraid so I kept on walking toward these lights. As I came close to them, the light lightss began to move
away quickly from me. me.
I finally
finally arrived at my grandfather
grandfather Tu'inahoki's' sweet water cave and lagoon at Mata'ika
called Tufutele
Tufutele and washed off off al the salt water,
water, rinsed
rinsed my shorts, put
put on my dry clothing and left left to
to
see my
my Uncle Wolfgramm and Aunt Maele at their home at Mata'ika. Ir visited
Uncle Herman Wolfgramm visiLed and rested
res Led
for a little
litt le while then II was backback on the road walking back
back to Ta'anea
Ta'anea and Ha'alaufuli.
Ha'alaufuli. Before
Before I got
got
to Ta'anea there is is the home of Fifita Motu'a
home of Fifita Motu'a called Toloke, and as I passed
passed Toloke to Ta'anea road
Ta'anea road
there's a big hill on the road,and from there 1I looked ahead and and could almost see see Hangai Tokelau,
Tokelau, my
home api at Vao at night with with the moon above me to direct me home. As 1I looked up, hundred hundredss more
lights
lights were shining at aL me from Hangai Tokelau.
Tokelau .
It didn't
didn ' t frighten
fri"ohten me at all. I decided to keep on walking
wa lkin o to Hangai
Hanoai Tokelau and ignored ionored the
Lhe
b" "
lights and spent the night ni ght out there. This I did. I know what the devil had in mind. By shining these
lights at Hangai Tokelau,
Tokelau , he might lead me about 300 yards to a cliff cliff to fall off
off and be destroyed so
I couldn't
cou ldn ' t continue my duty for the Lord.
The next moming
morning I returned to Salote and the children.
chi ldren. They were very happy and grateful
that the Lord had protected me while I was away in my calling.

ATTACKED BY A 75 FOOT WHALE AT OTEA BRANCH

1bout
bout 1948 I was assigned at our monthly Priesthood meeting to be a guest speaker at the
I was assigned at our monthly Priesthood meeting be a guest speaker at the
A^Otea
Otea Branch for at least one month. 1I loved to do this, but transportation was a problem
problem..
Otea is one of the small beautiful
beautiful islands in the Vava'u group, with a population of of only 285 people.
peuple.
I would have to walk five miles from Ha'alaufuli School,l, find a boat or a canoe to sail
Ha'alaufuli after Sunday Schoo
from Neiafu,
Ne iafu, five miles more by sea to Otea to be there at 2:00 p.m. for their Sacrament meeting.
When Ir arrived at Neiafu, I couldn't find a ride on one of
of the big boats, so I asked around to
see if anyone in Neiafu had a canoe that I might borrow for half a day. I ran into a good friend and
Vaimalo.. He was happy to
cousin, Sione Tuita Vehikite, who lived on a nearby island called Vaimalo to see me.
me.
He had an extra canoe right on the beach and offered
offered it to me. He said he would
wou ld like to come along
with me to visit some of his family in Otea.
Sione Tuita and I each took our own small canoe and paddle and started out. In two hours we
arrived at Otea to be greeted by the Saints. After the meeting they invited
in vited us to stay and visit with
them.
them . We talked about the gospel until 10:00 p.m. when we said goodbye and left for Neiafu, Neiafu,
lighted by the moon. It was so beautiful that evening.
As we rowed our canoes back between the islands ofUtugakeand
of Utugake and Ngaunoho 1I heard
heard this
this great
great
big fish coming towards my small.
small, one-man canoe, and turned
tumed around to look. There was only three
feet between my canoe and this
thi s huge whale. He looked 75 feet long. As he lifted his body oout ofthe
ut of the
water, 1I could see how very small my canoe was corn
compared with it.
pared with it. Sione
Sione Tuita shouted, "Iohani.
"lohani, don't
don't
move, it's a whale." Just then the whale rose up right against my canoe. His head and tail were so
long, that as he started to come up from the water, he caught my canoe and lifted it upon his back. back.
-,
1/ ' LIISTOPY
WHY HISTORY LIBRARY
i WESTTEMt-'LE
WEST TEMPLE
0330525 - CCITY,
' UTAH
iTY U
' A H 884150
415
0
52

Up
Up he went and down he he came. As As we fell
fell together,
together, my canoe filled
filled with water. Sione was about
10
10 feet in front
front of
of me.
me. He kept
kept calling, "Hurry and get away from from the whale
whale before
before he
he kills
kills both
both of
of
us. Hurry."
Hurry. "
II tried to hurry, baling the water out alit ofthe
of the canoe as I saw the whale disappear
di sappear below. I tried
to paddle my canoe canoe once more but again the the same whale attacked me from from behind. He pushed the the
back
back part
pan of of my
my canoe and lifted
lifted itit up,
up, then dropped me again, filling my canoe with water. As As
quickly
quickly as I[ could,
could, I baled it out. In my heart,heart, I was saying to myself, "Tonight I guess Satan is is here
to test my faith. Deep down in my heart I do know know that my Redeemer lives,
lives, and through the power
of
of the Melchizedek
Meichizedek priesthood,
priesthood , which
wh ich I hold,
hold , I know
know the Lord will protect
protect me. Nothing will
wi ll happen
to me tonight.
toni ght. If If this whale has plans
plans forfor my body tonight, he is wrong. The Lord Lord will not let
anything like that happen to Sione or me. I have faith that He will protect protect us and take us home
safely." After
After having filled my assignment to go and speak to the Saints at Otea, I knew knew all would
be well.
Sione called out to me to try and catch up with him, as there was an island close by. We We
paddled up to the beach of of Teleki where the waters are shallow. Maybe the whale wouldn't bother bother
us there. We didn't see the whale for awhile, then for a third time he attacked. He tried to tip my my
canoe over again. He was so huge that he became stuck between the coral and reefs and was unable
to swim
sw im up anymore. I then followed Sione Tuita in his canoe back to his home at Vaimalo where
he lived with his family. I spent the night there. I felt the Spirit of of our Heavenly Father very near
to us
LIS during that night.

I retumed safely
returned safe ly to Ha'alaufuli the next day. My family were very happy to see me. They
were worried because I had not retumed. returned. They couldn't understand where I could have been all that
time. I told them of my experience, and that evening in our prayers we thanked our Father in Heaven
for my safe return to them and left my testimony with them.

MOVING FROM VAVA'U

VAV A'U TO MAPELU
Told by Salote,
Sa/ore , translated by Tisina

'nn the year 1935 we received a letter from my Uncle Samuela and Aunt Helene Fakatou,
Ii:
-asking
ask ing us to move to Tongatapu to begin our family plan to come to America. My sister
Malina was the oldest and next was my sister Ana. We started a plan and we all worked together to
save every penny that we earned
eamed toward our future trip. This was a real tough time. The price of of
copra was so bad, and that's the only way we could get a little money was by selling our copra for
export.
By the time we arrived in Tongatapu we didn't know that a new disease had come to the
Islands by a foreign ship.
ship. It was called the measles and we had never heard of it before. In a sh short
ort
time our two daughters were very sick with the measles and I was afra afraid
id to get too close to them, but
lohani was not afraid. He cared for them night and day until one day he came down with the measles.
The girls didn't get it too bad but lohani got it the worst of all. lohani had a real high fever, almost
ready to die.
die. His skin turned
tumed purple. His fever caused hishi s mouth and lips to dry out. He couldn't eat
anything. He was dehydrated. When I saw Iohani lohani suffering
suffering almost to die, I put my vala
vaia on real fast
 53
53

and started
and started to to run
run to
to [-[a
Ha'akame,
' akame, the the next
next town
town about
about twotwo and
and aa half
half oror three
three mi miles away from
les away from our
our
home. I needed some transportation for lohani to get to the hospital at Nuku'alofa
home. I needed some transportation for [ohani to get to the hospital at Nuku 'a lofa about 7 miles from about 7 miles from
our home.
our home.
[I met
met our
our friend
friend Itaehau
Itaehau and and asked
asked ifif his
his horse
horse and
and buggy
buggy waswas available
available forfor me
me toto take
take lohani
lohani
to see
to see thethe Doctor
Doctor Itaehau
Itaehau said,
said, "By
"By alalll means,
means, Sa Salote, take itit for
lOle, take for as
as long
long asas you need
need it, because we we
won'tt need
won' need itit until
until next weekweek." ."
Itaehau got
Itaehau got the
the horse and and buggy
buggy ready,
ready, then JI drove
drove itit back
back toto Mapelu moe Lau. Lau. 11putputlohani
lohani,
,
Malina,
Mal in a, andand all
all of
of our stustuff in and
ff in and drove
drove them
them as as fast asas II cou
could to Nukua
ld to Nukualofa.
' lofa. ItIt takes about
about two
two
hours to
hours to drive
drive there.
there. When we we got toto Nuku'alofa we we drove
drove byby another
another friend
friend's house,Tuliaki
's house, Tuliakiono and
ono and
Sela's
Sela ' s home and
and toto our surprise we ran into lohani's
surpri se we ran into Iohani ' s mother Salome
Sa lome and and step-father Siosefa Naeata
out there. They had just come from Makeke College where they serve as dorm parent parentss for the
students and
students and were
were visiting
visiting Tuliakiono
Tuliakiono and and Sela.
Sela.
lohani asked if Siosefa Naeata and Tu
Iohani Tuliakiono
li akiono could lay thei theirr hands on hi hiss head and give him
and the two girls a priesthood bless
and blessing.
ing. He saidsaid,, "I have a strong fa faith.
ith . If you give me a blessing I
won'tt have Salote dri
won' drive
ve us to the hospital or see any doctor. We wi will
ll be just fine. After the blessing
they were all all healed according to their faith and their priesthood blessing. They went back to Mapelu
and gathered all their belongings and moved to Houma looking look ing for a piece pi ece of land out there for for
lohani's
lohani 's younger brother Walter, and later retumed returned Itaehau's horse and buggy. Everyone was well
and happy again. This 10sefa Josefa Naeata was the very first first member in Tonga to receive the Melchizedek
priesthood afterafter he married Iohani lohani's 's mother Salome Afu.
54

Iohani
lohani - Salote dancing
r:"~ " "

Iohani
lohani as a young man
Abt 1940
^M 7'
y.
\ -

V
j . *
kai
Salote preparing a A:ai
 55
55

Seaside
Seaside village,
village, Vava'u
Vava'u
56
56
 CHAPTER IV
IV

SALOTE

SUPPORTIVE WIFE
WIFE
 59
SALOTE'S BEGINNINGS
This slory
story is in SalOle's
Salote's own words

I'would like to tell you a short story of my mother Selu Vaia Mafi. She was bom
would like to tell you a short story of my mother Selu Vaia Mafi. She was born
-19 April 1898 at Kolonga, Tongatapu, Tonga. She wasjust a young adult when she met my
19 April 1898 at Kolonga, Tongatapu , Tonga. She was just a young adu lt when she met my
father during her school school year. She attended the all-girl Queen Salote College and Benison Benisonii Kaufusi
Kaufusi
Fakatou was attending the all-boy Tonga College. They fell in love and were married July 1914 19 14 in
Tonga. She was a very beautiful young lady and Beni Benisoni Kaufusi
son i Kaufus i was a handsome young man.
man . After
the wedding my mother decided to quit school so she could stay home and be a home maker, while whi le
my father could still attend school. At that time newly weds cou
newlyweds could
ld still attend schoo
school.l.
It didn't take them very long for my mother and father to expect their first child, ch ild , so they made
their home at Kolonga.
Kolon ga. Nine months later my mother gave birth to a beautiful beautifu l Tongan baby girl with
lots of black hair and named her Salote Lasini Las ini Fakatou (that's me) named for a great aunt of mine from from
Felemea, Ha'apai. My father asked his father-in-law,, lsi
hi s father-in-law Isileli
leli Mafi,
Mari , if he would
wou ld go and register their
baby at the government office office at Nuku' alofa.
Nuku'alofa.
Everything
Everythin g went fine fin e for me until my mother's health began to fail fa il when I1 was about four or
five months old, so my father left school 3nd and accompanied my mother back to her home at Felemea.
My mother fe feltlt like she was going to have another baby. Father knew that by goi going
ng to Felemea there
would
wou ld be plenty of fish, seafood, and fresh air and would be perfect
offish, peliect for his newly wed wife. wife . They left
on a small boat to Felemea with their new baby.
One day my mother was wa~ talking to her mother-in-law Ateleita Fifita Fakatou and said, "I "1 don't
don't
feell at all well, and have a feeling
fee fee ling that I might die soon; but 1I need to tell you something, if 1 should
I should
die, promise me that you will wil l take
takc good care of our daughter because I would wou ld like her to be raised by
her fathe
father's family.
r's famil y. I know if I let my family care for her they would wou ld spoil her and let her do anyth anything
ing
that she ever wanted to do without disciplining her. (Ora {Ofa vale) but they would love her so much that
she could get away with anything."
When I was alm almost
ost six months old, my mother Selu Vaea died at Felemea on 11 I I December
1916. T There
here were no baby bottles, no milk, no spoons, so my aunt Ofa Vaitai became my mother. Ora Ofa
would chew the food in her mouth and I would eat from her mouth Gust (just like a mother bird wou would feed
ld feed
her little baby birds). Thi Thiss continued until Ofa was expecting another baby and she cou couldn't
ldn 't stand the
food,, so her younger sister Mele Tonga took over my feeding, and then she started mashin
smell of food mashingg
my food and I thrived.
In the Islands in those days they didn didn't't bathe their babies often for fear that they might mi ght get
pneumonia or other di diseases.
seases. I used to have a lot of sores on top of my head. head . One day my aunt gave
me a bath. She took my hat off off and washed the sores and to her surprise, she found one big scab
covered all my head. head . Everything else was healed.
I'm so grateful for my Fakatou grandparents and Teleita, all my aunts and uncles, where I grew
up. I was close to them and I knew them all my life. My father went back to schoo
up. schooll and I didn't know
him much.
much. My uncle Samuela Fakatou, Jr. Jr. was in my real
real father's image.
image. He He introduced me to to school
school,,
taught me the gospel and what I am today in the Church is the love and the caring from my father's
family. I'm sure my mother's sside ide would love me just the same, but later on in my life I found them
and so happy that the Lord has really given me a huge healthy family to love and to have.
60

I'm sure one of my missions

mi ss ions was to find my grandparents on my mother and father's side and
have their temple work done. After 7th mission from Tonga in 1981
After retuming from our last and 7th 1981 I was
able to
LO find many names on my mother's side of of my family. Even though we haven't grown up as one
family,, I'm closer to them by doing their temple work
family work..

FAITH AND A PRAYER

PRA YER WERE ANSWERED

fter our last mission

mi ss ion to Tonga in 1976,
1976,1I returned
retumed to to Ha
Ha'apai with some
'apai with some burial
burial clothing
clothing and
and
A:
A -aa casket for my father, Benlsonl
Benisoni Kaufisi
Kauflsl Fakatou. My fathe fatherr only
on ly lived a week afterafter my
retum.
return. My daughter Ana was in Tonga at this thi s time so she accompanied me to Felemea. All the famil familyy
came to his hi s funeral and he looked very well and had a beautiful beautiful service.
After
After the funeral
funeral my niece, Kalo came and gave her a six-month old baby boy for me to raise
and bring to America to be educated. Hopefully Hopefully he could find a wife and make a life for himself. In
the Tongan way, this thi s is how they show their love and respect for the oldest sister of their father, father, to let
her raise
rai se their children.
At this time, after the tension ofthe of the funeral down,, I had nothing else left, II was
funera l died down was allall drained
out. II had given away everything, all my clothing except what I was wearing, except for my plane pl ane
ticket and $20.00 for pocket money, and now a new baby to bring back with me to the States. The
baby had diarrhea
d iarrhea and was fussy, fu ssy, and 1 began feeling
I began feeling sick
sick with
with the
the flu
flu symptoms.
symptoms.
arrangements for the baby's passport and went LO
I made an·angements to Pago Pago, American Samoa, hoping
baby 's papers could be filed there to come to America. By the time we arrived in Samoa, II had
that the baby's
no more diapers for the baby. II took LOok my old muumuu and made five diapers for him,
myoId him , but luckily,
luckil y, a
relative who was living li ving at Pago Pago gave me another muumuu.
The baby had diarrheadi3IThea because he was homesick and missed mi ssed his
hi s mother. The baby drank only
well water mixed with sugar and a little bit of mother's mother' s milk. His mother was skin and bones with
worry and not enough money to care for her other two children. She was working worki ng at that time as a
single mom, but the little she eamed earned only paid for the girlsgirls'' schooling, a place to stay, and very few
groceries. While the baby and II were waiting two weeks for passage in Samoa and for our papers to
be fifiled,
led, II called lohani saying that I didn't didn 't think I cou
could
ld make it back to Utah. II was weak with the
flu and the baby had severe diarrhea and I had no more money.
lohani
loh an i told me not to worry that everything would wou ld be just fine.
fine . He would send some money
right away and take the matter to the Lord in fasting and prayer. After After I hung up lohani began to fast
and went to the temple every day.
He fasted for seven days. days . The seventh day came on Sunday. As lohani broke his hi s fast in a long
prayer, he expressed his hi s love to the Lord. He told him about my situation and the baby stranded in in
Samoa. He asked the Lord to see that the baby and I would be blessed with good health and to give
me the strength II needed and let my mind be at ease and to bless me to be with someone whom I could
trust, or send someone to help fix the baby's baby' s papers with the immigration office. And please let the
door be opened so this thi s baby can come to America, if it is the Lords' will, to save his hi s soul because his
family
fami ly are not members of the Church. In America he will wi ll grow up in a Church home, and seeds of of
the gospel
gospel will be given him and he will know God and Jesus Christ and will serve God in
righteousness
ri ghteousness and later go on a mission. mi ss ion. He will be a light for the rest of his family and others.
 61
61

lohani had not eaten for seven days. days. In fa faith

ith he poured out his
hi s heart and soul to the Lord in
searching
searchi forr an answer to the problems of his wife and the baby in Samoa. At this
ng fo th is time the holy ghost
bore witness to lohani
Iohani that the Lord knew this th is and doors would
wou ld be opened, and the baby and his hi s wife
would
wou ld soon be on their
the ir way back to Utah and he need worry no more. Right R ight after lohani received this
answer, he was very relieved
re lieved and grateful. As he got up he heard the telephone ringing upstairs. upsta irs. He
hurried to answer the call and I was on the line from Samoa.
I told Iohani
lohani a Samoan woman came and asked for the baby's birth ceI1ificate certificate and for a $$10.00
10.00
fee for appointment
fo r a doctor appo intment fo forr the baby and a passport picture. She also made a little dress for the
baby because she only had little girls, but had no pattem pattern for a boy's outfit.
outfit.
I was so blessed because of my husband's husband' s faith and prayers. Thi Thiss Samoan woman took care
of all the needs ofthe
of the baby and me. me . I told my husband that we we would be arriving inin Utah in
in three days.
days.
lohani
Iohani knew that everything would be taken care of by our Heavenly Heaven ly Father. I soon arrived in
Hawaii.
Hawai i. We traveled together with Mele Fonua of Houma. The officer officer came around to check our ou r
passport and visas. T Thehe minute
minu te I stepped up to the officer,
officer, the baby began to cry loud and louder. He
had never seen a white man before. before. The officer
officer immediately told me to take that crying chi child
ld away
from there. He coul couldn't
dn 't stand that cry. So I immediately
immed iately handed the baby to Mele Fonua while I
fumbled through
th rough my bag. The officer officer said to me, "Go ahead, you're OK." So the baby and I didn didn't' t
have any papers checked out after all.
Soon we arrived
arrived.. All the children were home to welcome the new baby and me back home. home .
All those who wanted to raise rai se another child before this came by, and after meeting the baby, they
changed their mind, sayi saying ng the baby didn't smilee at all and looked so sad.
didn ' t smil
Tisina
T isina went in and saw the baby. She knew immediately immed iately he would be their second son. I knew
why he didn't smile.
didn 't smil e. He missed his hi s mother and changing to can milk had given him diarrhea. At that
time lohani and I already had Semisi with us. We agreed that the baby should go to Roy and Tisina.

He was taken home with the Gerbers. Now their son David had a younger brother. Adoption
papers were filed and he was named initially initi ally after both of his
hi s grandfathers Benisoni
Beni soni Ikavuka
Toutaiolepo Tu'ipulotu
T u ' ipul otu Fakatou. In school his friends had a hard time with his
hi s name so he chose the
name he wanted to be called. When he was very young he loved the story of Daniel Danie! in the Lion's
Den; so when he was ready to be baptized the name he picked was Daniel. From then on he has been
known as Daniel
Daniel Leimoana Gerber. Both Gerber boys filled missionsmiss ions and David is now married.
marri ed . Dan
is finishing
fi nishing up his schoo
schooling
lin g at B.Y.U. and serving in the Elder's quorum presidency and a member
of Living Legends (an entertainment
enterta inment group) at B.Y.U. He has been a blessing for the Gerbers (as they
had only daughters) but now belongs to them for time and all etern eternity.
ity.
62

CARE FOR A NEW MOTHERMOTHER AND HER BABY

Tisina relales
Tisino relates SalOle'
Salote's5 obserwlfiol1s
observations
of new-baby care

r
hen I (Tisina) was growing up in Ha'alaufuli,
Ha' alaufuli, I remember watching my Aunt Selu AIo Alo
W
Wl Fa, a non-member, who had given birth to her new baby girl named Malahina. I could cou ld
immediately tell a difference
difference between how my mother was taught in the church how to care for her
newbom
newborn than my other non-member relatives. re lati ves.
Selu really struggled with her first first child, where they still stuck to the old Tongan way of how
a new mother hand handles
les her newborn baby. They weren weren't
' t allowed to have a complete bath for at least
month,, and often
a month often kept the mother in bed for at least a month for fear they mi might die.
ght die.
The mother was well cared for by her family to make sure she would have plenty of milk mil k to
nourish her child. Sometimes the new baby would have a quick warm bath and sometimes not. The
grandmothers usually
usuall y stayed close in tending and wrapping the newbom new born in tapa cloth without a shirt
or diaper.
di aper. The father was usually
usuall y at sea looking for sea food for the mother and the grandparents for
their daily feedings and aalso lso at his
hi s plantation for vegetables and fruits. When the baby and mother fee feell
much better, at least a month,
month , then they are fin finally
all y allowed a complete bath and are al also
so ready for the
baby to be taken to church for chri christening.
stening.
A lot of
of time when the mother remained in bed she would loose a lot of blood and the after
pains were very painful also. T The
he mother and baby were certainly not spotlessly clean. On top of their
little
littl e baby heads you
you'll often find sores and sometimes on their hands and feet between their
'll often the ir toes. And
small white flees sometimes got into their body and started to make their home in parts of their heads, heads.
hands, and feet. My heart goes out to these new mothers and their babies. When the baby was about
12 toto 18
18 months
monthsold,
old,mothers
mothers usually
usuallyquit
quit breast
breastfeed
feeding and would
ing and wouldthen
thenchew
chew the
thefood
food and
andsometi
sometimes
mes
mix
mi x it with coconut juice (not the milk) and let the infant be fed through the mother's mother 's mouth,
mouth , same as
drinking juices.
j uices. When I first saw that I thought, Oh Oh,, my gosh, is this for real,
real , as I asked my mother,
she said, "Yes, that's the old Tongan way before the Relief Relief Society sisters were taught how to use a
diaper and bottle feed their babies." We learned leamed it was so much ccleaner
leaner and babies were much
healthier and happier when well taken care of in the modem modern manner.

ANA
Journa / ofl
From Journal ohani and Sa/Ole
of lohani Salote

W hen
WI
Ana was but a baby, she suffered much pain from an infected boil on the small of
hen Ana was but a baby, she suffered much pain from an infected boil on the small of
her back just above her little bottom. After some time the boil seemed to heal on the
her back just above her little bottom . After some time the boil seemed to heal on the
outside, but inside a deep hole was located, from which some infection drained. For three years the
drainage
drai nage continued. Each day, Salote took her to the Catholic nun for medication,
med ication , but nothing seemed
to help. She took her back to the doctor and sti stillll there was no change. The sore continued to drain.
drain .
One day a Tongan medical
med ical doctor named Alo AIo told me he had just retumed
returned from the New
Heberdies. He had seen a lot of this
thi s type of infection. He said it was almost like a cancer, and there
was no medication that he knew of that would
wou ld help, with the exception of one that his mother used on
 63

many of his
hi s cancer patients. This
Th is did seem to have some effect. He said to me, "Salote, go and pick
the baby leaves from the hehea tree and grind them real good, and give them to Ana. Ana . Let her drink that
juice, then go out and ddigig some yellow
yell ow roote (they looked like ginger roots). Peel and grate three or
four of these. Let them sit overnight,
overn ight, and in the moming
morning take the left over hehea juice and mix it with
the starchy part of the yellow root after dumping
dumpin g out the top water from the yellow
ye ll ow root). And anoint
this
thi s on Ana's
Ana' s sore. In a few day's time you'll
you' ll see a big difference." So I did as the doctor had sa
said.
id.
It took onl
onlyy three or four applications
applicati ons of this mixture and Ana's infection was gone.

RELIEF SOCIETY AT HA'APAI ABOUT 1938

lohani's
l ohani' s daughter Taiana Brown related this story

^his
hi s story is about rny my husband's
husband 's mother Sokopeti Brown from Ha'apai Ha 'apai and aalso lso her
T:
T daughter Leola and Makeleta that happened about 1938.
One day Sokopeti and her two Relief Relief Society sisters left on foot from Pangai to Faleloa to visit
their branch members. When they fin finally
ally reached the end of ofthe
the island there was about a mile m ile stretch
of ocean reef
reef to cross. If the tide was low and the ocean was calm, you could remove your shoes, part
of your clothing, bag and books book s and try to carry them across the water to reach the other sside. ide.
Visiting
Vis iting time was very important for their safe retum return the same day. There were no radios rad ios or
T.V. at that time so they used the sun as their clock. When the sun is just above the palm pa lm trees it's it' s
about 8:00 a.m.
a.m . When the sun. sun,isis high in the sky and you don't see your shadow, it is noon.. noon .. When
it is about half
half way down the palm trees, it is 6:00 p.m.
One night
ni ght their meeting at Faleloa went overtime and a few sisters needed help in appointin appointingg
new teachers and visiting teachers. While at Faleloa they had forgotten that they had to cross v/hen when
the tide would be higher on their return. It is almost impossible imposs ible for them to cross unless they had a
horse who wasn't afraid to cross that water at night. Because of the current, you could get carried
away and dropped into some unknown place like Pulotu.
When Sokopeti and her two sisters came to cross the area, the tide was too high hi gh for them to
even try to cross. They didn didn't' t have any horses, so they decided to go back and kneel down by a
hibiscus
hibi sc us tree at the beach and pleadpl ead with the Lord to please help them cross that deep rough area so
they could get back safel
safelyy to their branch and fam family,
il y, and continue his
hi s work among their people.
peop le. They
thanked the Lord for receiving
recei ving the gospel and many blessings that they had by living li ving the gospel.
After they cclosed
After losed their
the ir prayers, they came back and stood at the side ofthe of the open water hoping
that they might somehow be able ab le to swim across with their scriptures and books from Faleloa to
Pangai. As the ocean was very rough, they felt the big waves spray their clothing and got soaki soakingng wet.
few minutes later they noticed aa lilight.
A few was not
ght. It was not aa very
very big
big light
light but
but like
like aaflashing
flashing lilight or aa fafalling
ght or lling
star. It came from above and stood right where they were standing. T The
he light began to move in front front
of them, almost as if sayin
sayingg to them to come and follow me. These sisters quickly began to line up, up ,
one after another and followed this guiding
thi s gu iding light. Sokopeti related to us, as they started out into the
water, the waves began to divide the water as they were crossing all the way from Faleloa beach to the
next beach where they were to cross to Koulo Ko ul o and to Pangai.
Pangai . Only the bottom part of their the ir feet were
wet. They couldn't believe
couldn ' t beli eve what took place. They felt very humbled by the experience.
64

The high light

li ght disappeared as it had come to guide them. As they got to the other side and
looked back, the ocean began to rush back to its normal place but the light li ght disappeared.
Again,
Aga in , just as they were across from the opposite side of these islands, they were on their knees
to give thanks to the Lord for their thei.r safe retum
return to their family and that their prayers were heard and
answered to bless their lives.
Just then they heard someone come on horseback riding with a hurricane lamp. He asked ifif
they had seen Sokopeli
Sokopeti and the Relief
Relief Society sisters, and to their surpri surprisese it was Sokopeti's husband
hu sband
Siaosii Brown. He was very concerned
Siaos concemed for them being so late. He borrowed a horse to come and look
for them. They were grateful that he had brought the hurricane lamp because there was only a quarter
moon for their light that evening. The Lord will continue to bless his hi s children here on earth when we
serve him wherever we may be.
The Brown's
Brown 's had the first bakery at Pangai, Ha'apaiHa' apai and the best receipe for sweet rolls. They
fed and cared for a lot of missionaries out there.
Earliest Missionary Work in Ha'apai: Ha ' apai:
Notes by Tisina: I was told by my father about the time when they established new branches
in different
different towns, islands and villages at the Tongan Group. It was at Nomuka, Ha'apai Group in
June 1894 and at Pangai it was January 1895. 1895. Missionary work began at the Ha'apai group in 1917.
There was also a ChiefChief (matapule) had asked if they could send more missionaries mi ssionaries out to Ha'apai.
Ha 'apai.
Elder Butler, Elder Rallison,
Rallison , and Elder Lalesoni opened up the Ha'apai Ha ' apai Group.
The missionary
miss ionary work at Ha Ha'apai
'apai was improved. There was a matapule that lived at Ha'apai.
He heard about the gospel, studied their thei r beliefs, and had faith on these missionaries and asked if they
would come and give him a priesthood blessing. He had a very bad had infection
in fect ion on his foot. It never got
any better, so he secretly studied the scriptures and prayed. He invited in vited the missionaries to come and
bless him. They came and right ri ght after the blessing his wound was healed and in retum return he began to bear
his testimony about the church and its doctrines. His name was Siaki Lolohea.
The King of Tonga, Tupou Uluaki was very sick at Tongatapu. He invited all his men and
chiefs
chi efs and nobles to come. So Siaki Lolohea from Ha'apai also came to the palace because he was
matapule.. He rose up at this meeting and expressed his love and concern
a matapule concem to the King and bore
witness that if he would allow the new Mormon missionaries to come and lay their hands on his hi s head
and give him a blessing, the Lord would bless him and his hi s good health would retum, return , as they would
woul d
pronounce that in the prayer on his head.
Siaki Lolohea told the king, "J "Just
ust look at me, testi mony of that work. rI almost
~e, I'm a living testimony
died, but through reading the Bible and having faith, the missionaries blessed me and now I'm better."
The king was very deli delighted
ghted and agreed.
He invited the missionaries in. Pres. Smith was the mission president at that time in Tonga,
and with Elder Butler came in and met with the king. The missionaries asked if the rest of the royal
could
family cou ld join them in fasting, have faith in the work they were about to do in behalf behalf of the king.
king .
Missionaries
Mi ssionaries again retumed
returned on Sunday evening. The king had never had a bite to eat or water
to drink that day. So the missionaries
mi ss ionaries laid their hands on his hi s head and gave him a blessing. Part of
the blessing follows:
bless ing fo llows:
 65

King Siaosi
Siaos i Tupou U Uluaki
luaki I,
J, if you are kind enough to give your support and help with the
Lord's work among these people, the Lord will continue to bless you, and you will recover from your
sick bed; not only return to good health,
health , but your youthful looks, your bones, muscles, nerves, nerves , blood
condition will retum
return to function as the body of a young man would function. function.
When the king got up the next day he was better, and also recovered from his hi s sickness. He
immediately
immediate ly went to the office
office of the Church to express to them hi hiss love and thanks
th anks for their kindness.
He to
told Lord helped heal
ld them how the Lord heal him andand all
all the blessings pronounced upon him him by by Elder Smith
Smith
and Elder Butler came true.
September 15 15,, 1917.
19 17. During thisthi s time Pres. Smith needed to fini finish
sh new schools for the
children, and chapels for the saints to meet in. in . They needed more teachers and missionaries
mi ss ion aries to teach
school in their own area. President Willard Smith wrote to church headquarters, but war broke out and
Tonga was under English protection, and refusedrefused any more missionaries
miss ionaries to be sent to all countries that
were under English protection including New Zealand, Australia, Australia. and Samoa as well as Tonga. Tonga. So that
thought was gone. President Smith wondered what next? ne xt?
After
After receiving the letters the year before in 191 19166 from headquarters, Pres. Willard L. Smith
had two things in mind. First was the priesthood power, second genealogy work, Around 1916 Pres.
Smith received a letter from the First Presidency stating that th at they should stop giving the power of the
priesthood to these people, but to make sure that you know that they are worthy to receive it and able
to show their worthiness to receive it.
Second was on genealogy: Many other missions mi ss ions are now doing it, but the Tongans hadn't hadn ' t done
any temple work among their loved ones or fami families
li es who had gone before. So they were encouraged
to start recording and searching genealogy in Tonga in 1916. That That's 's when lohani and his mother
Salome became very interested in doing research and genealogy work.
They were encouraged to send their genealogy to the St. George, Hawaii, Hawaii , or Salt Lake City
Temples. Soon family
fami ly group sheets were sent to Tonga and it is still continuing in the Tonga Temple
today.

AFTER THE DEATH

DEATH OF
OF MY
MY SON
SONNAPOLE
NAPOLE
Salote fells
Sa/Ofe tells her experience

had a very difficult

difficult time after losing a wonderful so~ like Napole. He was 23 years old at
wonderfu l. son
II -the
the time of
of his
hi s passing in 1969..
1969 .. I felt so bad. I1dldn
didn'tt enJoy
enjoy eatmg
eating food
food anymore,
anymore, IImI
missed
ssed
Napole
Napo le so much. He was the first of my children
chi ldren to die. A daughter Ofa Moana was a still-born
still-bom baby.
II used to cry a lot when downstairs in our home. II would even cry in my sleep. sleep. I[continued
continued on with
this for about three weeks
weeks.. lohani finally had a nice long talk with me one day, and tried to comfort
me somehow. After After we talked II fell
fe ll asleep on the couch in our front room,room , while
whil e lohani went down
stairs to sleep.
66

As I cclosed in sleep, I saw Napole in

losed my eyes in in a dream.
dream. He came into the room and was sm
smiling
il ing
at me. I said
said,, "Napol
"Napole,
e, where have you been? I missed
mi ssed you so much and want you to come home."

Napole said
Napo le sa id to me, "You don't have to worry about me mother. See, right here in my right hand
I've got a Bible, and aa Book of Mormon. Here in my left, left, I have the sword of Laban. I'm so happy and
am teaching the gospel to the Polynes
Polynesian
ian people here, so don't WOITY
worry about me any more."
As Napole left the room, I started to walk and call for our son. After I woke up, I knew it was
dream. Finall
a dream. Finallyy that peaceful feeling came upon me. Now that I understand what our son is doing,
I am ashamed of how I felt before about hi hiss death. I am sure that Napole is teaching the Gospel to
those who have died, and perfonning
performing many other good works too. too .

COCONUT PALMS
Salote could never say enough about
ahout coconut palms

building,
c;
C
(oconut
oconut trees are the most important tree throughout the South Pacifi
'families.
fami lies. The roots are used for weaving
weav ing ropes, shoes for fishing,
Pacificc for Pol
Polynesian
ynesian
fishi ng, trunk is used for house
bu ild ing, poles, boats or tiki carving or water container for animals, birds and fish. Cocon Coconut ut fibers are
used for brooms and basket weav weaving,
ing, leaves for making hats and mat weav weaving,
ing, coconut husks
hu sks are used
for making ropes, bath scrubber, brushes, bru shes, toilets
toilets and used to start a fire.
fire.
Coconut she shells entertainment implements, neckl
ll s are used as cups for kava drinking, entel1ainment necklaces,
aces,
bracelets. Small burning coconut shell shellss are put in flatiron
flatironss to heat the irons for ironing clothes, and
also used for bonfires.
The coconut liquid is the number one safest safest water on earth to drink. The coconut milk is
used for daily cooking, for oil oil,, soap, including feeding humans
human s and animals alike.
For a young family it is very importantto
important to plant coconut trees so the new family can enjoy every
part of this
thi s tree to maintain trees fo r future generations as Tongans continue to grow also.
for

NAPOLEONE AND HIS SONNAPOLEONE

HIS SON NAPOLEONEJR.
JR.
lohani tells about
ahout his grandson

M;'y-mission
M seventh child was a boy named Napoleone Finau. He was bom while we were on our
y seventh child was a boy named Napaleone Finau. He was born whi le we were on ou r
at Kolonga, Tongatapu, Tonga Islands. He was a short, well-built young man,
miss ion at Kolonga, Tongatapu, Tonga Islands. He was a shalt, well -built young man,
and a very kind and loving
lovi ng son. He filled a mission inin Tonga and had been married about
about nine months
and two weeks when he had his fatal acc accident.
ident. He was working
work ing at Kennecott Copper Company. A
few loose train
u'ain cars got loose and hit the car Napole was on, knocking him onto the tracks where he
was run over by the train killing
ki lling him instantly. I felt very deeply that he was the only one of my
children
chi ldren who at this
thi s time was ready to go to the other side.
 67

Ididn't
I didn't know about Napo le's death until the bi
Napole's shop and his
bishop hi s father-in -law came to my home and
father-in-law
told me about Napole. I said said,, "Where is his hi s body?" They said that he had been taken to the L.D.S.
hospital morgue. All AliII remember I said was, "Alright," and I ran downstairs to grab the oi oill so I could
admini
administerster to my son. I heard my wife Salote's vo ice
voice crying so very loud ly.
loudly.
As ]I was running downstairs to get the consecrated oil, a voice came to me so clearly, saying,
clearl y, say ing,
"Don't go after after the oil, lohani.. T
oi l, rohani This
hi s is the right
ri ght time for Napole to go. He has another mission mi ssion to
fulfill,
fu lfill, so don't worry about abou t him now." Then peace came upon me and I felt it so strongly. Instead of of
bringing up the oil oil,, ]I left
left the bottle there in my suit coat pocket, and came upstairs again. agai n. I told
to ld them
I wanted to see my son in the hospital anyway. When we alTived, arrived, I saw a lot of policemen
po licemen around by
the room.
room . T They
hey had sealed off off that whole area so no one else could come there, or try tly to see Napole's
body. I felt fe lt that same peaceful fee feeling
ling come over me again that relayed this thi s message to me, me , "Peace
be with you, my peace peace]I leave with you." I[knew knew deep down in my heart that Napole NapoJe indeed had
another mission
mi ss ion to fulfill
fulfill,, so I told the doctor [just 1 just wanted
wanted totosaysay goodbye
goodbye to to my
my sonson before
before II left
left to
to
go home.
home . The T he doctor pulled
pul led a big
bi g icebox drawer out and Napole's body was covered with some see-
through
th rough material
material over
over his hi s body.
body. II knew
knew his spirit had
hi s spirit had gone
gone back
back to our Heavenly
to our Heavenly Father once more.
Father once more.
II also
also fefeltlt that
that Napole
Napole had had prepared for this day. He must have had a feeling he
prepared for th s day. He must have had a feeling he was going to die. was going to die.
Two weeks before the accident he called up his hi s uncle Samuela V. Fakatou who was selling
burial lots. He put a little money down on a burial lot for himself himself and his hi s little family.
fam il y. That same
evening
even in g before he died, my daughter Ti Tisina
sina and her husband Roy had just retumed returned from a trip to San
Diego and Tiajuana,
Tiajuana, Mexico. They had promised promi sed Napole and his hi s wife Penny some green coconuts
and beautiful,
beautiful , ripe mangoes from Mexico.
As Tisina
Ti sina came into the house and gave the fruit frui t to Napole. He grabbed her and gave her a
big hug and kiss. Ti Tisinasina sort of pushed him away and said, "What's going on with you Napole?" The
Tongan way is that we very seldom show our affection affection to our brothers and sisters by hugging hugg in g oorr
kissing them in public, but ]I could see by Napole's eyes that he really meant it.
He tumed
turned around and said to her, "I love you Tisina." This Th is was the first time that one of of her
own brothers had said this thi s to her. It surprised her very much. Napole took the coconuts and mangoes
and said
said,, "Dl"TIl save these for Penny and me to eat after after work tonight." But the accident came too fast
and Napole never got to eat those beautiful mangoes. Penny was expecting a baby in two weeks, and
subsequently
subsequent ly delivered a big baby boy. She named him Napoleone 1r. Jr. after
after his
hi s father. I'm sure that
this
thi s little child must have spent time with his hi s father before he came here.
Before Napoleone 1r. Jr. was bom,
born, my daughter Ana had a dream. She saw her younger brother
Napole come riding on a beautiful white horse holding his son. As they came closer to where she was
standing, she saw Napole 1r. Jr. fall off
off the horse and land on his head. She immediately ran over and
picked up the baby, but it seemed to her that Napole's baby might have a problem with his hi s mind after
seeing the
seeing the baby fallll off
baby fa off the
the horse.
horse.
As the baby grew, we didn't know that he had any problem, but I remember he used to hit his hi s
little head against his
hi s crib. He would
wou ld do this
thi s from one side of his
hi s bed around to the other side, and it
worried
wOlTied me a lot, but
but]I didn
didn't't want to interfere. By the time Napole 1r. Jr. reached the age of six he was
a hyper-active child
child,, and Penny had to take him to a special schoo school.l. They told her he was autistic.
68

After
After leaming
learning for
for sure that
that my
my grandson Napole was was autistic, I called and asked all my family, famil y,
including
including all of of Penny's family,
family , ifif we could hold
ho ld a special
special fast and prayer
prayer for little
little Napoleone.
Napoleone. This Thi s
we did,
did , and that same evening
even ing we all went into Napole and Penny's home to break break our
our fast and I gave
the child
chil d a special blessing.
I love Napole Jr. 1r. very much. For six years he didn't didn 't say a word you could understand. He
would
would look up at you, you , but you couldn't
couldn't see his
hi s eyes. He would be looking at something else. He used
to be very
very frightened
frightened of of lights,
li ghts , but loved
loved to swim
sw im and play in the the water. He used to to hurt other
other children,
chi ldren,
without realizing
rea lizing it.
it. He would
wouJd love and bite them at the same time. When I saw my grandson that
way, I decided maybe I could ask my Father Father in
in Heaven on behalf
behalf of
of little
little Napole for a special blessing
for
for him. 1J knew
knew that
that with
with the
the faith
faith IIhave
have and
and through
through the
the power
power ofof the
the Melchizedek
Melchizedek priesthood,
priesthood, that
that
the Lord would be kind to Napole and give him knowledge. I prayed that Napole's mouth mouth would be be
opened, that someday
someday he could go to school school and be wouldwould be be able to learn
learn and study his hi s lessons
lesson s at
at
school,
school , and that he would to able to read and write. That some day he would have a chance to go on
a mission
mi ssion and preach the gospel of of Jesus Christ,
Chri st, and the Lord would open his hi s mouth so he could speak
to all kinds of of people.
I1 sat Napole down on a chair and anointed the oil on his head assisted by one of my sons and
his
hi s other grandfather. We gave Napole that special special blessing and we did this by the power ofthe of the holy
Melchizedek
Melchi zedek priesthood and in the name of of Jesus Christ, Amen.
As we finished
fini shed our prayer Napole's mouth was opened up and the first fi rst word that came out from
his
hi s mouth was A-men. Napole gave me a big hug and a kiss, kiss , and I felt that the Lords' blessings would
wit h Napole from then on.
be with
Napole is now 8 years old. o ld. He can write, read, do sums in adding, subtracting and spellin spelling.
g.
He reads and writes both Tongan and English. English . Napole is a spec special
ial boy in our family too. He now
loves other children and I hope and pray that the Lord will continue to bless him and that he will be
in strument in the work of
an instrument of the Lord.
P.S. It has been a long time since I recorded this th is story. I will add a few notes (1995)to( 1995)to update
and add to the story. Napole is living with other roommates. He works with computers and does name
extraction
ex traction for the dead and is still ssingle. ingle. He also graduated from High School.

STORY OF GARY FRANDSEN

Tisina tells the
Tisilla tile story from lohani'ss Journal
}i'O/11/oilal1i'

'yy ssister
ister Leilani had been going with Gary Frandsen but broke up. up. Gary was a very close
M
Mi rfriend
fn end of my husband Roy and I and we used to go deer hunting together. Leilani was
called on a mission
miss ion to Tonga and Gary left on a missionmi ssion to the Philippines when we lived at 130
Wilson
Wil son Avenue in Salt Lake City in the Arbor Ward of Temple View Stake. Our three young
daughters used to play with Gary and Leilani at our home. Gary met a pretty Philippino girl on his
mission
mi ssion whose name was Cora. She used to play the piano for their branch. Lei Leilani
lan i also had her eyes
on another
on another retum
return missionary,
mi ssionary, but it tumed out to
turned out to be aa distant
distant relative
relative and
and Salote
Salote had
had her
her break
break up
up thai
that
relationship.
 69

Gary married Cora shortly after she came to the United States. They were very happy and were
living inin our same ward and stake. stake. It was a shock for us to hear from Gary's fam familyil y that he was dying
cancer. They only lived together for about three months when Gary died
with cancer. died.. We all felt so bad for
Cora. We just couldn
Cora. couldn't it. Cora was
' t believe it. was liliving alone at their apartment
ving alone apartment for ononlyly aa short
short time when
when
we heard the sad news that someone had found a young woman's body in our ward parking lot with
we
li ttle clothing on
little on.. Police needed some LD. LD. as she had been raped and tortured. Everyone could hardly
believe
beli eve what had happened to thi thiss newly widowed woman. We cried and were saddened by thi thiss news.
news.
As Roy gathered ou ourr small daughters and we all knelt for our fami family
ly prayer that even
prayerthat evening,
ing, he prayed for
both Gary and Cora and the Frandsen fami family
ly that evening. I remember our threethree young
young daughters
daughters got
so emotional and their little eyes were full of tears. In their hearts they asked our Heaveny Father to
be with Gary and Cora and the Frandsen famil family.y.
At that time I was the Primary President at our Arbor Ward. When I went to bed, in a dream
I saw myself walkiwalking ng across the street between 3900 south on 2300 East across from a gas station at
the comer by Arby's.
Arby 's. I saw myself
myself still crying wondering who in the world had killed Gary's wife
Cora. At that moment I heard a familiar voice that called me by name. 1 immediatelyturned
I immediately tumed my myhead
head
back and there I saw a man. I soon recognized it was Gary Frandsen's voice. He grabbed me by my
hands and said, "You want to know who killed my wife?"
I said, "Oh yes?"
"Let me tell
te ll you, Tisina, Cora was killed by an Oriental
Oriental person." He grabbed me and gave me
a big hug and a kiss. I immedifltely
immediately woke up from my dream, and could still feel feel the WaIlll
warmth th of his
hi s
hands on my hand and could still feel the warm hug and kiss he gave me.
1I woke Roy up and began to explain my dream and what Gary had told me about hi hiss wife's
killer.
kill er. At that time they used to live in the Terrace apartment. If they ever find out who did it, I would
be very interested.
1972. is included in The Day of
(Story of Robert Frandsen, 1972, of Reckoning)
Reckonillg)

FOOD STORAGE IN HA'APAI

Family Story
Stary by Salote
Salore

'yy grandfather's
grandfather 's name was Samuela Fakatou, Sr. He grew up on the small sma ll island
is land of
of

marriage
M
M> jlemea,
lemea, Ha'apai,
Ha ' apai, Tonga. His wife was Ateleita Fifita Fifita from Ha'ano,
man'iage they lived at Felemea. Ateleita was very blessed with the gift of
Ha ' ano, Ha'apai.
Ha ' apa i. After
of healing
After their
healin g in her hands and
she was well known as a little medicine lady in Ha'apai. She would travel from island to island and
she had a good knowledge of different
different kind of leaves, part of ofthe trees, and roots.
the trees, roots. She would take take them
and mash them together and anoint many sick people peop le and they would recover from their sicknesses,
especially
especially little children . She worked as a midwife most
little children. She worked as a midwife most of
of her
her life.
life.
Samuela's talent was to work in his plantation as a farmer and he was a very good farmer famler
throughout his
hi s whole life. They lived
li ved their life
life as good Christian people.
people. You would
wou ld find them daily dai ly
kneeling down in prayer regardless of of the time of of day. They didn't
didn ' t belong to our church
church at this time
and the Royal family
Royal fami ly wanted Samuela to continue on with his eiki name Fakatou'ia, and continue
70

caring for all the people at Felemea. He didn't want that, he just wanted to be a fanner farmer and have hishi s
cousin cany
carry the title for him, which he did. Samuela was free from the responsibility and spent most
of his time at his hi s plantation, and named his hi s api Mapelu moe Lau which means abundant fruit on the
trees. Throughout his whole plantation bananas, hopa, sweet potatoes, papaya and especially the
manioke (tapioca)
(tap ioca) thrived.
During 1924 Grandfather
Grandfather Samuela passed away. Ateleita didn didn't' t go back to the plantation but
spent most of her time in town. town . They had just had a huge hurricane at Ha Ha'apai.
'apai. Most of their homes,
plantations, and vessels were destroyed. A few months later there was draught throughout Ha'apai.
Their daily diet was usually the old roots of the ti Ii leaf plant. They would pick the root, clean it well, well ,
and bake it inside an umu. Then they would take it out shred it and bake it with coconut cream. That
was their daily meal.
During this time at Felemea, people kept coming over to Fakatou's looking for food, but
couldn't find any. All the ti Ii leaves were gone and Ateleita decided to pray about it. Di In a dream she
saw her husband.
hu sband . He called her and said, "Ateleita, have you forgotten about the storage umu at our
plantation?"
Ateleita said, "What umu?" umuT
Samuela continued saying, "You must send Benesoni Kaufusi out to our plantation and by
the old breadfruit
breadfruit tree you will find the storage umu buried there. Ateleita didn't remember that
because it had been ten years si nce the storage umus had been made. Right after
since after that he turned around
left.
and left.
Ateleita got up,up , called for her son to come, and said said,, "Take your hoe and go back to the old
plantation and start looking for the storage umu" /lmu" He started to dig around there and as he cleared the
top dirt away there he found a big storage umu. When he uncovered it, to his surprise he found the
area was full of white flour from the manioke. maniake. He was amazed and filled a kumete (a large wooden wooden
bowl) full of flour and took it back to Ateleita. Word went out that they had found Samuela's fo food
od
storage. Most everyone came over and asked for some flour. Before the first umu was finished they
found the next one and before that was finished they found a third one. They were so grateful for
Samuela Fakatou's food storage. All the people of Felemea were preserved through this.
Ten years before this when Samuela harvested his plantation, he called all the people peopl e of
Felemea to come and help him. They brought their horses and carts and loaded them with manioke
and went out to the beach. There they would sit and clean them, them , peal them,
them , and leave them in the sea
so the salt water could preserve them. Later they were hauled back to his hi s plantation where he dug a
big square hole. Inside, the hole was covered it with burlap, then they collected green banana leaves
and covered the whole area with that, and inside that hole he would put layer upon layer oi of manioke
until
unti I it was full. The top he layered with more banana leaves, burlap, and a large piece of tin then
covered it all with dirt. There it was left for ten years. years .
After
After ten years the manioke had tumed turned into flour.
flour. To prepare the flour for eating, cocon coconutut
cream and the liquid from a green cocoan cocoanut ut was mixed with the flour.
flour. Ti leaves were squeezed for
syrup and mixed into the small loaves. Sometimes they would put it inside in side a coconut husk and again
baked it inside a real umu. That's how they made the Tongan bread. Many of them would not dare
reallimu.
to taste the flour because of of some unpleasant odors similar to a rotten coconut, after after its long storage.
 71
71

The addition
addition of
of coconut
coconut cream, etc. made
made itit taste delicious.
delicious. After
After that
that people
people came from
from the village
vill age
to thank
thank Ateleita
Ateleita for
for sharing
sharing their
their food storage with themthem and grateful
grateful to Samuela Fakatou
Fakatou for
for coming
in
in the dream to let
let her
her know
know how
how to get food in timetime of
of need. During
During the drought
drought they
they were able to to
feed
feed the
the whole island
island of
of Felemea
Felemea with the food
food storage.
storage.

About
About the same time this thi s story was told by an L.D.S. mother at
L.D.s. mother at Panga
Pangai, Ha'apai named
i, Ha'apai named Loui
Louisa
sa
Brown Kongika.
Kongika. She had to to feed
feed some young L.D.S.
L.D.s. missionaries.
mi ssionaries. They went out out to
to their plantation
plantati on
and couldn't
couldn ' t find
find anything
anyth ing with which to feed feed them so they
they took the matter to the Lord in prayerprayer and
asked for special
special help.
he lp . When they retumed
returned there were two sacks of tarolara beside their home. They
asked their
the ir neighbor
neighbor who had brought
brou ght the taro toLa them. The neighbor said
sa id a man
man came on horseback
and asked where the Kongika's
Kongika 's home was and left the sacks for for them.
them . Louise
Loui se asked what
what the
gentleman looked
looked like, but
but the neighbor
neighbor told them that he had never seen that man before. They looked
but found no trace of of him anywhere. They came to the conclusion
conclusion that the Lord had given answer to
their prayers that morning.

THE
THE DAY PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT SPENCER W. KIMBALL DIED
Incident from Tisina's Journal
Incidenl./i"om
NOl'emher 2, 1985
November!,

'was
was home baby sitting for my granddaughter
granddaughter Vanessa as we turned on the TV to watch the
Ii;
-midday
m idday news. We heard the sad news about the death of of our prophet.
prophct.
I immediately fe feltlt tears rolling down my face as we continued to lilisten sten in. I felt
fe lt very humble
when I thought back in my mind of of the great leaders in our church both before and after after him.
him . Again
the echo of his
hi s voice was ringing in my ears as though he were speaking to me, expressing his love iove and
concern for everyone in that deep tone of voice when he spoke to us in conference. Sweet memories memori es
of what he taught us came very clear to my mind. mind . The important words were given us to write down
our thoughts, testimony, words of ofthe
the chief
chief leaders, and their testimony, our works and goals in our
joumal.
journal.
The
T he importance of genealogy work work,, loving your families,
fami lies, and going
goi ng on missions
mi ssions and
il Now, read the Book of Mormon,
Do it Morm on, and
and all
all scriptures and
and live
li ve it,
it, go to the
the temple,
temple, redeem
redeem the dead,
have family
fami ly home evening, read the Miracle of of Forgiveness.
Again in my mind 1I could could hear
hearhihis voicespeaking
s voice speaking toto ususfrom
from the
thetabernacle,
tabernacle, hehestopped
stopped for
for aa
moment and said, "If "If only you could see what I have seen, many problems are ahead of you. you, according
according
to my understanding." The veil must be quite thin that the prophet of the Lord must foresee our day
and what was coming in our time. The news broadcast ended.
A thought came to my mind: I wonder if we we can send some flowers for the viewing. viewi ng. I wanted
to send the best tropical fl flowers
owers and leis, so it would represent our love and apprec appreciation
iati on for the
prophet and all he has done for the Pol Polynesians.
ynesians .
72

I immediately grabbed my purse and looked inside my wallet to see what JI had for the flowers.
1 counted
T counted all all my
my change
change andand itit only
only came
came to to about
about $20.00.
$20.00. That's
That's allall we
we had
had left until
until payday.
payday.
1 told
T told Vanessa
Vanessa about
about my
my planplan for
for the
the flowers.
flowers. We
We mumust take this
st take this matter toto the
the Lord
Lord and
and ask
ask
for His help. This we both agreed to. to . I took Vanessa by her little hands and went to our back bedroom
and there we both knelt down and I offered offered this prayer. We asked the Lord, Lord , as he knows we only had
$20.00 forfo r this
thi s emergency, if he could help us get the flowers tlowers this aftemoon
afternoon and thanked him very
much for our blessing and for the prophet.
We later got into our car, drove down and found some beautiful beautiful fresh tropical ti Ii leaves,
anthriums,
onlhriums, bird of paradise, orchids, baby breath and red, white, lavender, and tangerine colored
double carnations. Our flowers only on ly came to about $60.00 so we paid the $20.00 and promised to pay
the rest the following week. We were so happy. We came home and called up my parents including
my sister Ana, brother Sale, his wife Fononga, if they would help me fix up the leis and flowers. Oh
yes indeed they wou would.
ld.
They
T hey came over right away. We made two big tropical stands with two long flower leis lei s hung
at the bottom draping around the stands and they were beautiful.
We later called the church office office building to see if we could bring them in. They told us to be
there at 4:00 a.m.a.m . at the old church building. We put the flowers in Sale' Sale'ss van.
van . lohani
Iohani and Salote rode
with me. Ana, Fononga and Sale rode down with the flowers.
There were many beautiful
beautiful arrangements that had arrived anived earlier. Soon we left to come home
for we had stayed up until that time. The viewing view ing was held on November 8thth at the church offi office
ce
building. We all wanted to join the crowd of people who came to stand in a long line beginning at the
old church office
office building all around the block to the new church office building.
We had been standing there for about half half an hour. We fefeltlt a mild
mi ld breeze blowing where we
stood.. Everyone was busy talking and visiting and many people kept on coming to join us. Again
stood Agai n I
felt that mild breeze that seemed to be blowing right at me. I suddenly fe feltlt something
someth ing touching my
foot or my leg. I looked around but didn't notice a thing, but in a small sweet tone it said to me, tum turn
your head and look down at your feet. As I looked down I saw a plain piece of paper, but didn didn't' t try
to open it. The same sweet small voice said, open it up see and what's what 's inside. As I unfolded the paper
I saw someth
something ing was fofolded
lded inside. To my surprise I found a 20 dollar bill and then another 20 doll dollar
ar
bill-just
bill- just the amount Ilowed owed for all the flowers.
I asked, Has anyone lost any change. Everyone that stood by us shook they heads and said no.
Ir again heard the same voice saying, '''B '"Blessings give,, more blessings you will receive." You
lessings you give
cannot imagine
imag ine the joy and happiness that fi filled
lled my soul that evening, knowing that the Lord had gi given
ven
us an answer to our prayer with my little granddaughter Vanessa. I cried for the gladness in my rny heart
for the miracle he blessed our life with on the day our prophet died.
By the time we got to see the prophet at the viewing, my mother Salote saw both our flowers
and leis standing side by sside ide by the prophet's casket with these words written on the ribbons: We We
Thank you for f or our Tongan Temple from the Tongan saints and family, family, the other one said Ofa Lahi Loki Atu
AtLI
from the Wolfgramm family family..
 73

My mother and father couldn ' t believe their eyes. My sister Norma, Ana, Fononga and rI were
father couldn't were
all
al l shocked to think what an honor for us to have our si simple
mple and humble fl flower
ower stands and leis
lei s stand
that close to the prophet of God. Salote began to cry out loud. We all began to cry for the warm, warm ,
loving
lov ing spirit we all felt and were touched when we came close to his hi s casket. He looked so peacefu
peaceful,l,
clean and pure. We will always remember hi hiss loving
lov ing face. I often wish that he could be a Polynesian
prophet, as David O. McKay, President Gordon B. H Hinckley,
inck ley, Thomas S. Monson, Apostle Matthew
Cowley, John H. H . Groberg, Eric
Eri c Shumway and others. They are holy men of God who love us so much
and serve the Lord faithfully
faithfully..
true . rI express my love to him for all that he has done for me.
This story is true.

DOLLAR BILL
A ONE DOLLAR
By Salote,
SalOle, November 1997

ihis
hi s happened a few weeks after lohani
Iohan i died September 16,16,1997.
1997.
T:
T Nove~ber 1997
I went to the temple in November 1997 and it was aa very cold
cold mornin
morning. g. rI went
went out
out to
to catch
catch
my bus home, not realizing rI had forgotten my wallet. I began to panic. pan ic. I[ looked around
arou nd hoping to
see a Tongan or a relative to loan me the 50 cents until rI got home, but could cou ld find no one.
rI began to look ininside purse. rI then
s ide my purse. then dumped
dumped everything
everything out,
out, but not
not enough
enough change.
change. 1I began
began
to empty my two coat pockets, hoping for a few more pennies, but found none In a humble prayer
pockets,.hoping
[I said, "Father in heaven, I have spent almost all day going through the temple for the dead, and a
promise
promi se was given to us that if we do such service, we will be assisted with our ou r problems, and if not,
please let lohani come and bring me bus fare so I[ can get home."
When rI ended my prayer, I saw our bus arrive. Again I1reached down into my coat pocket, and
with a smile on my face and a grateful heart, rI found a one dollar bill inside. Just Ju st enough to pay my
bus fare
fare..
Ir later called and told T isina how excited rI was that the Lord maybe sent Iohan
Tisina lohanii with the one
dollar
doll ar bill for my fare that day.

THE MISSING WALLET

Salote's
SaloTe 's story,
slOry, September
SepTember 1997

'had
had been at the Salt Lake City Templ half a day. Upon leaving, rI came to
Templee for almost half t~ ,t1~
thee
Ii;
-Kennecott
Kennecott B Building
uilding to use the pay phone to call Tlsll1a.
Tisina. After
After we talked
ta lked Salote saId, r II
said, "I'll
be coming home to eat and have a short nap, and will you please bring me back for our sealsealing
ing session
around 6:00 p.m. tonight, I would appreciate it?"
Tisina
Tisi na answered, "Sure, I'll even come with you to the temple."
said, "That
II said, "That sounds real good
sounds real good because
because you have to
you have tend my
to tend my grandson
grandson Tevita
Tevita on Monday and
on Monday and
Tuesday
Tuesday each
each week ."
week."
74

Next thing I remembered,

remembered , I hung up the phone and ran out to get my bus. After being on the
bus I began to look for my wallet and again felt panic. I cou couldn't
ldn ' t find my wallet inside my purse. At
this time the bus driver had gone about six blocks south and two blocks east, or eight blocks altogether.
I asked the bus driver to pplease
lease stop and let me out. I couldn't find my bus fare. fare. I wanted toto walk back
back
to the Kennecott building phone booth and look for my wallet. So the bus driver let me off. off.
All the way back to the building, I prayed and asked the Lord to please let lohani go back to LO
Kennecott Building and care for my wallet and hide it so no one might take off off with it.
My temple recommend was also inside my wallet, and I didn't didn ' t want it to get lost.
Fifteen or 20 minutes later I finally arrived back at the Kennecott Building. I looked on top
ofthe
of the pay phone. 1 couldn't
I couldn find anything
't find anything there.
there. IIfinally
finally heard
heardaasmall
smallstill
still voice
voicesaying,
saying,"Walk
"Walk over
over
by the flowers
flowers.. In there you will find your wallet"
I said to the spirit, "Thank you." I walked inside where some flowers were planted and found
my wallet under some fresh flower leaves. "I know that God lives. He heard my prayer and came to
my rescue. I remember I left left my wallet on top of the phone, and while I was running to catch the bus,
someone removed my wallet and hid it for me inside the flower garden till I came and was told where
to look for it."
 CHAPTER V

lOHANI'S
IOHANI'S

MISSIONARY YEARS
 77

MISSIONARY LIFE IN TONGA 1941 --1943

1943

ITEM I: Beginning
Beg innin g in Houma
A
A cconference
conference was held for the Tongan Ton,gan mission.
mi ssion. President Dunn came to interview Salote
and me. The fll first
st question
questIon asked was if If we owed any money to anybody or had any
unpaid debts that we needed to take care of. Our answer was no, so during that conference we were
called to leave on a missionmi ssion to Tongatapu. It was the year 1941. 1941. It is about 3,000 miles from from
Nukualofa
Nukualofa to Sydney, Australia and 430 miles from Suva, Fiji, and and 1,100
I, I00 miles to New Zealand. From
Vava'u to Tongatapu is only about 160 miles, with the Ha'apai Ha 'apai Group halfway
halfway between.
The
T he only so source of money at that time was through our copra. We could
urce of cou ld only get 12 pence
pence for
for
one pound of of dli
dried
ed cocoanut or copra. When I worked building a house I only got two shillin shillings
gs (24
pence) a day. I spent almost every day working and building and sav saving
ing for our boat fare to leave on
our first mi
mission.
ssion.
Salote and a few of the older children would spend every day going out to the bush to collect
cocoanuts for copra. By March 1941 1941 we had saved enough money for our boat fare fare.. There were five
children
ch ildren to take with us. After paying our boat fare, we on only had 7/-
ly had 7/-(shillings)
(shillings) left. 1I purchased
purchased aa new
new
d
Bible for 6/- (shillings) so all we had left was 1 1/-/-(shilling)
(shilling)oror12'
12 (pence)
(pence)forforour
ourpocket
pocketmoney.
money. Each
Each
of us had only
on ly one best change of of clothing for Sunday and one change for every day. We also took two
blankets and two tapa cloths. cloth s.
We sailed on a little bo.at called the Taujaie.
littl e boat Taufale. During our sailing time on the TaL/jale Taufale or other
times, we usually had everyone at sea singing hymns. We prayed together early in the morning and
late at night to give thanks to God and ask for our safety at sea. We were so sea sick and hungry. We
sailed two wholewho le days and nights. It was so crowded and the smell of the boat engine was
overwhelming. The sea was so rough I used a bucket for the sick ones to throw up in. in . I would tie a
rope on the bucket then use that for them to throw up in, then I would empty it every half half hour during
our trip all
al l the way from Vava'u to Ha'apai, then from Ha'apai to Tongatap Tongatapu. u. I was very good at sea,
caring for all the famifamily,
ly, as I never get seasick. I kept my eyes on my family at all times. When the
sea got rough or a storm came up, I would wou ld tie a rope from a post or port of the vessel so if hard times
hit, we could always hang on to that rope. I was always at the head of the rope as an anchor for the
family's
fami ly 's safety and I had the power ofthe of the priesthood as we traveled
traveled..
After we arrived at Houma, President Emil Dunn took us to the home of an old widow named
After
Papua.
Popua. She was blind bl ind and unable to care for herself. There were holes on top of the roof so we could
see the stars and moon at night. When it rained we had to move our bedding from the wet area to a
dry place. The pigs and chi ckens lived underneath her house for protection. The house was ready to
chickens
collapse to the ground, but yet we were to care for Papua Popua in exchange for using her home for our living
and also as headquarters for Church meetings.
There were about seven or eight member famil ies living at Houma at this time and there was
families
on ly one room on Papua's
only Popua's house. So we took our tapa cloth, cut it in half half for a draw curtain and
divided the room into three. The T he east side would be for Papua,
Popua, the west side would be ours, and the
middle area would be the area in which wh ich to hold the Church meetings.
78

The day we first arrived the children chi ldren were crying for some food. Salote started to weep as the
children started to cry and she began to complain to me. She said, "If only we had remained in Vava'u,
our children
ch ildren would
wou ld not be crying for food right now. lohani, Iohani , can't you see?"
I sm
smiled
iled at Salote and said said,, "Come with me. Lets go outside and take a good look at the
beautiful
beautiful creation that God has given us. Look at the trees and flowers outside."
outs ide." As they began to hold
hands
hand s outside, they began to hear hew' tropical birds singing beautiful
beautiful songs. It was a sweet lullaby
lull aby to their
ears. By the house
hou se was a creeping flower known as Kaloni Kakala that was in full bloom. Gardenias
and roses were there too. The atmosphere was heady with perfume peliume of the plumeria trees and tropi tropical
cal
flowers of of all colors. Thousands of blossoms had fallen fall en and covered the beautiful
beautiful lawn with plumeria
and green and red [i ti leaves. I said to Salote, "Can't you see who is here to welcome us in this beautifu beautifull
spring moming?
morning? They are here singing their little hearts out, not only that but can you hear their
beautiful
beautiful musical song? Just listen." li sten."
Salote took a look at those beautiful beautiful tropical flowers.
flowers. Can't you smell their different
d ifferent tropical
scents. It's so heavenly
heaven ly and beautiful. As silence came at this time they heard the wind as it hit the
iron wood leaves. There was a different different sound (some high tones) of music coming from it. We also
listened to the different
different sounds that came out as the wind hit the banana leaves. It was a different different low
sound and as the wind hit the [oro taro and kape plants
pl ants it made a tenor sound
sound..
So I began to question Salote again again,, "Can I ask you who helped feed those birds this
morning?"
morning'?"
Salote sasaid,
id, "I know that God has fed them."
Then I said, "A "Allll right,
ri ght, our children and our family will be cared for and will be fed by God also
byGod al so
as he loves and cares for these birds. We won't need to worry any more. The Lord has called us to
serve him, and he will be here to take care of of whatever we need at different
different times."
Again as we roamed around the garden outside, Salote agreed with me that they must trust and
have fafaith
ith in the Lord. As they looked around the beautiful beautiful breadfruit
breadfruit trees, to our surpri
surprise se we spotted
not one breadfruit,
breadfruit, but three breadfruit
breadfruit on top ofthe of the breadfruit
breadfruit tree. I said, "See Salote, what did I tell
you! We will wi ll be cared for as the Lord cared for his birds in the air." So Salote was pacified. We
picked those three breadfruit
breadfruit and came in the house. Salote started to cook them for the family, family , but
I went and thanked the Lord, took my new Bible and started to go from door to door introducing
myself
myself to the people of ofthe the village as the new missionary family fami ly in Houma.
I spent the rest of ofthethe day talking and preaching to those who were willing will ing to lilisten
sten to me until
the sun went down. I came to the last house in the village and in there I met a widow named
Kalolaine. Her family was German-Tongan, just like my family. I taught her the gospel. Kalolain Kalolainii
was so grateful
gratefu l and before I knew it, she took a box and inside she put rice, canned milk, bread, flflour, our,
sugar, soap, corned beef beef and kerosene for ou ourr lamps. Kalolaini said, "lohani,
"Iohani, I know this is not much,
but give these to your family, and anything that your family needs at any time, send them over to my
little store. It will
wi ll be open for you and your family at any time at no cost because you are here to serve
the Lord.
Lord.""
I was so grateful and thanked her for her generosity and later brought the box home to Salote
and the children.
chi ldren. Oh, it was like Christmas eve. We knelt in prayer to thank the Lord for our blessing.
blessi ng.
The Lord kept his promise
promi se that he would provide for us as we served him faithfully.
faithfully.
 79
70

Each morning
mornin g at 5:00 A.M. I would take my hoe and machete to clean my new plantation in
the bush for our food and vegetables. I cultivated the area planting a new crop consisting of taro,
tapioka, sweet potatoes, banana trees and vegetables. Some of ofthe
the branch members came out o ut to help,
especially the Fonua and Tonga families. They were so kind and helped out the newly adopted
missionary family at Houma
miss ionary family Houma.. As to Vaea, the Chief of Houma, he was courteous and respectful to our
Chief of o ur
family.
fami ly.
Houma has a rocky, terraced coastline.
coast line. It features one of ofthe
the South Pacific's most impressive
spectacles. Huge waves crash into the coral rock, sending water spouts hissing hi ssing 60 feet and more into
the air, called blow-holes. Houma is well known for its dwarf red and yellow yell ow pan dan trees along the
pancian
sea coast which make beautiful beautiful garlands of green huni lei along with their white wh ite blossoms and red
striped stems.
It usually takes ssix ix months before a plantation is ready for harvest. Before we moved to
Houma, Namosi
Namosi and FifitaFifita Loa, a missionary couple from Vava'u had just been released before before we
arrived.
arrived . They gave their plantation to someone else instead ofthe of the next missionary,
mi ss ionary, so Salote and some
of the children
ch ildren were out most of their free time after school weeding and cultivating our plantation.
As early as 5:00 aa.m. .m . to7:30 a.m. I would be there on my free time, then we had family prayer,
scripture study, and then at 8:00 a.m. the children went to School. Salote would wou ld be home getting her
lesson ready for Relief Relief Society, Primary, and M.I.A.
M.I.A.,, and I along with my missionary companion,
mi ssionary compan ion,
would be oout ut tracting until 6:00 p.m. when 1 would come in, eat, and go out to the bush
I would come in , eat, and go out to the bush to work for to work for
a couple of hours. Then I wquld would return
retum home and get ready and wou would ld leave with a mi missionary
ssio nary
companion along
companion along with Salote, so
with Salote, so she
she could
could read
read the scriptures, for
the scriptures, for aa street
street meetin
meetingg until
until 10:00
10:00 p.m.
p.m.
Then we
Then we would retum return home. ThisTh is was our routine most of the time.
Six
S ix months had passed and our plantation was ready. We were looking forward to the harvest.
We had been enjoying the papaya, pineapple, the lupulu lupulu,, and a few bananas and sugar cane from it,
but we hadn't touched the rest. To our surpri surprise,
se, the mission president arrived at our home and asked
me how the plantation was. I said, "Wonderful"Wonderful,, it's ready to be harvested at any time now."
"Good." replied President Dunn." Dunn. " How about your family?" I said they were all well and very
happy. Pres. Dunn said, "Fine, if it would be all right with wi th you and Salote, we need to have you move
to Fo'ui. It's a few miles from here and we would ask you to leave your plantation for our next nex t
missionary
mi ssionary couple to have when they move out here. I'll wait for a little littl e while so you can get gel all your
belongings together and give you a ride to Fo'ui." We were sad to leave our church members and
friends behind, but were excited to know how happy the new mi missionary
ss ionary couple would be to come and
take our place and enjoy our plantation for their family. family . Soon all oour ur clothing and belongings were
together. We all hopped inside in side Pres. Dunn's car and went with him to the village vill age of Fo'ui. There we
were met with caring and loving church members, the Mataele, Sekona, Poto, and Matelau families families..
We learned
leamed during the time we were out serv serving
ing at Houma that the little breadfruit
breadfruit tree was like
a manna tree.
tree. It produced breadfruit
breadfruit and served us from the day we arrived until the last day we left
Houma. It continued every day fo forr six months. Hnw How blessed we were to receive this thi s blessing.
bless ing. It
tasted like a heavenly
heaven ly bread each time we prepared it for our meals.
meal s. Salote and I only
onl y ate once a day,
and
and it
it would
would fillfill up our stomachs
up our stomachs until
until we
we got
got home
home latelate at
at night.
night.
80

I received my very first missionary companion Samuela Loholoho Vehikite (a cousin) from
Otea Island and his
hi s wife was Elisapesi Pasikala. Before we left for Fo'ui we just barely celebrated Our our
baby Tisina's first birthday at Houma.
left Fo'ui we went to Kolovai for our missionary
After my family and I left mi ssionary work. I remember how
those people there hated usUS when they found out we were an L.D.S. missionary family who had come

there to teach them about the church.

ch urch. On our very first night
ni ght at Kolovai,
Kolovai , we slept in a community hall.
hal l.
cou ld see the moon and the stars through the holes in the rooftop,
We could rooftop, and through the large holes in in
wal ls. The floor was made of hard gravel. We shared one big long mat. All of the girls
the walls. gi rl s had only '
one sheet to cover them; all the boys shared one blanket between them. To make matters worse,
someone came in and stole our covers while we were asleep that night. In the momingmorning we got up, sang
our favorite hymn and opened with a prayer of gratitude for our ou r safety that night.

ITEM fl: II: Our First Area - Ha Ha'utu

' utu And Fahefa --19421942
While
Whil e our family was still living at Fo'ui, my companion Samuela Vehikite and I travel traveled from
ed from
village to village doing missionary
miss ionary work. One aftemoon
afternoon we came to Ha Ha'utu
' utu and Fahefa. Some men
were having
havi ng aafai fai kava (a
(a kava ceremony).
ceremony). A young woman would mi mixx some
some kava root for J16 6 or 20
men in the village. As they drank this thi s juice, they would
wou ld visit one another. The younger men would
serenade the young lady with songs. This was a form of dating in Tonga. Sometimes they had afai a fai
kava to invite
in vite visitors or newcomers to their village.
We asked if we could join the fai kava. This way we could talk about the Gospel of of Jesus
Christ.
Chri st. A man from the village invited us into his
hi s house. Everyone was sitting in a circle, with the
young lady seated at the front. fronl. My companion and I sat by thc the door, facing each other. I stan started
ed lo
to
explain our reason for being there, and how we wished to tell them about the Gospel of of Jes
Jesus Christ.
us Chri sl.
At that time missionaries
mi ss ionaries were allowed tofaito fai kava.
kava.
A very large man man,, weighing about 250 pounds and 6 foot 4 inches tall tall,, sat on my right. While
JI was giv
givingin g the discussion the man continued to talk, making a di disturbance.
sturbance. He turned tumed to me and
asked, "Why don't you shut up and get lost?" I had been given permission by the head of of the house
hou se
to speak, so I regained
rega ined the group's attention and continued teaching.
The man, enraged at being ignored, started to grab me and shake me. He then grasped my throat
in his
hi s huge hands and tried to choke me. I had some experience in self defense defense that served me well.
I pulled the man's thumbs down and twisted them in the wrong direction direction,, almost breaking them. The
extreme pain made the man let go of my neck and he cried out, "Oh no, oh no, you've broken my
arms."
arms ." He sat sal upon the floor and held his hands down, dripping saliva from his hi s mouth. My quick
thinking had saved me.
Samuela became frightened,
frightened , but deep in his heart he knew that the Lord would protect us from
our enemies. I tumed turned to the attacker and asked, "What happened to you? I thought you were trying
to kill me and stop the work of the Lord here in Fahefa. You forgot that we are here to do the work
of the Lord. I'm very sorry for what happened happened." ."
We finfinished
ished our final
final discussions,
di scussions, shook hands with those present, and continued on our way
that nighl.
night.
 81
81

ITEM ill:
III: At Kolovai. Tongatapu. Tonga
After my family and I left Fo'ui
Fo'u i we went to Kolovai for our missionary
miss ionary work. I remember how
those people there hated us when they found
fou nd out we were an L.D.S.
LD.S. missionary familfamilyy who had come
there to teach them about the church. On our veiy
very first night
ni ght at Kolovai, we slept in a comm
community hall.
unity hal l.
We could see the moon and the stars through the holes in the rooftop, and through the large holes in
the walls.
wall s. The floor was made of hard gravel. We shared one big long mat. All of the girl girlss had onl
onlyy
one sheet to cover them; all the boys shared one blanket between them. To make matters worse,
someone came in and stole our covers whil
whilee we were asleep that night.
niollt
b .
In the moming
mornino0 we got
oot up,
b
sangb
up , sana
our favorite
favo rite hymn and opened with a prayer of gratitude for our safety that night.

ITEM IV: A Special Blessin Blessing:g:

When our family arrived at Fo'ui there were two special families who lived li ved there. The family
of Sister Me Mata'ele was one, the other was the family of her elder sister Makeleta F Fine.
ine. Every day
before those two families
fami lies would eat their daily meals, they would send a plate of food for us to eat.
There were no fund funds,
s, money, or food provided for any missionary family. fami ly. We had planted a plantation
for our food,
food , but it would take about six months :nonths for it to be ready to harvest. We ate only on ly breadfruit
out of Sione Finau's
Finau 's breadfruit
breadfruit trees.
One day we didn't know where the next meal would wou ld come from. A non-member, Tev Tevita
ita Pau'u
from Fo'ui came by and gave us 10/-(shillings). That was a lot of of money for us.
us. He said that it m might
ight
be of some help for the chi children.
ldreJ1 .
Another day our kerosene lamp was empty, the soap was gone, and there was no food. I was
so tired of eating breadfruit
breadfruit every day, though I didn't didn 't complain
complain.. That afternoon, a man that we had
never seen nor met before came with a big horse-drawn buggy and asked, "Is lohani Iohani home?"
Salote answered,
answered , "No, lohani
Iohani had to go and do his hi s missionary
miss ionary tracting."
trading."
He then said, "Here is some food for your family." family."
I thanked him and said, "Can you please unload them at our kitchen area?" To my surprise I
looked over and saw these long and beautiful uli called kahokaho, the kind given to the royal fami
beautifu l ufi ly,
family,
and they were brought for us to eat. There were hopa bananas and even live chickens. He never told
us who he was. After After unloading
unl oading the buggy, he sm smiled
iled and left.
The day came that we ran out of our laundry soap. soap. Salote and our daughters went out by the
beach and hunted for a special kkind ind of tree from which they scraped the bark. They made home-made
forr our laundry. They also used it to bathe with and shampoo their hair. Dishes were washed
suds fo
with it also.
al so.
Three months passed and all our food was gone. That evening a United States army jeep drove
over to our home and asked, "Is this thi s the missionary home?"
Salote answered, "Yes." The two men smiled at us and they started to empty out their little
jeep. They had brought 100 pounds of flour, flour, 50 pounds of sugar, 100 pounds of of rice, and 25 bottles
of oil;
oil ; they also gave us soap. An African American soldier brought in peanut butter, jam and candies.
butter,jam
We were so happy. Again we were blessed with food and supplies. We never knew where these U.S. U .S.
men in uniform
unifornl had come from,
from , nor did we know how they found out about our ou r shortage of food.
of food.
82

I'm sure through the difficult

difficult time we experienced on our mission, the accident
acc ident with Tisina,
Tisina , the
sickness and hardships,
hardsh ips, we leamed
learned many things. These difficulties
diffi culties helped us to grow and develop, and
were good for us.
li S. I'm sure the Lord must have touched the hearts of of these people in our time of
of need.
1I hope
hopeand
and pray
pray that
that someday
someday we
wemay
may bebeab
able to return
le to retum thi
this loveand
s love and appreciation
appreciation to
tosomeone
someone else
else in
in
need of these blessings.
Sometimes we wouldwou ld grow hungry for some ripe bananas or taro and sugar cane. Along A long would
come Uncle
Unc le Samuela and Aunty Helene Fakatou with all these fruits fruits and food. How we were blessed
to be missionaries.

ITEM V: T Trading
racti ng at Ha'atafu
Ha ' atafu - 1942
fam il y was residing in the Fo'ui Branch. I was acting as branch president as well as a
Our family
mi ssionary. One day I was delivering church
proselyting missionary. ch urch tracts to many peoplepeop le in the
th e village of of
di strict. My teachings were unheeded by those I contacted. During the afternoon
Ha'atafu in Hihifo district. afternoon,,
as I traveled alone, I became hungry and tired, having been out all day without wi thout nourishment of any
kind. I arrived at the end of this thi s particular village very didiscouraged.
scouraged. I noticed a husky 275 pound man,
of middle
midd le age, cutting
cutti ng his
hi s grass in the front yard. I asked him if I might visit with him, him , and tell him
about the Church. The man laid down his hi s large, sharp, machete and sat down.
The man's first
first question related to why the Morm Mormon on Church baptized only the adults and those
over eeight
ight years of age and not the babies? I answered, "We follow fo ll ow the teachings that are in the Bible.
Bib/e.
If they repent from their sins sin s and are baptized in the name of of Jesus Christ, their sins are forgiven,
forgiven , and
they become members of His church. Babies and small children have no need for baptism bapti sm because of of
their innocence. Their minds are clean and pure." At thc the same time I continued, "I'll find fi nd you the
scripture in the Bible,
Bib/e, to prove our point of view."
Just then the man got up and said, sa id, "You're wrong, I don't believe a word you are saying. I'm
a preacher fo forr the Methodist ch church
urch and I've studied the Bible more than yo youu have." He got up and
grabbed his
hi s machete and said said,, "Right
"R ight now I'm going to killki ll you." He swung the knife fromfrom behind my my
back and it came down towards my head. head . I knew the man was serious. Fortunately, in my youth I was was
taught self protection. I qui quickly
ckly grabbed the man's hand and twisted twi sted very hard. This caused enoughenough
pain
pai n to the man that I was able to take the knife from him.
I looked into the man's eyes and asked, "What makes you so upset at our discussion? You You
asked me a question and while I was trying to find the scripture to prove my point, you almost killed ki lled
me? "
me?"
The man felt fe lt so guilty,
guil ty, and replied, saying, "I "1 lost my head. Now we can sit down and talk
some more."
more ," I finished
fini shed the discussion,
discuss ion , shook the man's hand, and went on my way.

ITEM VI: A Tomado

Tornado at Fo'ui
Fo ' ui
Motulalo
Motu lalo Tonga with his hi s wife Lea were missionaries like li ke Samuela Vehikite. He was my
companion and we had a lot of appointments at Hihifo H ihifo district.
di strict. One day we went to visit some
families
families at Nukunuku,
Nukunuku , some at Masilamea,
Masil amea, some at Te'ekiu, and our last appointment
appointment was at Fahefa.
III our missionary
In miss ionary work we also visited
vi sited the villages of Utulau, Ha'akame
Ha ' akame and Ha'alalo. We walked
wal ked
and went to every town and village
vi llage without shoes, food or drink. There was no tar on the road, just
 83

hard coral and more rocks. After our appointment appoin tment we started trading
tracti ng from house to house and wanted
to arrange for a street meetingmeeti ng the fo following
llowing night. We finally
final ly held one at TeTe'ekiu.
'ekiu. We didn't find too
many men around around.. Some of them were out to sea fishing, some of them were busy with copra.
Women were busy making mak ing tapa cloth and weaving mats. mats . Children
Chi ldren were at school.
Retuming
Returning through
th rough Matahau
Matahau we were tired and looked up Inoke Mataele, our friend who had
been partially blind since birth, birth , with very restricted eyesight in only one eye. He was a very active
member of the church. I asked Inoke's Inoke' s wife Lavinia if they had a little extra food for us to eat and
drink
dri nk before walking back to Fo'ui. Fo ' ui . Inoke was happy that the missionaries had stopped by. He sent
Lavinia to get us two plates of food and some green coconuts to drink. drink . Inoke's second wife Lavinia
is a cousin
cousi n to my wife. That's
w ife. That 's why we stopped at their home, as missionaries mi ssionaries often do in Tonga.
We thanked them for the meal and rest, but before leaving we went to moke's Inoke's plantation to
replant a few taro plants p lants in exchange for the food we had received. received . We took two hoes and started to
plant the crop. As I came to the fo fourth
urth row of laro,
taro, I put my hoe down.down.lI could see something in front
of me that looked lilike ke a TV screen. 1 could
I cou seemy
ld see mychildren
children laying
layingon onthe
thefloor
floorininourour house
houseatatFo'u
Fo'ui.
i.
It looked like they were asleep as leep but I could see cuts, and blood, blood , and in a few seconds the image was
from my sight. I thanked MOllllalo
gone from Motulalo ;onga
Tonga for going with me that day, and sa saidid I would
wou ld get back
with him later, but that I'd just j ust seen something happening to my children at Fo'ui.
I ran from Matahau through Nukunuku, Te'ekiu, Masilamea clear back to Fo'ui as fast as I
could
cou ld go. T The
he first
first thing I wanted to see was where the children were at this thi s time. There was no
problem. They were all asleep jnside ,inside our house on the floor.
floor. No one was hurt or anything like that,
no broken bones nor was was anyone bleeding.
bleeding. II said
said to
to myself, "Strange
"Strange thing that
that I saw
saw atat Matahau, and
now our chilchildren
dren seem to be just j ust fine."
At this
thi s time I heard a still small voice saying, "lohani, "Iohani, remove the children outs outside
ide at once."
Salote was looking over from the kitchen fixing the breadfruit breadfruit dinner for the family. She couldn't
believe what she was seeing. She saw me grab the children one by one and toss them out the door.
I call
called
ed for Salote to hurry and grab the children. She didn't know why I was getting the chi children out.
ldren out.
At this
th is time rain started to fall and Salote sa said,
id , "Are you out of your mind putting the children
outside. Can't
Can' t you see it's raining now?"
All Salote got from me was, "We do not have enough time." As the last one was tossed out,
I remembered our big home-made trunk that carried everyth everything owned-clothing, Bible,
ing that we owned---dothing,
missionary books, historieshi stories and genealogy. That was the last thing to come out.
It didn
didn't't take more than two minutes to get us to this point. There was no wind, but we saw
a great big round whirlwind dive down right on top of our house. house. It broke the house in half, twi twisted
sted
and twisted
tw isted round and round and broke the main poles that held up the house. Hal Halff of the house was
carried away with the whirlwind. The rest, including 300 si single
ngle heavy coconut poles being stored
inside our living
li ving room area, all fell down and landed where the children had been as asleep
leep only second
secondss
before. These poles were being prepared by the local members to use for a new chapel.
If
If!I had ignored
ionored
<>
the warning
warnino<> that came to me. me everyone of us might be dead by now. We are
so grateful
grateful fo forr the seventh article of of faith that says we believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy,
revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.
84

ITEM VB: VI1: Assisting

Assist ing the War War Effort
Effort - 1942
1942
At this
thi s time I remember they had over 7,000 American serv servicemen
icemen come to protect us from the
Japanese (our enemies at the time). Most of of the
the stores weren't
weren ' t allowed to be opened any more.
Salote's
Salote's uncle Samuela
Samuela Fakatou had a pig farm
faIm near his home at Mapelu moe Lau. There were
a lot of
of different
different camps for the U.S. servicemen surrounding surroundi ng his home. All the trucks were painted
green so the enemy couldn't
cou ldn 't see them. TheT he people
people were told to stay indoors and not have any light li ght on
on
at night. They
T hey also
al so must
must dig a foxhole
fox ho le in the ground
gro und for a bomb shelter (in case the enemy dropped dropped
a bomb on the island,
island , they were to run and hide inside their fox hole).
Uncle
Uncle Samuela asked the American American servicemen
serv icemen if he couldcoul d have any leftover
leftover or waste food for
his
hi s pigs to eat. They said they would woul d bring itit to him the next afternoon. To our surprise, su rpri se, when the
truck came, they brought
brought a few cases ofjam, peanut butter, butter, butter, dehydrated potatoes, rice, flour,flour, and
sugar. Most
Most ofthe
orthe food wasn't
wasn ' t even opened yet and still sti ll in safe boxes. The pigs finally
fin all y got their meal.
There were lots of of loose knives, spoons, and forks. fork s. Salote saw something very special-some
special- some white whi te
rags that the American soldiers sold iers used to clean their guns with. Some were used for wiping tables.
Some cloths were used to wrap their beef, mutton, mutton , and pork with. There were flour sacks, rice sacks,
sugar sacks. It was like li ke a gold mine for my mother. She started to collect them, them. boil
boi l them, put blueing
liquid
liquid on them. then she began to iron them , cut the material up and made the
on them, then she began to iron them, cut the material up and made the children
ch il dren aa lot
lot of
of
beautiful white clothing-pants, shirts, dresses, underwear, and petticoats. We
beautiful white c lothing- pants, shirts, dresses, underwear, and petticoats. We were on c loud ni ne.were on cloud nine.
What
What aa joy
joy that
that was.
was. My My mother
mother was
was one
one of
of the
the best
best seamstresses
seam stresses in in town.
town. Aunty
Aunty Helene
Helene Fakatou,
Fakatou,
Uncle Charles Sanft and Uncle Rudy Wolfgramm also did
Uncle Cha rles Sanft and Uncle Rudy Wo lfg ramm a lso did excellent sewing. excellent sewing.
Our little baby Samue
Samuela la Fakatou Wolfgramm
Wo lfgramm now had a lot ofn of nice wear. My mother
ice clothes to wear.
used to take four to six pieces of of rice or flour sacks, take them apart, then make us a big sheet for our ou r
bed. Not only sheets, but we were able to have enough material for new pi pillow
ll ow cases as well. She
took the heavy white rags and cut them up for pants for the children, and the white stretch fabric fabri c she
used for baby t-shirts. Salote was able to make new diapers for the baby too. Mother also shared the
cclothes
lothes with other families who needed them. We do love and appreciate the American soldiers. They
had
had big
bi g hearts. They loved
hearts. They us and
loved us and we
we loved
loved them. They al
them. They always
ways brought
brought treats
treats for
for the children and
the children and
were willing to helphe lp us at any time.
At the time of the 3ITival
arrival of the American soldiers in Tonga, I had a very specia speciall calling from
the mission president
mi ss ion pres ident Emil Dunn. I was asked to help the Army build a new hospital at Houma
Ho uma for the
Red C Cross.
ross. Then I was asked to build another hospital in Fua Fua'amotu.
' amolU. I was asked to help them build
at their different camps. I buil
the ir different builtt stores toto store all
all theirfood,
their food, and so on. on. I was asked to build aa machine
at each barrack that could change different different coins
coin s for the U.S. men. I did the best job I knew how and
gave my all. Thi Thiss was while serving our mission mi ss ion at Fo'ui,
Fo ' ui , but I donated all my time to help the
Americans
Ameri can s who were kind
who were kind enough
enough to come and
to come and protect Tonga at
protect Tonga at that time. That
that time. That waswas my
my part
part time
time
missionary
mi ss ionary work for the
work for Lord.. Without
the Lord Without money
money in in the
the mission field,, II could
mi ss ion field could easi
easilyIy have asked for
have asked for aa pay
pay
jjob,
ob, but
but it never crossed
it never crossed my my mind.
mind. II saw
saw that
that the
the money
money brought
brought to to the
the island was for
island was for the
the serv
servicemen's
icemen's
paycheck.
paychec k. The The one
one in charge had
in charge had meme care
care for
for the money until
the money until the
the money machine was
money machine was completed.
completed. II
never th
never thought
ought ooff he
helping myself to
lping myself to it. In fact
it. In fact if!
if I had
had aa little
little extra
extra money
money from
from making
making copra,
copra, II would
would
walk barefooted from Fo 'ui to Fua'amotu , a di stance of 18 miles to pay the mission president my
walk barefooted from Fo'ui to Fua'amotu, a distance of 18 miles to pay the mission president my
tithing. If even 1/- (shilling) or 10/- (shillings) I never missed
tithin g. If even 1/- (shilling) or 10/- (shillings) I never mi ssed our tith ing. our tithing.
 85
We aalways
lways knew when we did the right thing, many blessings bless ings would be given us. Every
needful thing that
th at our famil
familyy ever needed surpri
surprisingly
si ngly came in our hour of of need. The Lord gave us
special laws that we must
mu st follow and it's up to us to dec
decide
ide if we follow Him and receive the blessing
or not. I know our fami family
ly has been blessed and protected from fire, hurricanes, earthquakes and
tornadoes.
tomadoes. ItIt's
's amazing, and I'm sure when the Lord destroys the wicked with water as in the time of
Noah, those that are tithed will be protected.
He also
al so gave Noah the rainbow in the heavens
heaven s as a sign or a covenant that the earth will wi ll not
be destroyed with water again
again,, but with fire. Those who listen
li sten to the voice ofthe
of the prophets, who lead
and direct us, have been wamed
warned to give our tenth to the Lord so we can have the Lord's in insurance
surance with
his That'ss not much after
hi s chosen children. That' after he gives us our lives,lives , his sunshine,
hi s sun shine, rain, flowers, food,
animals,
anim als, children,
children , and everything that we have on this thi s earth. All he wants back from us is only one
penny out of every ten pennies. We have 9 pennies to ourselves and only on ly 1I cent
centtotothe
theLord
Lord.. That's
That's
all. That's not much.

ITEM VIB:
Vill: War Years at Fo'ui - 1942
In the town of Fo'ui,
ofFo' ui , a surveyor
su rveyor boat belonging to the United States of America anived arrived in 1942.
1942.
Vaka was the boat that th at brought an L.D.S. general
genera l to Tonga. Upon arriarrival,
val, he inquired
inqu ired as to where he
might contact leaders of the C Church
hurch there on the Island of Tonga, in the town of Fo'ui. Fi First
rst he met
the mission
mi ssion president
pres ident in Nuku'alofa. In Fo'ui he was referred to Maile Mataele, a church church member.
member, whowho
took the general
general to some of ofthe
the church
chu rch meetings. He explained to the church members that the reason
for his attendance was to let them know what would occur within the next few days on their is island.
land.
The Japanese would attack the island the next Tuesday, in six days. days. The United States had 7,000
troops who would land in a couple of days to protect the people and defend their island. New Zealand Zealand,,
Australia, and Fiji troops would also come to help. They would be under the command of of United
States generals.
general s. Four carriers would land these men and also all of their supp supplies,
lies, trucks, jeeps, food,
food,
etc. on Friday night in boats. Among the personnel there would wou ld be doctors and nurses to care for the
wounded. The ammunition would stay on board, as the armed forces would wou ld go out in the ocean
Sunday to meet the Japanese for battle half way between New Zealand and Fiji. The general had come
halfway
early to familiarize
familiarize himself
himself with the entire island. He needed to be aware of the depth of the water
surrounding the beaches, and the depth ofthe wharfs..
of the whmfs
The Tongan government had given permission for the U.S. U.S . troops to land while the battle was
in progress out in the ocean. Three thousand Marines were to land later on. For two days troops
roamed over the complete Island of of Tonga, making themselves familiar with every part of it. They
walked
walked,, rode horses, used buses, bu ses, cars and taxis. At this time I was the branch president at Fo'ui. I
wh ich enabled me and my companion Samuela Vehikite to watch the unloading of
obtained a pass which of
the supplies on Sunday. I had never seen so many sailors throughout the Island of Tonga. The
troops would be on the island two days to protect it, then most of them would go out on the warships
figh t the enemy, leaving
to fight leav ing the island on Sunday. The Japanese did not know of the United States'
plan to arrive at the Isl and early and be ready for them.
Island then I. The general told the people they must prepare
to protect themselves by diggindiggingg places inin the bush to
to live.
live. Every beach
beach must be protected.
protected. The
The troops
troops
helped families digdi g trenches and holes any place where they could not be spotted from the air or by
land by the enemy. The
Their
ir lives
li ves were in great danger.
86

Camps for the troops were scattered throughout different different areas in Tongatapu
Tongatapu.. Royalty and
govemment were advised to leave the palace to find hiding places with the other inhabitants of the
government
island.
island . At this
thi s time the queen was a widow widow.. The queen moved to a cave, named Aho Nonou Nol'/ou in
Fua'amotu
Fua 'amotu behind the beach. Royalty had lived
li ved in this area for about two years.
years . Samuela and I
witnessed the disembarkation
di sembarkation of ofthe
the troops. They arrived on the beaches, with guns in position to fire
upon the enemy, if any were nearby.
At the appointed time, sailors went ahead to fight the enemy. One of of the pilots
pi lots spotted a
Japanese oil boat. A bomb was dropped and as it hit it's target, the oil caught fire. The flame lilighted ghted
the whole
who le island and ocean where the Japanese navy was hiding. Between Fiji and New Zealand eight
of the enemy boats were destroyed but seven managed to escape. Had not those defending the island
been prepared, these ships would have used Tongatapu as the center from which to fight, thus th us enabling
the Japanese to gain control control of the battle. They were two days late, not knowing the plans p lans of the
United
Uni ted States and other countries. New Zealand Zea land and Fiji were informed to keep an outlook for the
seven Japanese
seven Japanese ships
ships that escaped.
escaped.
The general
general called mission president Emil Dunn to bring the best carpenter on the Island to
him. President Dunn asked me to bring five men with me from Fo'ui and to come to Nuku'alofa. I was
asked to construct a large building which would have offices offices for a Catholic Bishop, and an area large
enough for the United States Headquarters. There were to be offices offices for taking care of supplies,
payrolls
payroll s for the troops,
troops , and a canteen, which would have a coin machine to enable the men to change
their
the ir dollars into smaller denomination
denominations. s. I had to build all these items.
I saw for the first time the currency and coins which made up the United States payroll. I had
never seen a sil
nevcr sccn silver
ver dollar, half-dollar,
half-doll ar, nickel or dime or penny. Shelves, tables, tables , benches, chairs, etc.
had to be built as quickly as possible. poss ible. The generals, colonels, and other officers officers were seated for a
quick lunch when suddenly the wailing of the siren was heard. Thi Thiss was the signal of the enemy
approaching. Everyone ran for their lilives. ves. Business men grabbed their thei.r moneybags, leaving the doors
of their business houses open. Four of the colonels left their food, ran to their different different headquarters
to
to issue orders for combat. One wealthy store owner jumped into the hiding place of a family
fami ly to whom
whom
he had previously been unkind, not feeling them quite as high in station as he, because of their lack
of materia]
material things of this thi s life.
An airplane was circl circling
ing in the air. People were asked to go and find a hiding place. p lace. Everyone
left Nuku'alofa fo forr the bush. The United States colonel asked the Tongans to get off off the road, not to
use it and to stand where they couldn couldn't' t be seen by the enemy, and if possible, to run to their hid hiding
ing
places and jump in and be very quiet. The U.S. U.S. army
aImy was kept busy firing at the plane in the air. They
received communication
rece ived commu nication from the plane informing them that he was a New Zealand pilot pi lot who had
become confu
confused
sed and entered enemy lines and was trying to to find his
hi s way back. The pilot's name was
Makai.. During this
Makai thi s time of confusion
confusion I came in where the food had been prepared for the general. I
looked
loo ked over the table. Everything was so so appetizing that I decided to help myself myself to the food
food they had
left
left behind.
behind. II waswas not concemed with
not concerned wi th any danger. After
any danger. accepting the
After accepting pilot's plea
the pilot's plea to
to be allowed to
be allowed to
land,
land , the
the army
army personnel
personnel camecame backback to finish their
to finish their lunch.
lunch. II was still eating.
was still eating. The
The colonel
colonel made
made me feel
me feel
welcome,
welcome, and and they continued their
they continued their lunch,
lu nch , enjoying
enjoying withwith good
good humor
humor thethe mistake
mi stake ofthe
of the New
New ZealZealand
and
pilot.
pil ot.
 87
S7

The
T he general
genera l asked me to go to another camp in Ma'ufaga forthe for the Navy,
Navy, forth
for there was more
ere was more work
to be done. President
Pres ident Dunn and I left for Ma'ufaga. Sometimes there were five or six men, men , and maybe
10 or 12 men in each tent. The camp contained 3,000 men. Pres. Pres. Dunn asked where the captain's
headquarters
headqu arters was located. While standing
Wh ile stand ing there, they observed the the navy
navy carrying
carrying their laundry towards
towards
well. They tied a rope around their helmets and used them as buckets for well water. They
a little well.
heated the water with fire made from left-over left-over wood and leaves. Some were walking around in the
nude. T They
hey washed their clothing on wash boards. I was shocked and turned tumed to President Dunn and
"President
asked, "Pres ident Dunn,
Dunn , is that what they do in the U.S., run around nude in the middle of towns and
villages?"
vill ages?"
President
Pres ident Dunn answered, saying, "Don't worry, won'y, those people don't know any better." They
finally
fina ll y located the captain
captain.. He said they needed five tive men to help. I went out and returned with a
cousin Misitana Yea, Vea, a brother-in-law Saia Hola, and his hi s brother-in-law Salesi. The other two were
Tali and SamueSamuela la Vehikite.
Yehi kite. They constructed seven huge U.S. U.S . buildings, taking only two weeks to
fifinish.
nish . These
T hese were the fi first
rst to be built
bui lt for the U.S. navy for their supplies and storage of all kinds of of
food: rice, flflour,our, sugar, meat, etc.
I made friends
fri ends with a U.S. navy pilot. We enjoyed each other's friendship, friendship, and later, the pilot
took me for a plane ride and showed me how the plane maneuvered; how to turn tum the plane to the left
or right, and also how they released the bombs.
The captain told me to find 500 more men to build bu ild fifty
fifty hospitals for the U.S.
U.S . army. I informed
him that I might find a few men, myn , but certainly not 500. The captain wanted all different different types of of
bu ild ings; some made like the figure "H", some like a "T". The dimensions were to be between 200
buildings;
and 600 feet. After After fini shing all of these, President Dunn told me that I had helped the U.S.
finishing U.S. army
enough, and it was time for me to retum return to my missionary labors. I retumed returned to Fo'ui and asked
Yaha'i's
Vaha'i's son, Solo, to take my place. At this thi s time, the Tongans were paid by the U.S. army. When
I was working such long hours I received nothing. But I was grateful that was part of my missionary
work. Later many blessings came to us from the Americans in time of need.
Ju st about that time the firing of am
Just muniti on was heard at the beach at Kolonga. Everyone
ammunition
sa
said id it was just
j ust a practice. I disagreed and said, "No, it is the enemy." In a short time the ships were
heard returning fire. Some people peopl e had been having aafai fai kava at the beach house.
house. T hey all
They all ran out.
out.
A Japanese submari submarine ne had destroyed three ships at the Island of Eua, about 20 miles southeast of the
ofthe
island of Tongatapu
Tongatapu.. The captain on one of these ships realized there was no way to save his ship, shi p.
In
hi order to save the lives Iives of his
hi s men,
men , many of whom were badly hurt, he decided to ram the boat into
the main wharf so it would be close enough to the beach to receive help in getting his hi s men to shore.
Because of of this decision,
dec ision , over half of his
hi s men were saved from drowning. A friend and I helped repair repa ir
the damage to the wharf whmf the nextnex t day.
T he next Sunday, I was
The was asked to come and speak at Fua'amotu. Two U.S. U.S . navy sa ilors attended
sailors
the meeting. George was a military police officer officer who was a member of the Church of of Jesus Chri st
Christ
of Latter-day Saints; the other man had been hurt in battle and was not a member, but enjoyed helping
the missionaries, and at this time gave me 12 dollars as a gift.
88.S
H
I went back a good many miles to take the money to President Dunn, Dunn , even though the wounded
man had expected
ex pected me to use it for my own use. President Dunn accepted the cash from me, and made
out a receipt
rece ipt for tithing to the Lord; he asked me to please find George at Fua'amotu and give him his hi s
tithing
tithin g receipt. So back again I hurried
hUITied to the airport, looking for George. I was not allowed
all owed to enter
the gate, so I went to S Sione
ione Nau's house (a church member).
The camp had a door open at the back; most ofthe of the black navy men would gather there. I asked
them if I cou
couldld see an American stationed there, as I needed to deliver something to him. They
answered, "Why not!". not! ". They opened the gate.
There were two guards, a Tongan and a New Zealander. They said to me, ""It's It's past 6:00 p.m.
You are without a permit. You not only came at the wrong time, but at the wrong gate. You are a spy
and your punishment is death." I was told to hold my hands above my head, and they approached me
with rifles at firing positions.
I said, "I didn't come to see you, I came to see your officer officer in charge; take me to the head m man,
an,
he is the one I wish to see." Still distrustful
distrustful of
of me, one guard walked behind me until we reached the
officer. He wanted an ex explanation. informed him of me receiving money from George and my desire
planation. I infOImed
to see him. officer was understanding,
him . The officer understanding, and asked a New Zealand military policeman to take me
to the U.S.
U.S . military police. I was very surprised and happy to be greeted by the same U.S. MP who
had attended Church when I had spoken on Sunday. He reached out with a smile and shook my hand
and said, "Brother Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm , come in." in. " I was taken to George, and I told him that his hi s money had
been paid as a tithing to the Lord, Lord , and President Dunn had written a receipt for the 12 dollars
doll ars and had
asked me to deliver it to him. George was very thankful thankful for the effort
effort I had made to reach him.
On my way out of of the gate, I recognized a friend, Ukumea, who was on guard at the time.
Ukumea
Uk umea ordered me to halt, but I didn't stop. Whenever a soldier commands you yo u to halt, and again
repeats it the second and third time, he means mean s business, and you should stop immediately. Ukumea
had not realized it was I and quickly came with his hi s gun aimed at my heart. I grabbed him on his
stomach and said said,, "Are you really
rea lly going to kill me?"
Ukumea
Uk umea in surpri
surprisese answered, "lohani,i, what are you doing here?" We both had a laugh as we
answered , "Iohan
were very good friendfriends.s.
said,
I said , "I saw you and was just kidding around."

ITEM IX: Missionary Life at Fo Fo'ui.

' ui . March - 1943
During our mission
mi ssion at the village of of Fo'ui during World War n, B, all Tongans had leftleft their
homes in the main town and were out hiding in the bush. We weren't allowed to light any fire or use
any lamp in the evening,
even ing, but local missionaries
mi ssionaries were stistillll allowed to leave on missions
miss ions for other towns
or villages and check to see if any families
fami lies were in need of help or assistance
assistance..
During this
thi s time our family was servingserv ing oour
ur mission at the village of Fo'ui in the westem western
district of Tongatapu. We had six children at that time, Malina the oldest, Ana, Salesi, Taiana, Ti
ofTongatapu. Tisina
sin a
and baby Samuel. My missionary companion was Motulalo Tonga of Ha'apai Ha ' apai Islands, and his
hi s wife
was Lea. They were laboring at the village of Fahefa in the westem western district. Early one moming
morning I got
up and walked over to the village
vill age of Fahefa,
Fahefa, about four and a half half miles away, and asked Motulalo
to go tracting with me. We leftleft after our moming
morning prayer, without any breakfast. We went from one
town to the next without any problems People were very happy to see us come, and it was a comfort
for them to see the missionaries
mi ss ionaries come to their town.
 89

At that time, we foundfo und a lot of men were out working on their plantations. Mothers were busy
weav
weavinging mats, chil dren were busy collecting
children coll ecting coconuts and gathering fru fruitit and playing.
playi ng.
The Tongans were told if ever they heard sounds of an airplane to immediately immediate ly leave their the ir
home, gather theirthe ir families,
fam ili es, and hide in the dugout holes (fox holes) ho les) closest to them. See Seeing
ing the
American,
Ameri can, New Zealand, and Australian soldiers who had come to protect all of us in Tonoa Tonga, we were
very grateful. The children used to make up a song for the soldiers. The Tongan children '"didn't didn 't quite
qu ite
understand the E English
ngli sh language, but when they met or saw service men around that had white or dark
skin,
ski n, they got so frightened.
frightened. T They would
hey wou ld usually run behind their thei r house to hide.
Most of the time the children'
children'ss bodies would be infected with sores or boils boil s and their heads
had lice. Unboiled
Unbo iled water or water that had been contaminated by mice fa falling
ll ing inside
ins ide their cisterns, or
disease caused by mosquitoes
mosqui toes made very unsanitary conditions under which they lived. So when
members
mem bers met or saw the E Elders
lders Motulalo
Motul alo Tonga and I, they knew we were sent from our Heaven Heavenly ly
Father to assist
ass ist them in their time of need or difficulties,
difficulties, so we were welcomed by them, them , but not
welcomed by the non-members.
Blessings
B less ings were offered
offered to some ofthe
of the women who were about to give birth at that time, some
were given to some very ill families famili es who
wh;) were afraid to go to Nuku'alofa
Nuku 'alofa to the hospital hospital to see a
doctor. Some non-members were taught the gospel. Some didn didn't't welcome us US and we were chased ou outt
to the main street. But the missionaries had a way to calm and make peace with them. A few minutes
later those who chased us out were sorry, and we were again invited inside their home for more
discussions and later they were wer~ baptized and confirmed as members of the Church. Th Thisis was how
missionary
mi ss ionary work was carried
carri ed on in Tonga during World War II. D. All
All other
other mimissionaries
ss ionaries werewere sent
sent back
back
to New Zealand, including their wives and children, chi ldren , but Pres. Emil Dunn was still stil l carrying on his
duties. Some of these Tongan missionaries
mi ssionaries continued to help at Tongatapu,Tongatapu , including Epalah Epalahame ame
Tua'one and wife, L
Tua'one Lilevai, Samuela Vehikite and E
ilevai, Samuela Elisapesi,
li sapesi , Motulalo Tonga
Tonga and Lea and and others at
Tongatapu as
Tongatapu as II remember.
remember. We We have
have been
been soso blessed
blessed in the Gospel
in the Gospel andand it
it was
was aa blessing
blessing to to help others
he lp others
in their time
in their time of
of need.
need.

ITEM X: Tisina Retumed to Life

T isina Returned
/ohalli Wolfgramll1
By lohani Wolfgramm
I was fi n ishing up the monthl
finishing monthlyy reports for the Fo'ui
Fo'u i Branch when the spirit told me to stop
and look out the window, but I was too busy. The second time the spirit spoke to me he said said,,
"Iohan i,
"lohani, stop now and look out the window." Still I went on working. The third time J
I felt like
someone was pushing me off off the chair and told me to stop and look out the window. 1 I was
was
surprised to see a group of people hovering over something in the road and rushed out to find my
fami ly in trouble.
family
Many people, all at once, were trying to tell me what had happened, IJ could only see the
body of my little girl Tisina
T isina with her head crushed and lifeless body laying in the street.
My wife Salote had crossed the street to go to the home of Lolo and Mataele about 2:30 in
the aftemoon
afternoon after
after sacrament meeting. Malina, Ana, Sale, and Tisina
T isina were told
to ld to wait until
unti l the
road was clear to cross. T hey couldn't figure out how Tis
They ina came loose from Malina's hand and
Tisina
tried to run after her mother, but she ran into the road and was hit by a car. The driver was
90
unaware that he had hit Tisina and that her lifeless body was laying in the road. The next car was
full of American so soldiers
ldi ers who had just retumed
returned from a sight seeing tour of the village of Ha' Ha'atafu
atafu
and stopped immed immediately
iately to help. Malina was the first first one to try to pick Tisina
Tisina's' s body off
off the
street. Sale ran to hold her littl little
e head up but was too scared. Ana ran over and started to lift
Tisina's
Tisin a's body and saw the blood coming out through her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. She was so
frightened
fri ghtened she dropped her and ran off. Salote came running and saw the blood on her face. She
fainted
fa inted by the roadway. Friends and neighbors came with a bucket of cold water to pour over
Salote's face, then she finally came out of it.
My missionary
mi ssionary companion Samuela Veh Vehikite
ikite brought a mat to carry Ti Tisina's
sina 's body inside
their house.
hou se. A van arrived with American soldiers and offered offered to take Tisina back to the army
hospital at Houma where an American doctor could see what could be done for the child. I agreed,
so they put Tisina inside insi de their truck and started
stalled for Houma about a mile away.
Though shocked, I finally got my composure and ran after the truck and said, said , "Please stop,
please. I just changed my mind. mind. I forgot something
something very important to to do
do for my daughter right
now." In my mind, mind , I had forgotten to give Tisina a priesthood blessing. I asked the soldiers if they
would please back up their truck and bring Tisina into the home right away..
light away
At thi
thiss time, other churches had just barely let their members out from church. Sekona, a
Samoan, call out and sa said, "lohani,, don
id, "Iohani don't' t try to act like God, but send your daughter to the hospital
and see if a doctor can help her." her. " Many were afraid and some were very upset with me, but I
understood something that non-members did not. I called Samuela Vehikite to assist me by
anointing the consecrated oil on Ti Tisina's
si na' s head, and as I began to utter the prayer, I cou couldn't
ldn ' t say a
word.
word . My mouth was locked. My mind was blank. No words would come, but in a few minutes
the spspirit
irit spoke to me in my mind that there were werc so many unbelievers in and ou outt or
ofthe
the house that
had no faith that Tisina would ever recover from her accident, that I should send the people home.
I immediately
immed iate ly opened my eyes and asked the people if they wanted Ti Tisina
sina to came back to
life to please leave my home now so we can pray for her. Oh my! Non-members were fUliou furiouss and
started to spit at me. Some picked up rocks and started throwing them at the house as they were
leaving,
leav ing, calling me names. names . I knew the American doctor might mi ght help Ti Tisina again,, but how
sina walk again
about her brain? I knew that only God who created her, who gave her life, would wou ld be the only who
that could help Tisina completely recover and bring her memory back to normal again.
I asked Salote to go ahead and fix supper for the family, but I would go and pray for Ti Tisina.
sina .
I prayed and prayed and thanked the Lord for all his blessings to us, us, for sendi
sending
ng us on the mi mission,
ssion,
but how I wouldn't
wouldn 't like to part with any of my children yet because we have no white material for
her burial nor funeral fun eral cloth in Tongatapu, but in Vava'u Vava ' u we did. I reminded the Lord of of how he
saved the Israelites
Israeli tes by parting the waters of the Red Sea, how Christ raised people from the dead,
and of the simple simp le faith of a missionary who just had his hi s daughter run over by a car and had been
killed,
ki li ed , you can understand of my love for her. I1 reviewed reviewed how how Lazarus
Lazarus was
was raised
raised after
after being
being inin
the tomb for four days, through faith faith and the power of of the priesthood.
pri esthood. I prayed and thanked the
Lord for those great prophets of of old and their faithfaith and special callings
cal lings in the church from Adam
down to the prophet Joseph Smith. I said, "I don't don ' t want a funeral away from all my family, and if
this
thi s little
li ttle girl has a special
spec ial mission
mi ssion on the earth to do, please spare her life so she can fulfil that
blessing
blessi ng and her mission."
mi ssion. " I was on my knees over fou fourr hours that even
evening.
ing. Finally the Lord heard
my prayer
praye r and said to me, "Ti "Tisina
sina won't be with w ith you tonight, but tomorrow."
 91
91

A humble and very sweet warm feeling

feel ing came over my heart and a great worry and fear was
lifted from my sho
shoulders
ulders that evening. I thanked
th anked God for the answer that I received. I opened my
eyes slowly, filled with deep gratitude and tears of joy. I went over to Salote and said,
said , "Not
tonight,
ton ight, but tomorrow."
tomorrow. " Salote and the children
chil dren didn't
didn 't touch any food that evening.
even in g. Everyone was
shocked and felt so bad about Tisina.
Samuela Vehikite and I waited and waited all night long, and about 3:00 a.m. we fe feltlt the
spirit
sp fill oour
irit fill soulss and knew that this was finally the right time for us to give Tisina her priesthood
ur soul
blessing. Samuela Vehikite anointed her and I sealed the blessing. I[ thanked the Lord and
expressed
ex pressed his hi s love to me in answering my prayers and said said,, 'Ti
"Tisina,
sina, by the power ofof the
Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold, we ask Thee, our Heavenly Father, to bless Tisina T isina from
the top of of her head all the way down to her toes, that every bone, muscle, nerve, blood vessel, skin skin,,
nails, hair or any part of of her body that has been broken,
broken , lost or damaged, through the power of the
priesthood whi which ch we hold we command it to retum return to its normal place and start to funcfunction
ti on and to
do their work, that she will be able to stand and her body will be retumed returned and renewed with all its
parts and start to function as they were before. We promise you through the holy power of the
priesthood that when the sun rises ri ses in the morning,
;naming, you will
wil l be raised up together with the sun. And
when
when other
other witnesses
witnesses hearhear this
thi s testimony
testimony ofof Tisina,
Ti sina, they
they will also testify
will also testify that Jesus is
that Jesus is the Christ and
the Christ and
through
through him him the
the Lord
Lord healed
healed TTisina.
isina. Not
Not tonight,
tonight, but
but tomorrow Tisina will
tomorrow Tisina walk with
will walk with the
the rest
rest ofof
the fam
the familyily as
as the
the spirit whispers."
spirit whi spers."
After
After the blessing every'one
everyone knelt down before they went to bed and in a circle offered offered a
prayer, then we retired. I came in the room where Tisina st still
ill had her face covered with a cloth cloth..
She was still dead. I picked her up and laid her little broken head on my arm and kept her body
close to me. Hours seemed to pass. I fin finally
all y dozed off
off and on for about two more hours and abo about
ut
6:00 a.m. I felt someone playing around my face and touching my hair. I slowl slowlyy opened my eyes
and to my surpri
surprise
se saw Tisina standing up playing with my face and hair, with a big smile on her
face.
I slowly reached out to feel TisinaTisina's 's head. It was normal. I started to feel her hands, legs, legs ,
face-everything that had been promised
face--everything promi sed had come true. Samuela Vehikite remembered that in her
priesthood blessing that when the sun rose up in the moming morning she would be raised up together with
the sun. So he opened the window shades and sure enough, the sun had just barely risen ri sen in the sky.
How excited we were to have our little daughter back with us again. agai n. We sang a special
hymn to thank God for her retum, retulll, and said a long prayer of thanksgiving by me. me . A few minutes
later a knock came to our door. Our Aunt Marie and Uncle Maile Niu Ni u brought us Tisina's burial
clothing
clothinob and her burial
buri al box and asked where the dead child was. I said she was the one that
answered the door. They were shocked and so relieved to know that the Lord had again blessed
our fam
familyil y during our mission
mi ss ion at Fo'ui.
Fo ' ui. Maile Niu asked me what would be a special special wish T Tisina
isina
would like today? Ti Tisina
sina said, "Let's
"Let 's go for a picnic at the beach." So the family
famil y went to celebrate
at
at Hahake beach. I want to testify to any of you whl' might read thi s story that it
Hahake beach. I want to testify to any of you who might read this story that it is
is true.
true.
There were a few people
peopl e who joined the church in Tonga because of of seeing how the hand
of the Lord caused miracles to be given to his children on this earth earth.. When we exercise our trust
and faith in the Lord,
Lord , our lives and family are blessed by him.
92
ITEM XI: Transfer
Transfer to Halaloto Branch - 1943
In July 1943 our plantation was ready to be harvested and again came a knock at our door. It [t
mi ss ion President Emil
was mission Emi I C. Dunn saying, "Brother
"Brother and sister Wolfgramm, how is the plantation
go ing?"
going?" 1 told him it was great and would be ready
[told him it was great and wou ld be ready for
for harvest
harvest this
this weekend
weekend or or so.so. President
President Dunn
Dunn
said, "Good, I have good news for your family." fam il y." We were anxanxious
ious to hear what he would wou ld tell us next.
He said, "I would like you to leave your you r plantation for the next missionary couple to eat from when
they get here this weekend. I've just called your wife's Uncle Samuela and Aunt Helene, your sister
Ma'ata
Ma 'ata and a niece Mele Fakatou to leave the Halaloto branch for you and Salote and family to
preside over, and they will be leaving to serve a mission at Niuafo'ou N iuafo'ou (the Tin Can Island) as soon as
they can make it.
We thanked him respectfully
respectfully and accepted our new calling. We were so excited. excited. Mapelu moe
Lau was like our second home away from fTom home. But the mission president sti stillll wanted us to go out
tracting and holding street meetings as proselyting missionaries at night and serve as branch president
at the Halaloto Branch that had been organ organized
ized March 5, 5,1939.
1939.
We found ourselves going door to door to say goodbye and thanking all oour ur branch family at
Fo ' ui for their love and caring for us, especially the two sisters, Me who married Lolo Mataele and
Fo'ui
their family,
family , her sister Makeleta who married Fine Sekona and their family. family . Our thanks to Sione
Finau and family
fami ly for offering
offering their home for our stay at Fo'ui. Tevita Pau'u family, Tuione and Hepi
Matelau and family and many others were so kind to us. us .
When the Fakatou's were getting things ready to leave on their mission to the Tin Can Island,
Pres. Dunn wanted them to know a little bit about what the Island would be like. He told them that
this tropica]
tropical islands is still an active volcano; that it had just erupted and all the livestock and
plantations had been destroyed. There had been no rain for almost three years, and a long drought
was what they were about to face.The mail would only come to them every six to twelve months,
face.Themail month s, if
if
there was any ship available
avai lable to bring it to them, plus their food and other supplies. Before Before leaving he
urged them to take enough food and other supplies to last them six to 12 months. He layed his hands
on their
thei r heads and gave them each a wonderful
wonderful blessing before they left.
After
After my father passed away, my younger brother Walter, a younger sister Martha, and a niece ni ece
Mary were kind of of adopted by Samuela and Helene Fakatou. So Walter left left for school at Makeke and
Martha and Mary left left with the cocouple
uple to the Tin Can Island on their mission. After After the Fakatou's got
all their goods and other supplies ready for the trip, Pres. Dunn left left his
hi s blessing with them and said
good bye at Yuna Vuna's's wharf
wharf at Nukualofa. He had also moved us back to Halaloto Branch.
What a wonderful blessing for us to move back to Mapelu, our second home. This is where
my mother Salote was raised by her grandmothergrandmother Teleita Fifita and Samuela Fakatou and Ofa Vaitai. Yaitai .
After
After grandfather
grandfather Samuela Sr. died at Felemea, Samuela Jr. met Helene Sanft Sanft and they were married
in their later years and had no children of of their own, but later adopted two of of Helene'
Helene'ss grandchil
grandchildren
dren
from her first marriage and her niece Mary, a daughter of lohani's Iohani's older sister Ela.
When we came back to Mapelu moe Lau. We were so happy. It was like returning to paradise
again. We cou could laukaupouli blossoms-the midnight flower
ld smell the laukaLipaLili flower that only gives it's it 's scent at
night time. We cou couldld also smell the tropical scents of ofthe
the gardenias,the kaloni
ka/ani kakala, the sweet scent
of the yellow ginger, the roses all in blossom fragrance fragrance was all in the air. We knew we were at the
Halaloto Branch, the sweet smell of of hopa, pineapple, oranges,
oranges , tangerines and the vi fruits, mangoes,
papayas and bananas were just ripening and falling to the ground. It reminds one of ofthe
the place called
Bountifull in the Book of
Bountifu of Mormon.
 93
93

It seems that the windows of heaven were opened up up for us after having gone through the
trials at Fo'ui and the Lord rewarded us a hundred fold. The spirit of missionary work filled fill ed our
hearts with gratitude and love for our Heavenly Heavenl y Father for his goodness to to us and for Hi Hiss spiritual
influence
innuence on behalf
beha lf of our family.
famil y.
After arriving at Mapelu moe Lau there were quite aa few local members who had decided to
make their home in the nearby bush during World World War II. 11. Between the villages of Ha'akame, Houma, Ho uma,
Halaloto and Tokomolo
Tokomololo lo there were over 14 families plus their extended
14 families plus their extended families. famili es .
This was a wonderful time to be a missionary out in the field. We We witnessed how the Lord
helped heal
hea l the sick, control the waves and the elemenLs elements so a baptism could be performed,perfomled, and bring
joy, happiness and light li ght of truth into the lives of thousands at home and abroad. We felt hi hiss power
and
and strength
strength throu ghout our
throughout mission. His
our mission. His hands rested upon
hands rested upon our head for
our head for our
our safety
safety inin sailing
sailing to
to other
other
islands. It
islands. is an
It is honor to
an honor to be
be aa member
member of of Hi
Hiss church
church today
today andand enjoy
enjoy the
the Melchizedek
Melchizedek priesthood
priesthood
power and the privilege to bless others
power and the privilege to bless others in their affliction as we knew without a doubt in our
in their affl iction as we knew without a doubt in our minds
minds
that the Lord would continue to strengthen and preserve us as we
that the Lord would continue to strengthen and preserve us as we served him faithfully. served him faithfully. What aa
What
blessing for
blessing for our family after
our family after giving
giving upup two plantations to
two plantations to the
the next
next mi ss ionary couple.
missionary couple. We We moved
moved
back to
back to Mapelu
Mapelu moe moe LauLau and
and wewe cannot
cannot compare
compare our our small plantation to
small plantation to the
the one
one of Unc le Samuel
of Uncle Samuel
Fakatou . He was educated in New Zealand at the L.D.S . Maori Agriculture
Fakatou. He was educated in New Zealand at the L.D.S. Maori Agriculture College, along with College, along with
Mateaki , Misitana
Mateaki, Yea, Sosaia
Misitana Vea, Sosaia Mataele, Pi Falati Pikula, Sovea Sovea Kioa, and and Sione
Sione Tuita Yehikite .
Tuita Vehikite.
After they completed their schooling they came back to help teach the students at Makeke and at
Liahona college.
li ke retuming
It was like returning to paradi se, at Mapelu moe Lau Samuela and Helene had planted
paradise,
orange trees in 24 rows; they planted tangerine trees in 24 rows, rows. pineapple, banana trees, laro, taro, IIti
ufi
(yams) sweet potatoes, hopas, a vi tree, a lava tava tree, mango trees all over and five different different varieties
of bananas. Papaya would just ripen and fall to the ground.
Samuela used to plant 9 rows of ufi IIji and 1 rowfor
I row for hihis tithing.
s tithing.
Samuela used to plant 9 rows of bananas and 1I row row forfor hihis tithing.
s tithi ng.
Samuela used to plant 9 rows of sweet potatoes and 1I row row forfor his
his tith
tithing.
ing.
Samuela used to plant 9 rows of of kape and 1I rowrow for
for hihis tithing.
s tithing.
With every kind of of fruit and vegetable at his plantation,
plantation , there always a row there for fo r the
Lord. With all his hi s animals he did the same. The best looking one was for the Lord, Lord , and nine, his hi s
to be butchered. His pigs and chickens were the same. Our family used to come over to Mapelu
moe Lau
Lall a lot to help them with their plantation and make copra. That's what we used to do on
our
ollr plantation at Vava'u
Yava'u and we leamed
learned the law ofof tithing early
earl y in life before we came to
Tongatapu.
Tongatapu .
All his
hi s plantation seemed to be overgrown sometimes.
sometimes . Bananas used to just j ust ripen and fa fallll
to the ground. The papaya was the same and the yams and sweet potatoes grew bigger than
normal. Instead of of his animals giving birth to one, they gave birth to to twin
twi n calves. Pigs would
have ten to 15 at one time. Eggs and chickens were double. We witnessed that when we lived at
their home. Helene loved flowers. She used to plant all kind of of roses, lillies, gardenias, plumeria,
hibiscus, yellow ginger,
ginger, honey suckle
suckl e and most afaf all the kaloni kakala with other nowers. flowers. She
used
used to
to cut
cut them
them early
early in
in the
the moming
moming and and we
we had
had to
to take
take them
them to to all
all the
the missionary
missionary homeshomes forfor
94

them to enjoy
enjoy and fresh
fresh cut
cut flowers forfor the
the L.D.S. branches
branches and Sunday
Sunday meeting
meeting and conference
time. Every
Every Saturday
Saturday evening
evening her
her flowers
flowers seemed to blossomblossom much more.
more. When you travel by by
Mapelu
Mapelu moe LauLau you couldn enjoyenjoy the tranquil,
tranquil , sweet
sweet scent
scent ofthe
of the flowers
flowers and sometimes you you
could almost
almost tell where a stock of of ripe
ripe bananas could cou ld be
be found
found in
in the middle of
of the plantation
plantation byby its
its
sweet
sweet smell.
Most ofof the time we had to keep our eyes open when missionaries missionaries needed some bananas.
We had to find
find the best bunch
bunch ofof bananas
bananas to take to them and let them hang hang at their place
place so they
would always have plenty. Same for their pineapple pineapple and avacados and mangoes. The best best looking
one would always go to the Mission President, then the missionaries,missionaries , then to us and to the needy
last.
During
During World War D II Samuela and Helene became parents to lots of of young American
service men.
men . When they became homesick or lonely, lonely, they would come over just just to visit or talk.
talk .
Most of
of all Helene used to be the best cook in town, so often often they came and paid for a plate of of food
from
from her. Sometimes Helene used to do their laundry for them and get paid for it. Samuela Sam uela and
Helene were the only ones in the area who could speak English, besides a few others. Helene Helene used
to have a safe inside their house. The money she made from cooking cook ing and working for the service
servi ce
men she put inIII the safe to start saving
sav ing for their trip to America to come to the temple. That was our
family
family plan since 1934 when Salote and I, 1, Samuela and Helene, Uncle Charles Sanft, Fritz
Wolfgramm, Walter Wolfgramm, and Rudy Wolfgramm Wolfgrammmet met in council
counc il to plan the future ofthe
future of the
family.
family . There goal
goal was that they might be sealed sea led for all time and eternity in the holy temple,
temple , and
be able to do temple ordinances for our loved ones who had passed away.

SAM AND HELENE'S MISSION AT NIUAFO'OU

Written by Helene
Wrillell Helelle Sanft Fakatou
Sallfi FakalOlI

These stories of Sam and

slories of alld Helene
Helelle Fakatou
Fakatoll are
are given here
here because
becallse of their close
oflheir closeassociation
associalionwith
wilh lohani
l ohani
and
alld Salote.
Salore. Sam
Salll Fakatou
FakalOlI was one ofthe
of Ihe relatives
relarives that
Ihal raised Salote
SalOle and when in TongataplI
Tongatapu made Iheir
their home
hallie
with
" 'ilh the
rhe Fakatou's,
Fakaloll's. as YOll
you can tell by some ofthe
call1elf stories by lohani. They are family IreaSllres.
of Ihe slories treasures.

ITEM I: Mission to Niuafo'ou

Niuafo'ou in 1944-1945
resident E
Emil
mil Dunn called my husband Samuela V. Fakatou and I to serve a mission
mi ssion at
P Tonga Mama'o, Niuafo'ou, (Tongan Mission). We took lohani's
Iohani 's young sister Ma'ata and
a younger niece Mele Tu'i Tonga with us on our mission.
When President Dunn called my husband and IIon on a mission to Niuafo'ou, we were asked to
make sure that we took the following items:
items: a case of corned beef, a sack of flour, sugar, a can of of
biscuits, and soap for our laundry. This island had just been destroyed by another volcanic
volcani c eruption.
Three months before that it was hit by a hurricane.
hurricane. Most ofthe crops were gone, and when we we arrived,
children were out digging ooldld roots of the trees, and hunting for of
ofato,
oro, (big white worms) to eat. The
oold
ld people were also digging for roots, or anything they might use for food. It was difficult
difficult to find
drinking water. Most of the animals had died during the disaster.
disaster.
 95

My husband wouldwou ld go out to teach these people the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Christ. and in the evenevening
ing
he woul
wouldd invite them to come over and have dumplings and a white sauce with sugar. As they ate, he
would continue teaching the gospel.
The work was reallyreall y hard for us to do, but the Lord was with us. The boat, carrying carry ing food
supplies would
wou ld only
on ly come to N Niuafo'ou
iuafo'ou once every
eveiy three to six months. The more we shared our food
with these people, the more often they came back to enjoy a spiritual feas feastt too. How clearly I
remember-it was two weeks before the boat would wou ld bring us more food. My last sack of flour was
getting really low
low.. Finally I spoke to my husband,
husband , "What are we going go ing to feed those people with when
they come?"
come?"
He answered, "The Lord will wi ll take care of that too."too. " I had examined the sack of flour two
nights before, it was empty. The next moming morning I again reached down into the sack, which lay under
a wooden table.
table. As I withdrew my cup, it was filled with flour; it was a miracle. miracle. Each time I reached
under that table, I had a cup of flour with which to feed those hungry people. Finally two days passed.
1I took
took the
thesack
sack fro
from underthe
m under thesmal
smalll table
tableand
andshook
shook it.it. IIem
emptied this into
ptied this into my
my little
little bowl
bowl,, and
and again
again
fed the company
company.. As we finished
fi nished our dinner, my husband presented another gospel discussion.
gospe l discussion . During
this
thi s time we heard the loud siren-a signal to us from the boat, letting us know that it had arrived. Ou Ourr
food was coming from President Dunn in Tongatapu. We were so blessed and felt the helping hands
of our Father in Heaven
Heaven,, and wanted to share all we had with the poor.

ITEM B: Blessing
II: Bless in g Patisepa
It was a wondelful
wonderful experience for all of us. When they first arrived at Niuafo'ou Niuafo ' ou we found the
people there weren't as friendly as the people who lived at Tongatapu or on the other islands. It was
very difficult
difficult to teach them the gospel because they only had heard a little littl e about the church
church.. Maybe
only one or two members of of the village of of twenty-five to forty people were Latter-day Saints.
One day I told Ma'ata,Ma 'ata, "People have given us too many chi chickens,
ckens. how about going with me
to the bush to get a few sticks and chop down a few trees to make a chicken ch icken coop. We will be able to
raise some for eating and have a few more eggs?" We left left around 10:00 a.m.
While
Wh ile looking around the bush for su suitable
itable material,
material , we suddenl
suddenlyy heard a woman's voice
calling for me. We immediately recognized the voice of Likivai, Lik ivai. the nobleman's
nobleman 's daughter. She said said,,
"Helene, please hurry up and come back to town with me, my younger sister Patisepa is very ill."
I sa
said, right,
id , "All liaht
b , I'll come right
riallt
0::0 now,. but I want you to '-'gO
now. go down farther and call for my
husband, Samuela Fakatou. Tell him to hurry up and come quickly with you and give Patisepa a
blessing."
blessing. " While Likivai was looking and calling for Samuela Sam uela at the bush, I arrived
arri ved at the home.
First thing I heard was the voice of of Malu a Maka, the father. The nobleman was crying at the
top of his
hi s lungs.
lungs . He cried and cried. cried, and kept on saying, "My Patisepa is dead, oh no, she's dead."
The people from the village heard the news; they stalted started to come and joined in crying with the rest of of
the fam
family.
il y. Right at the front door, I met the doctor. He said, "There is nothing more anyone can do
as Patisepa has expired."
I opened the door and walked into the room and went straight up to Malu a Maka and patted
shoulder
him on the shou lder and said, "Why are you crying and carrying on like this, Malu? What has
faith?
happened to your fait h? Don't you know that Samuela will
wi ll be here in a few minutes to help?"
96

Whilee I was trying to comfort Malu a Maka and

Whil and the family, the doctor was wal walking
king down the
main
mai n street te telling
lling the people that there was goi going funeral;
ng to be a fun daughterr Papi
eral; the nobleman's daughte Papisepa
sepa
had just expired. Peopl Peoplee started coming, one by one, one, wearin
wearingg their rao'vala
tad vaia (the mats they wrap
around
aroun d their waistline
wa istline to show their respect for their
the ir dead.) 1 finally finished talkingwith
I finall y fini shed talking withMalu
MaluaaMaka
Maka
and went up to see the young girl girl's
's body. Pati
Patisepa's
sepa' s grandmother Milika was massaging the girl's
armss and legs,
arm legs, so they would be supple while they put on her buri burial
al clothes.
People from the village came and filled fill ed the hou
house.
se. Malu stopped crying as my husband walked
in. When he came in the house and saw all the people he spoke to them and said, ""Would Would you please
leave thi thiss house immediately.
immediatel y. I would like onl onlyy my wife Helene, and Pati Patisepa's familyy
sepa 's immediate famil
here-her
here- her father M Malu
alu a Maka, her mother Pua, the grandmother Milika and myself." myself. " The people were
angered by
angered the idea,
by the but le
idea. but leftft the
the house.
house.
A half-hour or so went by, then Samuela annointed the oil oil on Pati
Patisepa's
sepa's head and gave her a
beautiful blessing.
bless ing. When he was almost at at the end of the blessing
bless ing the grandmother Melika said, "I
can't' t he
can help this,
lp thi s, but I already feel feel the wannth
warmth coming back to Patisepa's toes and hands". Ri Right
ght after
Samuela's
Samue la's prayer, the little girl started to scream very loudly. loudl y. She started to breathe again. Her whole
body feltfe lt warm and the blood started to ccirculate
bl ood staJ1ed ircul ate once again. She lilived. ved.
Samuela
Samue said,, "You had better get some wmm
la said warm food and give her somethin somethingg to eat as she is
hungry." So the family fa mily did just that.
Patisepa
Pati sepa is still living. She is married marri ed and has a famil familyy too. A few people
peopl e in Niuafo
Niuafo'ou
'ou
witnessed
w itnessed this experience
thi s ex perience and later became members.

ITEM BI: m: Harvest

Il arvest
When oour ur family
fam il y first
first arrived
arri ved in Niuafo'ou
Niuafo ' ou there was a drought and nothing was left for the
people to eat. Samuela started a little manioke plantation plantati on that usually
usuall y takes six months to harvest.
He fofound
und out that
th at most ofof the people in Niuafo'ou
Niuafo ' ou would go out to the bush and find the roots of an
Aka tree. T They
hey usually
usuall y got the roots, pulled them out, and then ate them. Sometimes they hunted for
the older ti Ii leaf
leaf plants and dug them out, cleaned them up and put them in an umu um!! and baked it, then
chewed them like they would woul d chew sugar cane, and the juice tasted like brown sugar. Th That's
at' s how the
people survived..
peop le survived
Rarely
Rare ly they would find a green coconut coconut and would drink the liquid and eat the meat from from the
young coconut. Most of the people here were not the least interested in the missionary mi ssionary message, and
didn't
d idn ' t even want to hear it. Samuela
Samue la and Vaha'iVaha' i Tonga, a school
school teacher for the Tongan Government
were one ofthe
o f the few church members there. They T hey were invited for a special meeting by the Methodi
Methodist st
Church
Chu rch they called ako lotu. lolU . After
After the meeting they served some food food and the next night they decided
that the Latter-day Saint Sai nt missionaries were to feed them. Samuela Sam uela and Vaha'i
Vaha' i Tonga were at a loss
as to what food to take for the next night, because they were not members ofthe of the community
community but only
visitors.
vis itors. One Methodist
Methodi st member offered offered them a little pig.
p ig. They were grateful for the pig
pi g and baked
it in an umu.
//m //. They decided to go to the Lord in prayer.

They
T hey gave their all in theirthei r faith in the Lord that somehow he would supply the manioke for for
them.
the m. WhenW hen the pig was ready, there was still no manioke mall ioke so Vaha'i
Vaha' i and Samuela went to the
plantation. It had only onl y been there three months and was still immature. Vaha'i Vaha' i stood there and looked
 97

at the manioke and said, "W

"Whenhen are you gogoing
ing to be ready for harvest, and why are you waiting so
long? We need some manioke right ri ght away tonight. You should be providing us with fu full-grown
ll -grown
manioke. It is tonight Samue
Samuela la and I1need
needyour
yourhelp"
help"As Ashe
hestarted
started toto uproot
uprootthe
themanioke
manioke he hecou
couldn't
ldn 't
believe it. He saw large manioke come out of the gro ground
und and more and more. Tea Tearsrs rolled down
Vaha'i's
Vaha'i 's face and also Sam
Samuela's.
uela's . They knew that
th at the Lord had helped them. They filled the first
basket full of manioke, then the second basket fu full. They
ll. T hey took it to town,
town , peeled and baked them in
the umu
umu.. When the Methodi
Methodist st Church heard about it, they all came and asked for a little manioke.
They divided to each family
famil y enough manioke to supply the whole vill village.
age. Then the Method
Methodist ist
members decided to go out
ou t to the same plantation to see if they cocould get more. When they pulled out
uld gel
the manioke there was nothing, it was on only
ly a baby manioke, but not matured. They came back and
asked them where they could
could get some
some and
and they told them that they must have faith faith and
and pray andand ask
God for help and he would supply
suppl y them with whatever they need.
That was the testimony of Samuela and Vaha'i Vaha' i while
wh ile they were on a mission.
mi ss ion. It was like
manna for the people ofof Niuafo'ou to see what the Lord had done for them. them .

ITEM TV: The Ulu'ave

IV : The Ulu'ave FamFamilvil y
While living
li ving at Niuafo'ou,
Ni uafo' ou, Sam and I went out to Mu'a to see how much damage the erupted
volcano had done. The destruction was found to be almost complete. comp lete. While
Whi le there we came across
a mother with four children, Salome Ulu'ave. Ul u'ave. She was on her death bed and the children were
mourning and were getting ready for her burial. buri al. While she was dying she asked for Elder Vaha'i Tonga
to please come and administer
admini ster to her. Her fami family
ly and in-laws
in-l aws were very much against the Mormon
church.
ch urch . They didn'tdidn 't want lo to have anyth
anything
ing to do with the church or any of its members, but at
Salome's
Salome 's urging they sent for Elder Vaha'i Vaha' i Tonga. He came and gave her a beautifu
beautifull bless
blessing
ing and she
slowly but surely recovered.
She was the only member of her family who had joined the Church. When she was better the
family
fam ily treated her with hate and bittemess,
bitterness, but worst of all her own husband,
husband , Solo Ulu'ave
Ulu 'ave treated her
badly.
bad ly. He was very ve ry bitter about the Mormon church. Every Sunday he would go around from vi village
ll age
to village with the book of a Dr. Wood and preach against the Mormons Monnons and the prophet Joseph Smith
and the doctrines. When I saw how they treated Salome, my heart felt for her and her littie children.
li ttle ch ildren.
I1 wanted
wanted us us toto help
help her
her out.
out.
There was a famin faminee and everyone was practically starv starving,
ing, yet So
Solo
lo would
wou ld say he was go going
ing
to hunt for food and not come home for days. The mother and kids would survive only coconuts,
on ly on cocon uts,
because she was very weak from her illness she was barely able to move around.
One day So lo decided to came over and meet this so-called Mormon missionary
Solo mi ss ionary Sam uela
Samuela
Fakatou.
Fakato u. Solo was invited in and talked. I was happy because I would have a chance to ask Solo if if
he would let us take care of his hi s wife and children while she recuperated from her illness. To our
surprise he readily accepted the offer. He sa id that he cou
said couldld not stand the sight of
of her ever ssince
ince she
joined the Mo Mormon faith,, but I asked him to pleas"
rm on faith please come up every once in a while whil e and see them
because she might
mi ght even die from a broken heart. He agreed, and Samuela and I took the mother and
the fo
four
ur children
ch ildren with us to our home in the other village.
98

Solo kept hishi s promise.

promi se. He found out that his hi s family really meant a lot to him. He missed them
and he would come up about every week to see them. But things went sour again. He became very
confused and joined wi
confused with
th priests from the Methodist beliefbelief named Tevita Langi and his hi s wife Eseta.
The were all against the L.D.S L.D.S.. Church, and convinced him that he had been tricked by this missionary
thi s mi ssionary
couple to take his hi s loved ones away from him. That's
That ' s how they trap other members of the same family
into their belief, so they told him. He quickly came over to our house to argue with us about how
tricky and evil
evi l of us to to try to force him into joining the church.
Samuela talked with him and sa said,
id , "Solo, I am here to do thet.he work of
ofthe
the Lord. I am not here
to force anyone to believe or belong to the church. Helping the needy and the sick is part of my
mission and I am prepared for any ridicule and accusations made of me." Solo immediately called
them a liar and all kinds of vicious words.
When Sam found out that it was Tevita Langi and Eseta behind all of his confusion, confusion, he
immediately told Solo to go right then and tell Tevita how soon they had forgotten the efforts efforts and
energy the relief
relief society and the priesthood members of the Mornlon Mormon church in helping Eseta's
grandmother
grandm other when she needed help. She was fed, clothed, and cared for. They gave everything to
build her a decent home to live in. I still do not know what kind of heart Eseta has, because she has
still
st ill stood against
again st the church
church,, yet her grandmother Eli had a better life because of the help from the
church members. Solo informed infornled them what the Monnon
Mormon missionaries had said. I felt a little guilty
for not having
hav ing a little
littl e more patience, but I was not about to put up with the lies and ridicule these
people
people inflicted upon us
inflicted upon us all
all the
the time.
time.
The following Saturday Samuela was to hold an outdoor crusade (street meeting) in Mu'a. For
a long time So Solo,
lo, had made thc the missionary work extra hard and difficult. For seven years Solo had
studied
stud ied to be a great preacher for another faith and later on got hold of this book written by a Dr.
Wood.
Wood . It was false information about the L.D.S. L.D.S. doctrines, and the prophet Brigham Young. He
taught and preached just as hard as the MOImon Mormon missionaries did did.. This particular night, I asked Solo
to please come and feel welcome to hear another side of what Sam is preaching becau because
se he was going
to hold an outdoor crusade, and would be talking about plural marriage. Plural marriage-that marriage--that really
reall y
got his attention, and he was willing to come and listen for the very first time.
Samuela reserved the topic for last and brought forth prophets and priests from the Bible as
reasons why Brigham Young practiced plural marriage. Abraham, Abraham , Solomon, and a few others were
told by God to have many wives in order to produce righteous children of God. God . Solo was amazed and
he had never thought of those verses in the Bible. He was very humbled and sincere and full of of
apologies for his behavior. He asked if could come over and spend the night with his family. family.
Nothing
Noth in g much was said that night, but he was in deep thought. Early the next moming morning Solo
woke up early, rolled up the door that was made of leaves, and started sobbing. His wife awoke and
wondered what had happened to him. him . He then told her that he had made up his mind. He had finally
found the light for which wh ich he had been searching for the past seven years. It seemed like everythi everythingng
made sense from what he had heard that night. They both broke down and cried, and then he blurted blu rted
out that he would like to be baptized into the church because he knew deep down in his hi s heart that
th at this
was the true gospel.
 99

They continued
continued crying in happiness together. They sent for for Elder
Elder Vaha'i
Vaha'i Tonga to come and
baptize him,
him , although
altho ugh he was afraid
afraid and feltfelt sad that hishi s relatives
relatives would disown
di sown him. He was more
than
than happy to be be together
together with his
hi s loving little
littl e family
famil y once again and in in this
thi s wonderful
wonderful new faith
fai th that
was strongly budding within him. him . They decided to to reside
reside close to our
ou r home. They had come across
some very bad bad times. They often
often ran
ran out of of food,
food , and sometimes a kind kind neighbor
neighbor would
wou ld share their
food with them,
with them , and sometimes
sometimes we would go without so the mother and the
the ch ildren would have
children
something to eat.
It was a very dry season. The drought was so bad, bad , that for six months we would share only onl y
about a gallon of of water a day for food, bath and necessary things. things. We finally
finall y went to the adjo
adjoining
ining
village
vi llage to get water
water from the public cistern.
ci stern. But when the town officer officer found out that the Mormon
missionaries
mi ss ionaries were getting
getti ng water from the tank,tank , he was full of of hate for them and he would lock up the
tank at night
night because that was when we could go. go . But somehow the good Lord always provided prov ided us
with
wi th another way and means of of survival.
When we heard that the apostle George Albert Smith was to visit Tonga, we asked President Pres ident
Dunn ifif we could
coul d return to Tongatapu
Tongatapu to be at the conference. That is when we left Niuafo'ou and after
the conference were reassigned
reass igned elsewhere.
el sewhere..

BLESSING OF MISSIONARY WORK

Samuela
o; me
ne day my missionary
mi ssionary companion,
companion , Samuela Vehekite was very

Sam uela to see if he would go tracting.

tractin g. To my surprise
velY sick with the flu

surpri se 1I found
found that
flu.. I couldn't
Ofind anyone to go trading with me that day, so I walked from Fo'ui to Fahefa looking for
find anyone to go tracting with me that day, so I walked from Fo'ui to Fahefa looki ng for
that Samuela's
Samuela's wife
wife ni
Disapesi hadJust
sapesi had just
given birth to twin girls, and Samuela could hardly hardl y walk.
IT sa
said,
id , "I need your help and I need a missionary companion.. How about coming with me?
mi ss ionary companion
We need to go tracting. The Lord will take care of you." So Samuela slowly got up. His legs were
still shaking, but he put oonn his hi s shirt, then picked up his scriptures.. We walked to Ha'akame, then to
hi s scriptures
Ha'alalo and then to Utulau.
Utul au . We preached from door to door. When nightfall came we retumed returned home
Samuela
and Sam ue la was completely healed.

IOHANI AND MOTULALO TONGA AT NUKUNUKU

mene day I went out with a missionary companion

mi ssionary compani on named Motulalo Tonga to visit at
O Nukunuku village.
vi ll age. We found a well
well known person named Fisi
Fisi'ihoi and asked if we
' ihoi and we could
could
W
spend a little i
littl e time with him and his family
hi s fam il y about the church.
Fisi'ihoi
Fi si' ihoi didn't like
li ke the missionaries at all. He kicked us out. I spoke to Fisi'ihoi to please
lilisten
sten what the Savior told us in the Baal:
Book ofMatthew 10:11-16: Verily I say unto you, it shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day ofjudgment judgment than for that city.
c ity. Behold,
Behold, I[ sent
you
yo u forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as as serpents and harmless as doves.
doves.
100

In less than the twinkle of an eye after

after Motulalo Tonga read those verses Fisi Fisi'ihoi
' ihoi said,
sa id, "Go
on in and visit my wife, I have changed my mind."
mind ." The missionaries went inside.
The minute II opened my mouth, this lady didn't give me aa chance
chance to to speak.
speak. She
She was
was very
very rude,
rude,
took her Tongan broom, and hit hi t us in our faces and chased us oout of
ut of her home. We left. There are
many times missionaries have to put up with some experiences like Like this. The
this . T he more the people hated
the church, the more the missionaries
miss ionaries wanted them to know of its truthfulness
truthfulness and become a part of
it.

lOHANI'S
IOHANI'S CARPENTRY SKILL

w
W • •
r
hen
hen I had a littie

c
little time from my family and church activities
community helping build up school
other projects at Neiafu, Vava'u.
schools,
activities,, I was always out in the
s, churches, private homes, businesses, cisterns, and
Vava ' u. I wanted the three oldest children to leam learn to speak English.
Engli sh. The
Catholic
Catho lic School was the only
on ly one that taught English
Engli sh at Vava'u at this time. Malina, Ana and their
brother Sale were sent to school at Neiafu Neiafu.. They wouldwou ld walk five miles each direction every day to
school along with me as a protector and their Sanft Sanft cousins. I would work while whi le the children were at
school. I worked for the Catholic school school,, built housing for the nuns and priests, repaired the statue
of Jesus,
Jesus, Mary, and and others, helped design their sheds, sheds, trays and bread tins, and enlarged
enlarged their kitchen
area and
area and their cistern in
their cistern in exchange
exchange for for his
his children's school tuition.
children's school tuition.
Epikopo Tifinio from Ma'ofanga
Ma'ofanga became my good friend. The nuns and priests from the
Catholic
Catho lic Church loved and respected me because they found me a very honest and trustworthy
Mormon. Even the priests and the nuns from Houma, Tongatapu came and asked I if he would help
out with their school, which 1 did.
I did.
A Catholic member from Pangaimotu heard and saw my work for the Catholic Church and
asked me if IJ could build him a house, a kitchen, kitchen , and a cistern. This I did and the Haus Hausia familyy was
ia famil
very grateful. In exchange they brought us mats, tapa cloths, a ton of ufi 41 and yams at Vava Vava'u.' u.
The Government
Govemment representative asked me if I cou couldld build the Post Office, plus an en enlargement
largement
to the courthouse and a new copra board house at the wharf, whaIf, and I did that too.
My cousins Rudolph and Taupea Tupou Sanft Sanft were living at Neiafu
Neiafu and wanted me to build bu ild
them a two story house, a kitchen and a cistern. I worked really hard and finally fin all y finished
fin ished that home.
Church families from NeiafuNeiafu,, Fifialoa
Fifialoa and Namosi
Namos i Topou and Tonga and Ana Poteki came and asked
me to build
bui Id their homes too. I completed those homes al also.
so.
The manager of of the Burns Phillips Co. needed a copra house to bake and store all their copra
on the Island of of Fofoa,
Fofoa, a four hour sai saill by sea. I built and completed that. The Morris Hedstrom
Company had me build another building for the storage of of their copra at Neiafu.
Neiafu. I built buiit a home fo forr
cousin,, Sueni Guttenbeil. I was asked by the government
a cousin govemment if! if I would build a primary school and also
housing for workers and their families.
My uncle Otto Gustav Sanft Sanft had me design and build the first first bus to transport the people
around Vava'u.
Vava ' u. He also asked if I would design and build the very first theater for the people of
Vava'u.
Vava ' u. So my fami family
ly was moved from Ha'alaufuli
Ha ' alaufuli to Neiafu so they could cou ld be ccloser
loser to my work.work .
 101
101

Uncle Otto let us build aa small

small house on on top of aa wharf owned by the Wolfgramm family who used
to
to transport their copra from smaller rafts to aa big ship that came from Hamburg, Germany or
Australiaa for the copra exporting.
Australi
I1remember
rememberone onetime
timeaa large
largeship
shiparrived
arrivedatatNeiafu
Neiafu,, Vava'u
Vava'ucarrying
carryingequ
equipment andsupplies
ipmelll and supplies
for builders at Vava'u but unable to unload it because the wharf and sea was too shallow for the ship
to come in
to in any closer for unl
unloading.
oading. They sought me out to to see if I could help them
them,, or find a way
to get their heavy eq
to equipment
uipment and lumber off the ship. ship.
Sure enough, I was guided to to tie some empty barrelsbarrel s together with heavy ropes,
ropes, and made a
raft. All thi
thiss was done by man power. II also bui built
lt aa hoist
hoi st to move and lift tons of heavy equipment
and timber to the wharf because there was no no way to lift it by hand.
hand.
I used the shore line to level off more than than 40,000 square feet of building from start to finish. finish.
No one knew how I did it without using a level or transit. I relied on the Lord to solve problems that
men could not do, so I was able to help the Government
Govemment out that day. day. The ship had been ready to leave
Neiafu harbor without unloading their equipment and timber. Thanks to the gu guidance
idance and help from
above for giving me the opportunity to help out.
1947:1I did the same. When Queen Salote found out what had happened to her people when
1947:
the volcano erupted on the Island ofNiuafo'ou,
of Niuafo'ou, she sent a ship to bring them back to Tongatapu. One
of the chiefs asked me to go with them so I could help them load up these people. There is no wharf wharf
in Niuafo'ou where a ship could come close to pick up the passengers. Again I used the knowledge
that the Lord had given me at Vava'u.
V.ava ' u. I was able to apply it the same way with the empty barrels for
the people of Niuafo'ou
Niuafo'ou and they finally got to the boat and to Tongatapu safe safely.
ly.

HOME MADE CAR

By lohani
Iohani Wolfgramm

Hal~loto
bout 1942 during World War II we were transferred to work as missionaries in the Halaloto
A branch. There were quite a few members there who lived nearby. Some came from
Ha'akame, some from Tokomololo. Some Fijians came from another village also named Halaloto of of
the Fijian.
Fijian. It was a beautiful
beautiful and lovely place to come home to because my wife Salote, and her
grandmother Ateleita Fakatou used to live there with her Uncle Samuela and Helene Fakatou at
Halaloto also called Mapelu. My younger brother Walter Phillip and a younger sister Martha, also
were raised by these two kind and loving people, my wife's aunt and uncle.
My family didn't
didn ' t own any horse or buggy. Everywhere we went we would walk. One day we
were invited to go out to another village called call ed Nukunuku for my cousin Marie Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm's 's
wedding.
wedd ing. I tried to find a horse or buggy for our transportation that day. My wife and I had eight
children at this time, plus one missionary companion named Samuela Vehikite. With my wife and I
there were eleven
e leven of
of us all together. It was almost ten minutes before
before one o'clock that aftemoon,
afternoon , and
the wedding
weddi ng was at six o'clock
o'clock that evening.
102

As I was searching for some way to travel, Isaw I saw this U.S. Navy garbage truck drive up to dump
their
thei r garbage
oarbaoe each day in an area near the Fakatou home at Halaloto. A thought came to my mind right
'"
then, why not '" try to build
buil d a home-made car? I hurriedly
hurried ly ran over to the dump yard and was surprised
to find all these pieces of rods, irons, tin cans, and barrel lids. I started to gather all I could find and
took them home. I gathered lots of coconut cocon ut husks and coconcoconut shells.
ut she ll s. I bumed
burned all the wires,
wi res, irons,
steel, tin cans together. When they tumed turned red hot I started to form
fornl my motor. While very hot, I shaped
parts ofof my car from this thi s by twisting them around until finally I had the body of my car fOlm formed.
ed. I
added a steering-wheel and took a red hot piece of pipe and twisted it into a piece pi ece that would control
the steering-wheel. 1I cut the bottom part of of a barrel,
banel, and created fou fourr wheels for my car. I built the
top like
li ke a Tongan Fale. Cloths were hung around it to look like a curtain. I had started at 11:00 :00 p.m.
and at 5:00 p.m.p.m . that eveni
evening ng my home-made car was ready to go.
I took the car out to the middle of the road to try it out. It was beautiful. I came home and told
everyone they need not worry wony anymore. We now owned the first home-made car in Tonga, and it
would
wou ld run without gasoline. I only used my feet back and forth with a foot foot pedal and pulleys to move
the wheels and a rope to control control the steering when we went up or down a hill. By seven o'clock that
evening we arrived at Nukunuku and the next moming morning we came back to Halaloto.
A few weeks later we attended a conferenceconference at Makeke College; It It's
's about 8 miles from
Halaloto.
Hala loto. Our small car would take the whole fam family.
il y. My missionary companion
compan ion and I had a lot of of
use out of our car; we traveled all over Tongatapu.
One day Samuela and I had need to travel to Nukualofa. As we alTived arrived in our little car, we
were seen by some U.S. Marines, who had just arrived arri ved on their leave from fig fighting
hting on some of the
Islands of the South Pacific. They wanted to see what kind of car we were riding on. They asked ifif
we would share with them. We let them take our car out for rides, and seemed to have a lot of fun,
riding in a car that ran without gasoline. A business man named Vilikoka, saw the marines dri driving
ving
around, and was amazed to see how it ran. After they retumed returned our car to us, we to drove down by the
beach at Ma'ofanga to attend the weddi weddingng of one of our relatives.
relatives . Hola Mataele was going go ing to marry
a European. We drove straight to Tifonio's home. He was a Catholic priest. He also came out and
asked us how we built that th at car. After explaining to him, we decided to go back to Halaloto because
we didn't
didn ' t have any lights for the car. That small car took us to all of our church meetings, meetings. the
conferences,
conferences, missionary
mi ss ionary work, etc. We used it for loading food from the bush, took the family famil y for
picnics at the beach, also to watch American movies at the soldier soldier's
's headquarters.
Finally our mission
mi ss ion came to an end, and I gave·my
gave my younger brother Walter that home-made car. car.
We left for the North Island Group called Vava'u. Vava ' u. When we retumedreturned in 1947 the little car was still sti ll
there, but the wheel was broken. We appreciated the U.S. Army Anny letting us use some of it's it 's irons, rods,
rods,
steel, etc. with which we built our home-made car. Without these materials to provide us with our
transportation, we might mi ght have had a much more difficult
difficu lt time the last few months month s of our mission.
 103

CARL WEISS, LABOR MISSIONARY

lohani recorded these
/h ese stories
s/ories of Elder Weiss and we fee
feell that they
they are il1leresting
interesting enough toto
be put with llohani's they touched him deeply.
ohan;' s writings inasmuch as /hey lOuched him deep ly. Elder Weiss was labor
Weiss was a labor
missionary sent 10
to work on Liahona in the calls/ruction
construction stage. He had a grown family
fami ly at home..
atllOme

ITEM I: 1: Carl Weiss tellstell s of his

hi s father 1950-1951
1950-1951
1turning
turnin g point for my fami family ly to turn the hearts to their fathers was when Elder Carl Wei Weiss
A -came
came to Tonga as a labor missionarymissIOnary from Zion. ZIOn. At a speci
specialal genealogy
genea logy class he was our
ss

guest speaker. He related several miracles that happened to him or his hi s family
famil y during hi hiss life in
Gernlany.
Germany.
He started by telling
te lling us that hishi s father was Hemy
Henry Weiss.
Wei ss. He heard the gospel in N Nuremberg,
uremberg,
Germany in 1909 and accepted it with all his hi s heart. As he studied both before and after his hi s baptism,
bapti sm,
he leamed
learned the principle of salvation for the dead, but was not actively interested in it. He felt that he
had plenty of time for the work to be done in the years ahead after he reached Zion.
In the World War: When the World War I came, Elder Henry Weiss was among the first
German recruits drafted drafted.. As he left for the th" fro nt, his son Carl handed him a little
front, li ttle pocket Bible, asking
him to always carry it with him. him . From it he frequently explained to his comrades the principles of the
gospel as restored through the prophet Joseph Sm ith. Some few listened
Smith. li stened to the message but others
jeered at it or ignored it.
A Miraculous Escape: Once Qnce as he entered a battle in Germany, he felt a sudden impress impression ion to
take the Bible out of the lower right light hand pocket of his hi s uniform where he always can-ied carried it, and put it
in the upper left left hand pocket of his coat. No sooner had he done so than shrapnel exp loded in the
exploded
midst of his hi s group of soldiers and tore through their ranks, killing many of them around him. him . One
jagged piece of of shrapnel
shrapnel, , red hot and with razor sharp edges, about four inches long, pierced the tunic
at his breast with terrific impact and hurled him a considerable distance.
Unconscious, he was carried to a field fie ld hospital. When hi hiss tum came to be examined, they
fou nd that his
found hi s arm was shattered, and protruding protrud ing from his breast was the jagged piece of shrapnel.
When he regained consciou officer showed him the piece of shrapnel and the Bible,
sness his superior officer
consciousness
and told him that except for the Bible he would have been instantly killed.
A Message from Malachi: In the hospital he underwent eleven operations on his hi s left arm
arm.. It
was paralyzed and the attending physician told him that he would be helpless as long as he lived.
Imagine his hi s angui sh of mind and body as he lay there contemplating the future. He thought of his
anguish hi s
fam
familyily at home, his wife and a number of small children ch ildren whose fate and happiness depended upon his hi s
own life or death. For eight months he lay there too ill iII for 'sspeech
peech or motion.
One day he remembered his hi s Bible and called for it. it. Pa infully tuming
Painfully turning the leaves,
leaves, he was
was curious
curious
as to how far the point of the shrapnel had actuall actuallyy penetrated.
penetrated . To his hi s amazement he saw that it
stopped exactly on chapter 4 of Malachi and the words Behold I will send you Elijah the Ihe prophet
before theIhe coming of the greal
ofthe great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn Ihe
ofthe the heart otlhefalhers
of the fathers
/heir children, and the heart ofthe
to their of the children to their fathers,
fathers, lest I{come
come and smite the earth with a
curse jumped out at him.
104

A sudden conviction entered his hi s soul to its very depths. Now he knew the meaning meanin g of of the
passage. He realized
reali zed why his hi s life had been spared by the slightest margin, margin , and he had been kept from
the world of spirits
sp iri ts where his father and mother and loved ones were gathered, where they were no
doubt pleading for him to understand and take up a labor in their behalf to bring them more complete
happiness,, which
happiness whi ch coucould onlyy be done in the temple in Zion.
ld onl
He lifted up hi his voice
s vo ice in covenant with his maker promising that if his hi s life should
sho uld be spared
and his
hi s health restored and his paralysispara lysis removed, he would wou ld devote a major portion of of his
hi s life to the
work of sa salvation
lvation and redemption of his hi s dead kindred. As he made this thi s covenant, the spirit of peace
entered his sosoul.
ul.
Healed by bv the Priesthood: He ppleaded leaded with his hi s nurse and the hospital
hosp ital authorities that a Latter-
day Saint elder might be sent to bless him by the power ofthe of the priesthood. He begged to have President
Angus J. Cannon, who was presiding over the German Mission, notified by telegraph of his hi s condition
and request that he come and adm administer
inister to him. President
Pres ident Cannon received the telegram and came
immediately.
immediate ly. By the laying on of hands, by authority of ofthe
the priesthood, Elder Weiss was immediately immed iately
healed and in a short time in a most wonderful way regained his old-timee health and vigor. After
hi s old-tim After he
retumed
returned home, he spen spentt every spare moment from his hi s trade among the parish pari sh registers and in
govemment
government record offices offices searching out his hi s kindred dead, in order to discharge his obligation
hi s obli gation to them.
Because he was a soldier, every fac facility
ility was opened to him in his hi s search. Tirelessly and
faithfully
faithfull y he labored between the years 19 191818 and 1923.
1923. By this thi s time he had gathered the names of
3,000 ancestors of of his
hi s own kindred and had carefully carefully arranged them in pedigree and family group
form.
fo ml. Di
In addition
add iti on he had gathered out 30,000 names for poor German saints of his hi s neighborhood and
acquaintances.
acq uai ntances.
Labor in the TempTemple: le: After
After emiemigrating
grati ng to Zion, Elder Henry Weiss utilized utili zed every opportunity
to attend the Temple and assist in bringing salvation within withi n the reach of his h is departed kindred. As the
ordinances were compl completed,
eted, they were recorded with exactness in his hi s voluminous
volum inous record book. He
labored through the day and then in the even eveninging with his own fami family.ly. His married chi children
ldren and their
spouses
spou ses went regularly to the House of the Lord.
An Unusual Dream: So grateful grateful was he to the Lord for life, health, health , and happiness that he
volunteered
vol unteered for a short-term mission miss ion to the northwestem
northwestern States. T Thehe day before he was to retum return home
from his mission, his
hi s mi ss ion , hi s wife in Salt Lake City had an unusual dream.
dream . She saw a wide valley and in the
valley a great concourse of people gathered and were in earnest eamest and animated conversation. At their
head,
head , evidently their
the ir leader, was a person dressed in the costume of an an old-time schoolmaster. A little
farther
Farther away she saw her father-in-law
father-in-law Henry Wei Weiss.
ss. He had died just after after hearing the gospel from
an elder of the Church. The school master approached him and said said,, "We have heard that upon earth
some labor
some has been
labor has been performed
performed in in our
our behalf
behalf which
which willwil l bring us great
bring us great happiness.
happiness. Can Can you
you tell
tell us
us about
about
it"
father-in-law
The father-in -law answered ''I'm "I'm sorry, but I cannot. I only onl y heard of the gospel once before I
died. You should have my son son,, Henry Weiss,
Wei ss, here as a missionary.
mi ssionary. He cou couldld tell you all about that."
th at."
It was decided among the group to get up a petition asking for Henry Weiss We iss to be called to the spirit
world on a mission
mi ss ion to preach to his hi s numerous kindred.
 105

Completing his Record:

Record : When she awoke the next morning she was deeply concerned
concemed as to the
meaning of her dreamdream.. He husband retumed.
returned. He seemed in good health and two days after hi hiss arri
arrival
va l
resumed hishi s regular business and church duties. At the first opportunity, she related her dream to him.
him .
He said,
He said, ""It seems to refer to me, and
It seems and I suppose
suppose it means that I should
should redouble my efforts
efforts to gather
gather
more of my relatives."
relatives ."
The family noticed that as the weeks went by he spent a great deal of time checking
checkin g over all
his
hi s records, see
seeing
ing if any names had been omitted and if all baptisms,
bapti sms, endowments, and seasealings
lings had
been completed. He prepared a Book of Remembrance
Rem emhrance record of hishi s life that was most cred
creditable
itabl e
containing among other fa faith
ith promoting experiences, the war time incident
inc ident related above.
Called
Call ed Home: About six months after after his
hi s retum,
return , his health was impaired and he suffered
suffered much
pain. When he consulted a doctor, and X-ray showed that he he had
had cancer.
cancer. AnAn immedi
immediateate operation was
advised. When the operation was performed, perfonned, the examination showed the cancer had already pervaded
his
hi s stomach and reached his hi s spine. But Henry Weiss, not knowing his condition,
hi s serious cond ition, had high
hi gh
hopes of a speedy recovery. On Onlyly a few mornings
mornin gs later, on Februaiy
February 1,1932,
I , 1932, as a nurse adjusted
adjusted his
bed, he tumed
turned over on his hi s side and in an instant he was gone.
The Interpretation of ofthe
the Dream: Flis wife
Dream : Eis wife,, Marie W. Weiss, wrote these words after after his death..
hi s death
"The interpretation ofthe
of the dream is very clear to me now. My husband's father was the last one who
died
di ed in his familyy without
hi s famil w ithout having
havi ng accepted the gospel. The oldest man, man , dressed like
li ke a schoolmaster,
was the earliest ancestor on our pedigree chm1 chart who immigrated in 1620 from Siles Silesia
ia into Bavaria as
a soldier and school teacher. The gospel had to be preached to them and so they looked fo forr someone
in mortal life to be called on a missionmi ssion over to the spispirit
ri t world to instruct them.
them . My husband
hu sband was the
only
on ly one out of a family of 15 ch children
ildren to hear the gospel
gospel message and accept it, and was ready to go
over as a missionary
mi ssionary to his father's
hi s father 's household and preach to his hi s own kindred in the spirit world the
glad tidings of
glad ofthe gospel. Thi
the gospel. Thiss is
is my testimony, that sometimes
sometimes when my heart aches aches in longing for for
my
my husband,
husband , the
the dream
dream is is aa solace
solace and comfort to
and comfort to me,
me. aa source
source of
of faith
faith and
and hope from which
hope from whi ch II get
get
renewed strength to
renewed strength go forward.
to go fo rwm·d. II cancan see clearly that
see clearly that he
he was
was the only one
the only one that
that was
was able
able toto go
go and
and do
do
this
this great and glori
great and glorious
ous work
work for for his
hi s people."
people."
After all the members heard Brother Carl Weiss tell us of his father's experiences, E
After Elder
lder EErmel
nnel
J. Morton was the translator, there was no one in that whole building that could hold back the tears.
Their heart had been touched. Again the spirit bore witness to all of us that the things Elder Carl
Weiss related to us were true.

B: Carl Weiss
ITEM II: Wei ss heals
heal s Walter 1950
When my son Walter was about three years old a GennanGerman labor missionary named Carl Wei
Weiss
ss
came to help build Liahona HiHigh
gh School. He was a very spiri spiritual
tual man. We often found him goi
going
ng
inside an unfinished building, on his
hi s knees, offering a long prayer to our Heaven
knees , offering Heavenly
ly Father.
At one time Walter was suffering
suffering from a big boil between his legs, causi
causing
ng him much pain.
pain .
I decided to call on Brother Weiss administer
Wei ss to come and adm ifJi ster to young Walter.
Brother Weiss asked all the small children to form a littl
little circle around
e circle around Walter and
and for the
the oolder
lder
children
chi ldren and adults to stand just behind
beh ind Walter. I annointed the oil and Brother Weiss offered the
Wei ss offered
prayer and blessing
bless ing and promised
prom ised Walter, through the faith of his fam family
ily and all the chi
children
ldren united
106

together,
lOgether, including his hi s faith, that our Heavenly Father wouldwou ld bless Walter. He asked that the very
next moming
morning that all the infection and pus that caused his suffering
suffering would be loosed and would cause
his
hi s boil to open up and drain away all the infection.
infection . By the power ofofthe
the priesthood,
pliesthood, Walter would be
able
ab le to use his
hi s legs to be well
wel l and continue to lO walk and play with his brothers and sisters very Soon. soon.
Many blessings were given to lO Walter at that time. T The
he prayer came to an end. Brother Weiss
told
lOld us the reason why he had all the small children chi ldren circle around Walter was because through their
faith, Heavenly Father can hear their the ir prayers. He usually gives them answers to lO their prayers.
The very next moming
morning Walter tried to crawl over to Salote. He took one step forward and the
boil broke. All the infection came out like he was promised. Walter started to walk and play with us
as the blessing had promised.

LABOR MISSIONARIES AND LIAHONA COLLEGE

COLLEGE

1 mission conference was held in 1947. Elder Mathew Cowley asked for a few skilled
mi ss ion conference
A-carpenters to measure and lay the comer stone for the newly approved Liahona church
carpenters lO measure and lay the comer SlOne for the newl y approved Liahona church
college.
co llege. I along with
wi th Simote, Fusitu'a and Efalame Wolfgramm were called with a few others.
Salote and I and our eleven children came to lO Tongatapu. We ddidn't idn't have any money savedsaved,, but
knew the Lord would provide for our needs. Soon after after our arrival we built a Tongan Fale (house).
We enj
enjoyed
oyed our life there. We didn't receive any pay for our work, but the Church allowed a cup
of flour for each member of of the family,
family, a bar of soap, a little sugar, and a good piecep iece of meat tolO
make some soup or use some other way for the family meal. The older children were able to lO
attend the college;
coll ege; and the younger ones had to walk to the Fatal Fatai village for Primary school. It was
very hard not having any money to buy a loaf loaf of bread for the younger children or for school
lunches, or perhaps a piece of material
material for their school cclothes.
lothes.
The college
co llege operated a plantation where we could go and ccut ut copra. For this
thi s work we
would receive
rece ive six pence for each box ful of of coconut meat (about 100 to 150 pounds of of copra).
Salote and I would sneak out quietly at 3:00 a.m. while the children were fast fast asleep and walk one
and a half miles to Loto'api, an area where they could cut copra to make a little money for the
family.
family . They would usually fill 10 boxes then walk the mile and a half half miles back home, arriving
there around 7:30 a.m. I would
wou ld then get ready fo forr my regular
regul ar job at the coll
college.
ege.
The children
chi ldren would
wou ld awaken early and fix a big pot of topai lOpai (mixed dough,
dough , coconut milk and
sugar) or Tonga cake and have it prepared for the family. We would wou ld have our fami
family
ly prayers and
then go our separate ways to work, school, etc.
All the labor missionaries would gather together at the sound ofthe of the big bell at 8:00 a.m.
a.m.,,
then the school bell would ring at 8:30 a.m a.m.... The labor missionaries would go inside and have a
spiritual talk,
spiritual talk , song and prayer before they started to work on the building.
bui lding. This was the daily
routine. We also constructed a large dOlm dorm for the single labor missionaries, and a separate kitchen
with a man and wife to lO do the cooking for them. Their clothing was sent over to the school to lO be
washed and ironed by femalefema le students. These single men were good L.D.S. L.D.S . members and would
abide with the rules set up for them. They had high moral standards standards..
 107

couple
A lovely coup le from the United States who were working in New Zealand, were
transferred
tran sferred to work in Tonga by Matthew Cowley. Brother Lionel and Sister Norma Going served
as a labor missionary leader and Norma, hishi s wife, taught schoo
schooll at Liahona college.
col lege. He had been a
successful farmer. He was taught early in hishi s youth.
youth . When he arrived in Tonga
Tonoa he brought
brouolll
b '"
vegetable seeds and eggs ready to hatch and started raising ch chickens.
ickens. He planted a lot ofof
vegetables and potatoes in his garden. He was in charge of ofthe
the missionary
mi ss ionary food for each family
family
daily. He would go and milk cows and share this milk with the families who needed it for their
babies. He did all this while working as a labor missionary.

MATTHEW COWLEY'S HELP

ITEM I Matthew Cowley's Cow ley's First Visit 1947/1948

'issionary
issionary work in Tonga was ~as very hard, especially
espec ially with what the mission
mi ss ion president had
M:
M -to
to put up with.
With . Many missionaries
miSSionaries from ZIOnZion were willing
Willing to come and serve, but the
Govemment refused to grant an entry
Tongan Government t'ntry visa for them. In fact
fact,, President Huntsman requested
the leaders in Zion that Elder John Laycock be transferred to another mission miss ion while Elder
Rudolph Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm and his wife Edna remain in Tonga. Hi Hiss request was granted. The Government
Govemment
would on only
ly let a new missionary in when one was being released.
Hunts~an came to see President Emil Dunn offatFua
The day President Huntsman off at Fua'amotu
'amotu airport, he was
coming
com ing back by Makeke College and drove in to check out how the students were doing there. After
seeing what little {ufi, rara)
li ttle food (uji, taro) some of the students were eating, he decided to write church
headquarters for more money to see about building a new and better school for the Tongan students students..
While waiting for a reply, he began to search search,, pray, and check out new areas.
Around February that year President Evon W. Huntsman, Elder Lidell Roberts and E Elder
lder
Rudolph Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm had been around looking for a piece of land for the new school. They had
offered many prayers with all their might, mind and all that they had,
offered had , asking the Lord for his hi s help in
find ing
finding a new land where he would like the students of Tonga to live and receive an education and be
taught the gospel. They were about to buy a land close to Makeke owned by the Seventh Day
Adventist Church, but after meeting with Samuela Fakatou who was teaching at Makeke College at
the time, he told the committee that if they would wou ld come with him back to Halaloto he would show
them another piece of of land.
Samuela Fakatou told them that there was a very special and beautiful piece of land with rich
soil , abo
soil, ut 276 acres in area belonging to Frank Cowley. 150 acres are in coconut palms, about 70
about
acres are tropical forest, including 70 head of cattle, 9 horses, and 3 buggies, and it is up for lease right
now, the price $10,000. I'm sure after they saw that land, land , they all felt that this was going to be the new
land that they had been looking for. for.
On April 14 Pres. Huntsman received
On April 14 Pres . Huntsman received aa telegram
telegram from
from the
the church
church leaders
leaders from
from Salt
Salt Lake
Lake City,
City,
Utah approving their request, saying, We welcome your request for the
Utah approving their request, saying, We welcome your request for the church to buy or lease church to buy or lease
Cow
Cowley'sley's land
land andand everything therein.
everything therein.
108

With humble hearts and gratitude to the Lord, the request for the land lease was accepted.
President
Pres ident Huntsman went to Havea Tu' Tu'iha'ateiho,
iha'ateiho, the minister of land and bought the lease. The
Cow ley's land belonged to the chu
papers were signed and Cowley's rch-at least the remaining 20 years left on
church-at
the lease.
At that same time Elder Matthew Cowley, a member of the Twelve apostles, was assigned to
preside over all the missions
mi ssions in the South Pac ific. About June 15,1947, Matthew Cowley
Pacific. Cow ley visited with
Havea Tu ' iha'ateiho to make sure the land that the church was about to lease could be renewed after
Tu'iha'ateiho
1961 expiration date.
the 1961
After visiting with the students ofMakeke
of Makeke they prepared a welcome for the apostle along with
mi ss ionaries and the mission
other missionaries miss ion president,. E lder Cow
Elder ley wanted to see the new area and check it
Cowley
out for himself. He felt right about the decis ion , and went back to Nuku'alofa
decision, Nuku'alofa and sent a telegram to
Church headquarters to send the money to Frank Cowley's Cow ley's bank in New Zealand.
There was a conference held from May 22"d 22nd to May 29'h,
29th, 1947 at which Elder
1947 E lder Matthew
Cowley
Cow ley expressed his love for the Tongan people and brought a message of greeting and love from
the First Presidency of ofthe
the church to each and everyone there.
He told the peop
peoplele to continue to pray and fast that the Tongan Government might open the
doors for missionaries to come and bless their lives. li ves. He encouraged them to pay their tithing, and let
them know that the leaders in Zion Z ion love them. The gift that the Lord had given them was a gift gift from
those who had given their tithing to the Lord, Lord , allowing the church to lease the land fo forr the saints in
Tonga and for non-members also.
He also spoke of of how happy he was to look down upon our faces and let us know that we are
descendants o/NEPHI
of NEPHI in the Book of Mormon Mormon.. We were so surprised. All this time, we were told
that we were lazy Lamanites by Semisi Taumoepeau, a teacher assigned to work closely with Tonga
Toutai. After
After that conference
conference we were very, very happy.
At this conference,
conference, E Elder
lder Matthew Cowley asked Pres. P res. Huntsman
Hu ntsman for the best carpenter in
Tonga. Pres. Huntsman told him that lohani Otto Wolfgramm of Ha'alaufuli, Efalame Carl
Wolfgramm of Koloa, and Simote Fusitu'a Fusitu 'a from Taia, also Sosaia Napai Hola for the lotoapi (place
where copra is made), and Samuela Fakatou for the agriculture at the new school, school , were the best.
After
After this conference I told Elder Cowley that I would be more than happy to serve this
thi s conference
mission,
mi ss ion , but my eyes had cataracts. Elder Cowley said, "There is no problem lohani. After the
meeting come to Matavaimo'ui
Matavaimo ' ui (mission home) and I'll give you a blessing." I continued saying that
there were other problems. I told him that some of my cousins had been taken to Makonga, Fiji along
with people from Tefisi, thinking they had leprosy. Elder Matthew Cow Cowley "Don't' t worry, just
ley said, "Don
gather all your family or any that have afflictions
afflictions and come to Matavaimo'ui and your request will be
granted."
Elder Matthew Cowley made us feel at ease. The family fam ily was gathered together and walked wal ked
about a mile to Matavaimo'ui.
Matavaimo ' ui. After we gathered there he raised up his hi s hands and offered
offered a holy
prayer ofof faith and asked the Lord to open lohani lohani's 's eyes that he could carryon
cany on this new calling. He
blessed lohani
Iohani that he would never have need for glasses for the rest of his life and it happened as he
said. He also asked the Lord to bring an end to this thi s disease that had affl
afflicted
icted the family and that they
would suffer from it no more. During his
wou ld suffer hi s prayer, he said that if we lived the gospe gospell and paid a fu fullll
 109
109

tithing, the Lord would bless us, us, but if we fail

failed to do those things,
ed to things, the blessings wo would
uld not come to to
us. Here the Lord has blessed you with these beautiful islands of Tonga for you to dwell on. Even this
new piece of land has been given to to you
you.. Be grate
grateful and obed
ful and obedient all the
ient and keep all the gospel and laws
of God to your best abiability.
lity. Live it, now and in in the future that the Government
Govemment of Tonoa Tonga wiwill
ll be able
to find good honest leadership among you to help them.
to them. Thi '"
Thiss was done by the power of the
Melchizedek priesthood whi whichch he he held
ld and in the name of Jesus ChriChrist. feltlt the spirit so strong
st. We fe
there. The room was full of family members,
there.
I started helping the new mission president in in surveying for the new coll
college.
ege.
Ih
27 June 1947,
Later, 27'" 1947, Elder Matthew Cow Cowley said
ley sa id farewell to Queen Salote Tupou, to the
Crown Prince Tungi, and left for the airport at Fua'amotu. There were waiting about 600 members
to sing farewell songs and say good bye to Elder Matthew Cowley. We went with other members of
to of
Church.. The spirit was very strong. Our testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel was
the Church
strengthened.. We witnessed the healing given to us by God at the hands of his apostle and his
strengthened
priesthood power. Jesus C Christ
hri st lives and the Father also.
also. We know that the Holy Ghost helps us and
guides
gu ides us throughout our lives.
li ves . Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, as well as our prophet today. today.
We know that the Book of Mormon and the Bible and other writings of the church are
true. We love Elder Matthew Cowley. He was a man of God God.. He had a lot of faith.
faith . He helped bless
and heal the ssick.
ick. Many lives
li ves were restored. We received many blessings from God through him. him . We
express
ex press our love for the great church leaders from Zion, for sending send ing us missionaries, presidents, even
apostlee Matthew Cow
apostl Cowley
ley to love
lovv and teach us. us. We all said farewell and continued
cont inued sinsinging
ging until his
hi s
plane left for Samoa.

ITEM B:II: More of Matthew Cow Cowley's

ley 's Visit
President Evon W. W . Huntsman had just arrived in 1946 to preside over the Tongan Mission.
In 1947 Elder
Elder Matthew CowCowley came to
ley came to Tonga
Tonga toto visit.
visit. They
They brought
brought him
him over
over on
on aa little
little boat named
named
Lupe.
LlIpe. He retumed
returned in 1948 for another official
official visit.
I was once aga
again
in called to go back to Tongatapu. I was needed to help survey the land, and to
mark the boundaries for a new school to be built on the plantation that would be known as Liahona
High School. My cousin Efalame and my younger brother Walter were called to help also. President
Dunn later returned from America to help with construction.
The first thing they wanted me to build
bu il d was a heavy truck bed about eight feet long, another
anothe r
fourteen
fourteen feet
feet long. They wanted to use them for delivery
deli very of their cement, pipes, nails
na il s and materials
materia ls
for these new buildings.
buildings . The Tongan Govemment
Government made a big fuss over the length of of the truck, but
later agreed to permit them to build it for Liahona.
I had aalready
lready signed a contract with a cousin Otto Vai Sanft
Sanft to finish
fin ish his theater and a large bus
for his son Ralph to run. I discussed this thi s work with the mission president, while waiting for the
materials
material s to arrive from the United States. The President
President suggested I go back to Vava'u and finish the
work I had contracted for there. This I did.
I later retumed
returned to Liahona to continue with my call to serve. A well known business man from
Fo'ui
Fo'u i named Huni heard about Otto OttO Vai Sanft's
Sanft's passenger bus that I had built at Vava'u. He sent a
110

message to see if I could come and build him a passenger bus at Fo'ui. Fo'u i. So when I had a few hours or
Saturday off, off, I would ride down on my bike and build Huni Huni's 's passenger bus to operate in Tongatapu.
Tongatapu.
At Fua'amotu:
Fua ' amotu: There was a couple, Ukamea and Eseta Latu, Latu , who had been married for quite
some timelime and had waited a long time for a child, but had been unable to conceive. They heard about
Matthew Cowley com coming
ing to Tonga between a visit vis it to New Zealand in 1946- 1946-1947.
1947 . They came in a
horse and buggy to Makeke, but he had just barely left for Matavaimo'u Matavaimo'uii atN at Nuku'alofa,
uku 'alofa, 1515 miles
miles away.
away.
They again left Makeke to see President Cowley. When they arri arrived,
ved, they asked if he could lay his hi s
hands on them so they cou could
ld have some children. With the simpl simplee faith that they had, Matthew
Cowley gave them a blessing bless ing and told them the Lord wou wouldld bless them with children as long as they
continued to serve and keep the Lord's commandments. There will be a little gi girl
rl given to you and her
hands will be aa blessing for for her to work
work and serve
serve in the house of of the
the Lord when she she grows
grows up. After
up. After
the blessing
the they thanked
bless ing they thanked Brother
Brother Cowley
Cowley and and they
they left for Fua
left for Fua'amotu.
'amotu.
Nine months later Eseta had her first baby and it was a little girl, so they named her Kalotini Kalotini..
She grew until Brother Cowley Cow ley came back to Tonga on another conference and visited Kalotini. As
a Primary child she got up up and payed her tribute in a poem express expressing
ing their love for Brother Cowl Cowley ey
for
fo r the blessing
bless ing her parents had received. At the conference the Latu's expressed their love again to
Brother Cowley, a servant of God. Brother Cowley met the Latu's after the meeting. As Kalotini grew
BrotherCowley
up, her mother made sure that she was responsible for getting the tables, linens, and fresh flowers for
the small Tongan hut that served their branch. Her mother thought that was her call, never dreaming
of aa temple
of temple yet.yet.
Kalotini attended Liahona high hi gh school. There she gained a testimony, and and wh
while became
ile there became
one ofofthe
the best seamstresses. AfterAfter she graduated, she met a returned labor missionaiy, missionmy, Sifa Fatani of
Kolonga and they later married. They were one of the first couples who were ca called
lled to work in the
Tonga Temple. They later immigratedimmi grated to the United States. She worked in a Los Anglees hospital and
wanted to become a nurse, but a friend of theirs named Ana Tautala Langi Dca brought good
Ika brought good news
news and
and
told her that at the Los Angeles Temple they needed some help in about six month's time, so she coul couldd
apply for it now.
Kalotini
Ka lotini did that the very next day. The Los Angeles Temple called and wanted to hire her.
Kalotini asked Sifa about taking the job, and he said said,, "If the Lord needs you to work at His Hi s house
now,, that
now that's
's the th
thing
ing to do."
do." Kalotini worked there for some time, but a few years later they transferred transferred
to Salt Lake City, There they sent her to the Beehive Clothing Factory. Kalotini was di disappointed
sappointed for
not being given a job in in the temple.
temple. She called her supervisor and he told her to go to to the Boun
Bountiful
tiful
Temple. When she got there, they didn't didn ' t need her either. Then she later called her superv supervisor againn
isor agai
and was hired to work at the BountifulBountiful Temple for two and a half years.
Later arrangements were made for her to come and work at the Salt Lake Temple. Her
supervisor came and told KalotiniKalotini,, "I just want to express to you our love and let you know how many
people in the temple have been blessed by your hands, Kalotini. Kalotini . I was watching
watch ing how well your hands
help
he lp fold,
fo ld , mend holes, and replace buttons on the temple cclothing." lothing."
At that time her mind flashed back to the blessing bless ing Matthew Cowley had given her parents.
said,, "Now I can see, this was my mission
She said mi ss ion in life, to work in the House of the Lord Lord,, and now the
supervisor is grateful for my cal l. "
call."
 III
Ill

ITEM ill:
ITEM IB: Unseen Presence in Salt Lake City
1970 in
1I was at the
the Salt
Salt Lake
Lake Temple with with Salote for almost
almost half aa day
day in
in 1970.
1970. As
As soon
soon as
as I went
in I fe
in feltlt someone was with me.me. A Allll the way through my temple session I felt that someone was by my
side. It seemed to me that thi
side. thiss person was someone that I had met before. He spoke to me and told
me how happy he was to see me, how many people 1I had blessed by laying my hands on their head,
through the power of the priesthood of God made them whole again.
and t1lrough again. He continued on saying the
Lord was very pleased with all all my work on on this earth, also at the temple, and he will continue to bless
me with faith to accomplish my mission on thi thiss earth.
earth. At the end he reached up to my back and patted
me and told me how much he loved and appreciated me. me. As I looked up,
up, for a very short time, 1I saw
Elder Matthew Cow Cowley
ley by my sside,
ide, smiling at me.

ITEM IVTV:: Story of Makongai. Fiji Fiji,. the Leper Colony

A few years later, one cousin died at Makongai, Fiji, three cousins were retumed reLUmed to Vava'u,
the second doctor came in to check on the chi children
ldren and found out that those who were sent to
Makongai, Fiji from Vava'u Vava ' u were misdiagnosed
mi sd iagnosed with the disease. A few more were sent back to to Tefesi
Tefesi
from Makongai, Fiji who were also misdiagnosed. mi sdiagnosed. It was not leprosy, but some kind of muscular
problem where they didn didn't't have any feelings in their hands and feet. Too bad for these chi children
ldren and
young adu
adults,
lts, their lives
li ves and family reputation had been ruined by so many people in Tonga. The name
calling was outrageous. No one wanted to sit by them for fear that the family still had the disease,
without finding out the truth. Pepple People accused us by name calling
ca lling of some disease that our family never
had, from the beginning. I was so grateful to the Lord for sending his apostle to Tonga so others may
read this and
read this and have some tender
have some tender loving
loving hearts
hearts not
not to judge others,
to judge others, but
but call
call itit aa blessing
blessing from above, that
from above, that
through
through our
our faith,
faith , and
and prayers,
prayers, the
the Lord
Lord will
wi ll take
take care of our
care of our needs,
needs, if
if we
we choose
choose toto ignore
ignore those
those who
who
mocked and gossiped at those that were
mocked and gossiped at those that were sent away. sent away.

KA VA CIRCLE AT TE'EKIU
AN ILO KAVA
This story
s/Ory was told
laid by Salote
Salole Fakatou
Fakololl Wolfgramm
Wollgramm on their last
onlheir lasl mission to Tonga
missiol1lo TOllga in
ill 1980.

w;
W
r
hen we first arrived at the village of Te'ekiu we found the Tongan people
warm
warnl and made us feel welcome. One evening
"I am sent here by Motuapuaka,
Motuapuaka, Chief
Chief of
of Te'ekiu,
peop le there very
evenmg a young man came to our door and said,
Te 'ek iu, to invite you to join him with other invited
said ,
in vited guests
at a kava circle
c irc le to celebrate his birthday tonight."
tonight. " We accepted and thereafter
thereafter arrived at the home of of
Chief Motuapuaka. The house was packed with invited guests, friends,
ChiefMotuapuaka. friends , nobles, and chiefs.
chiefs. We looked
for a place to sit, but could
cou ld not find one. A beautiful
beautiful Tongan musical
musical number was being sung at that
time and the kava
kava circle
circ le was going on too.
As we looked around,
around , every place
place was taken except the one that should be occupied by the
special
spec ial invited high chief. When lohaniIohani saw that empty seat, he excused himself
himself and quietly walked
up and sat down on that spot. I decided to sit down next to the girl mixing the kava. In the middle of of
the floor
floor sat all those who were singing Tongan musical mu sical numbers together with Chief
Chief Motuapuaka.
MOLUapuaka.
112

A few minutes later one of ofthe chiefs

the chi efs spoke up and said, "To all all of you who are engaged at the
party, just make su sure
re that the seat you now occupy is the right ri ght seat for you. If you are not in your
rightful seat, I wish that th at you would move and let the rightful rightful heir have his seat.""
hi s seat.
No one moved. No one spoke up, just ignoring what they had just heard heard.. Again thi thiss malapu/e
matapule
spoke up and told to ld them the same thing and said, "We need to serve the kava soon soon,, but we need some
of you to make a few changes in your sitting positions, especially the one who is sitting at the head of
our kava ci circle."
rcl e."
When I heard that, I motioned to Iohani lohani and sa said, "lohani,, please get off
id , "Iohani off that seat because
everyone is waiting
wa iti ng fo forr you to leave so the chief from Mu'a Mu 'a can sit as head of the ccircle tonight.""
ircle tonight.
lohani spoke up and said to the matapule, "Oh, are you speaking directl directlyy to me to get off off this
seat?"
chief said, "Yes indeed. We need Ta'
The chief Ta'ito
ito to sit where you are sitting right ri ght now so we can
serve the kava as he is the chief chief ofM
of Mu'a."
u' a."
lohanii answered and spoke out to the chief and said
Iohan said,, "I am Afu Kaipouli,
Kaipouli , and am seated in my my
rightful
rightfu l seat as head of Mutuapuaka's birthday kava party. Please all allow
ow me to ex express
press this
thi s to you all
so you will
wi II know where you stand or sit at this th is kava party next time. Listen as I tell tel1 you thithiss story."
The first ruling
ru ling King of the Ha'a Tu Tuii Kanokupolu was named Ngata. T Thehe T Tui
ui Tonga used to
live at Mu'a, but no more. Now the T Tu'i
u'i Kanokupolu lilived ved here in the hihifo (western di district)
stri ct) and
they had their
thei r own chiefs and nobles. You almost forgot that when you come to Hihifo each di district
strict
and area has theirthe ir own chiefchief and nobles. Listen carefull carefullyy so 1I can explain why I am sitting in my
rightful space tonight."
The first king ofh of hihifo
ihi fo was Ngata, the Tui Tuikanokupolu.
kanokupolu . His son was Atamata'ila. Atamata'i la. His son was
Mataele T Tu'apiko,
u'apiko, and next to him was Vakafuhu. Vakafu hu. T They
hey took Vakafuhu to be a chief chief of Ha'aHa'alaufuli
laufuli
as they had no chief. The son of Vakafuhu Vakafuh u was Afu Afu Kaipouli and that's that ' s me speaking to you. Any of of
you ch
chiefs
iefs want to force
fo rce me off
off my seat as the rightful
rightful heir, speak out now.
One chief said, ""Excuse Excuse me, Afu Kaipouli, but 1I think Motuapuaka sho shoulduld be there."
lohani answered,, "Excuse me, don
[ohani answered don't' t you understand, when Motuapuaka'sMotuapuaka ' s grandfathegrandfatherr (Kui)
is present, Motuapuaka won't won ' t have the kava, but on onlyly his grandfather will have the kava,
hi s grandfather kava , not the
grandson."
Again the ch chiefs
iefs were furiou
furiouss about what they had heard and thought they should remove Afu
Kaipouli
Kaipou li from where he was sitting. sitting. lohani
[ohani looked out at one named Ta Ta'ito
' ito and said to him him.. "Ta'ito,
do you really
reall y know where you should be during an Uo Kaval If
flo Kava? If you don't
don't know
know,, I'll tell tell you.
you. ItIt is
is out
there at the kitchen door by the fire." fire ." The people began to laugh.
One man spoke out to Iohani lohani and said, "Please Iohani lohani,, explain why Ta ' ito should leave the Ilo
Ta'ito Uo
Kava and stay out by the fire. fire.""
"All right," loh lohani said,, "If you seriously want me to tell you the true story, here it is:"
an i said
Not too long ago there were three Samoan men who built bu il t a medium vessel to sail from Samoa
to Tonga. They heard a rumor that after a huge huge feast
feast at
at the
the royal
royal Tongan
Tongan palace,
palace, no no oneone is
is ever
ever allowed
allowed
to eat any food left over from the king's dinner. dinner, In m due time they arrived at Mu Mu'a. ' a.
News went out to the king about them them.. He invited them to his palace at Mu'a M u'a and asked why they had
come to Tonga. They told the king that they heard in Samoa about how much food was wasted after
 11
1133

king's
the king 's feasts, and decided to ask the king if it were true and if he would share that food with them.
them.
The king wanted to vi visit them.. We will have a kava and I'll give you new names, and later your
sit with them
place will be in the area by the fire and ashes where the food has been cooked.
cooked.
The King spoke to the first manman,, "Please tell
tell me what your responsibility was onon the ship on
your way from Samoa to Tonga."
He answered the King and said he was standing and steeri steering
ng the boat aall Tonga.
ll the way to Tonga.
said,, "Good we wi
The King said willll call you Leha'
Leha'uli."
uli ."
The King asked the second man the same question question..
He an
answered,
swered , ""Since
Since we left Samoa, I took
took conta
containers and baled the
iners and the water so
so our boat wouldn
wouldn't
't
sink"
answered,, "You
Then the King answered "Yourr new name by which you will be known in Tonga is Tu Tuiiva
vai."
i.'·
To the third man he asked the same question. question.
He told the king hi hiss story, "S
"Since
ince we left Samoa I was in the front of the boat constantly
watching for the TaTa'ito
' ito as the sun set in the evening time."
The King continued, "Your name wi willll be Ta'
Ta'ito.
ito. Now you all have your new names, now you
may go and stay by the fire fire.. I'll make sure that you wi willll have something to eat.
Right after Iohani
lohani told
to ld them this Chief Latu Mailangi spoke up and sa
th is story, ChiefLatu said, "Allll of you men,
id , "A
I urge you that if you don't know who you are and your place at the kava, go now and find your pen
and paper. Write dowdownn what Afu Kaipouli told us tonight. Study your line, copy it down. down, so you will
know who you are in our future .kava kava circles.
Afu
Afu Kaipouli (Iohani
(lohani)) continued talking
talki ng and visiting and the others were very happy. The other
chiefs
chie fs from
from Mu'a almost forgot where they should be until lohani Iohani taught them that even
evening.ing.

lOHANI'S
IOHANI'S TAPE FROM THE MISSIONFlELD
MISSIONFIELD

December 1980J980
mis
lhi s is lohani
Iohani speaking on the tape. First I would like to express my love to my heavenly
T ffather for all my many blessings. We are in good health and want to send you all our love.
Thank you for the letters, tapes, money, etc. that you share with us.
It worries me to hear from your letters and tapes of of the problems that some of of you are going
through right
ri ght now. The family has missed us, but we want to let you know that everything is fine fi ne and
we are doing great and from your you r letters
letters it sounds like everyone is worrying about me for I have been
sick lately.
latel y. The Lord has blessed me according to my faith and many prayers. And through through those
prayers and faith the Lord has given me good health, especially the fasting that some of of you have done
for me and the Lord was very pleased that you have given your time to pray pray and fast in my behalf.
Salote and I received a missionaiy
mi ss ionary call
ca ll from
from the prophet Spencer W. Kimball in June 1980 to
go on a mi
mission
ss ion toto Old Mexico City.
City. We went to to our stake president for anan interview and
and he
he had lined
up someone who could help us leam learn the Spanish language. The first
First thing he asked us was, "Can
"Can you
say OlaT
Ola?" and we said "Ola" "Ola" fast. The next word we could not pronounce.
pronounce. Then the telephone
Ielephone rang.
114

President White of the Wilford Stake, answered the phone and it was President Kimball. He
asked if the Wolfgramm's were there to let them know that their the ir mission
mi ss ion had been changed and they
were to serve in the Tongan mission..mission .. They were so excited and thanked the president, were set apan, apart,
and then came home. The next moming morning Salote had a beautiful crocheted bed cover she had made and
wanted to give it to the prophet. So they contacted Rose Calder, a sister of of Sister Camilla Kimball,,
Cami lla Kimball
to know how to reach the prophet to deliver the gift. She made arrangements for us to go to the
prophet's
prophet 's home. They called security and we got cleared to go in. As we came closer to his hi s home it
was a big surpri
surprise se to find the Prophet outside with his hi s arms
a11l1S open to welcome us. He had tears in his
eyes and gave me a big hug and told me how he loved me, and then Salote, then Tisin Tisinaa and Leil
Leilani
ani
who accompanied us. And again he told us, do you know how much we love you? We went inside
and met hishi s wife. He sa said
id he really loved the Polynesian people. You know our Father in Heaven Heaven
loves you too and saying to his hi s wife, "I want you to meet my good friends from Tonga.".
Pres. Kimball went on to say that I should take with me my genealogy to Tonga and teach even
the Royal family
family,, and bring the Scale of Time to show them how short the time is for them to go to
the temple and redeem their dead. Before we left the prophet told us that two days after after arriving in
Tonga I would be visited by Christ and he would let me know of of my mission to the Tongan people.
We went to Provo for missionary training and eventually alTived arrived in Tonga. Di In the training
center we were very popular and every time there was a break missionaries mi ss ionaries came into our room and
wanted to hear more and more of what T 1 had
had totosay.
say.
But today I want to let all my family know what happened to me. From here I will explai explainn to
you why I was sick sick,, but in reality ITwas not sick. Rather it was the vision that I saw with my eyes that
caused me to feel like that. It was during the night ni ght that I saw the vision before I retired to bed.
There were two personages that stood inside our living room. Their feet didn't touch the
ground and I didn't know where they came from from.. They said to me, " Stand up, we have come to take
you with us and would wou ld like you to see the dwelling place of the Lord". Lord ". I took a deep breath and we
were on our way. We went on a very speedy trip. I was frigh frightened
tened and thought they were going to
destroy my life.
li fe. As we traveled we passed many planets and other celestial bodies. I asked them
where they were taking me, and they told me to where the Lord resides.
I was taken to a place unknown to me. I didn't understand where we were. In a short titime me I
heard the thunder and saw lightening
li ghtening and rain. It looked like we were facing the west as the sun went
down-then it was all dark. At that time it seemed to me like 8:00 p.m. but it was after
down--then after midnight when
I was getting ready to retire.
retire. We saw a light, though it was raining and saw the lightening hit and then
saw another lightening
li ghtening hit, and one of ofthe
the men said, "See, in a few moments you will see a vision from from
the heavens and the appearance of of Christ in his glory." Everything Everyth ing was so light and beautiful and
shining. While 1I was wasstandin
standing thereIIfelt
g there felt the
therain
rain,, the
the lightening
lightening hit hitme
meand
andthe
thedarkness
darkness disappeared
disappeared
and evelything
everything was lilight.ght. That lightli ght never disappeared. Then I saw the rainbow and the rainbow rain bow
encircled
enc ircled the light and there was no end of the brightness-brighter
brightness--brighter than noonday sun.
Then the voice spoke to me and asked if I understood about the rainbow. I said, "Yes, that was
the covenant that was made between Noah and Father in Heaven that he would wo ul d never again destroy
the earth by water.
water.""
 115

Then the voice said, "lohani,

"Iohani, have you repented enough?" Then the voice spoke of thi thiss world,
"Have all mankind repented enough? Indeed it is true, I will not destroy this earth again by water, but
I will destroy it w with
ith fire if they will not come unto me." Then I saw the light circle around the
rainbow. He told me to look and see what was written. What I saw was:
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY LA TTER-DA Y SAINTS
written
wri tten in gold.
gold . Again the voice spoke to m mee , ""See".
See". The writing was full of lights li ghts and very brilliant.
I heard a voice speaking from that light saying, saying, "Iohani,
"lohani, go go and call repentance unto unto your people.
people. Call Call
them to repent and to repent and to repent. Go and call everyone that lives on these islands to repent
and repent and repent. The time is so short that they must repent and repent and repent. Let the people
that you will meet in this life know that the time is so short that they must repent and come unto Christ.
You must go and call repentance unto your people in Tonga, including the royal house of Taufa'ahau
ofTaufa'ahau
Tupou IV IV,, Mata'aho and the Crown Prince Tupou To'a. The Lord told me that a few months after
Salote and I touch the American soil soil,, a destruction will come to Tonga-not to destroy them the m
completely, but as a warning warni ng to let them know that he, Jesus Christ, rules
ru les on earth and in the heavens.
1 was sent to Tonga by God so I could be an instrument
I was sent to Tonga by God so I cou ld be an in strument or a mouthpiece for or a mouthpiece for him
him soso II could
could cry cry
repentance unto my people and if they hardened their hearts to the words of God, and repented not
from
from their
their iniquities,
iniquities, aa tidal
tidal wave would come
wave would come to to their
their beaches
beaches and and itit would
would causecause damage
damage to to their
their
crops
crops andand plantations.
plantations. SomeSome of of their homes, power
their homes, lines, and
power lines, and trees,
trees, would
would be be uprooted.
uprooted. Floods
Floods would
would
come
come to some places.
to some places. Rocks
Rocks andand coral
coral would
would be be tossed
tossed likelike feathers
feathers in the air.
in the air. But
But this problem will
this problem will
only come if
on ly come if they
they fail
fail to
to harken
harken to fO voice
voice of of his
hi s servants
servants and and repent not. II was
repent not. filled with
was filled with thethe Spirit
Spirit of of
the Lord and
the Lord and II started
started mymy mission
mission where Christ told
where Christ told meme to to begin
begin at at Ha'atafu
Ha ' atafu in in the
the westem district,
western district,
then
then allall the
the way
way up up to
to Niutoua
Niutoua in in the eastem district.
the eastern district. "In "In my anger II will
my anger send destruction
will send destruction to them
to them
because they have not listened to my servants nor repented or their iniquities.
because they have not li stened to my servants nor repented or their iniquities. Because they will not Because they will not
listen
listen toto my
my voice, they will
voice, they will be destroyed and
be destroyed and no one will
no one will be left." In
be left." In his
his loud
loud voice Christ spoke
voice Christ spoke and and
said to me that I must go and teach them, to speak to them with
said to me that I must go and teach them , to speak to them with kindness but not hurt them and forkindness but not hurt them and for
them
them to to repent.
repent. No No one
one will
will live
live when
when II sendsend my my destruction
destruction upon upon thethe islands
islands of of the sea, even
the sea, those
even those
who
who areare not
not members
members of of the
the Church
Church that that have
have notnot listened
listened to to my servants will
my servants will be destroyed. Chri
be destroyed. Christst
spoke to me and used the word repentance
spoke to me and used the word repentance 16 times. 16 times.
This was shown to me at the very first part of our mission. After He spoke to me the light
disappeared,, and I stood there alone. I was confused,
disappeared confused, not knowing what was going on on,, and again
wondering where this light li ght came from. From where He was speaking to me it was about 30 or 40 feet
away. Again the light came back only about 2 minutes after itit disappeared, disappeared, and and again I1heard
heardthe thevoice
voice
speaking to me. This second time it was louder. Christ stood behind me cupping my ear and spoke
to me, "Go and speak to the people and tell them I am Jesus Christ--and Christ-and have sent you to those who
live
li ve on this island and those you meet in your daily work. Call them quickly to repent because I am
coming
com ing soon to destroy this world and no one will be left behind-they behind--they will all be destroyed." Also,
for the
for the third
third time
time hehe again spoke the
again spoke same thing
the same thing to me. "Go
to me. "Go to to them
them and call them
and call them toto repentance.
repentance. II
am coming
am coming to to this
this world
world to to destroy
destroy it it if
if they
they do not repent
do not repent and and repent and repent
repent and repent andand wait
wait nono more,
more, for for
II will
will come
come to to punish
punish them--those
them-those that that will
will not keep my word nor abide by
not keep my word nor abide by the scriptures." the scriptures."
j j6
116

"You must speak even to those missionaries you are serving with-that with--that are working daily with
you-call
youncall them to repentance also. I am Jesus Christ, who called for you to call them to repentance.
Command the missionaries not to be ashamed or fear but to preach repentance also also.. Most of them wi willII
hate you and won't believe what you say to them, them , but you must let them know that they must repent
oorr they will be destroyed.
destroyed.""
He urged me to go and speak to the missionaries, not tomorrow, tomorrow , but right now. Then the light li ght
disappeared again. again . At that
th at moment I still stood there.
there . Then the lightening came again and hit me right
under my feet and started to work its way up through all my body like a ball of of fire starting from my
feet. I could see myself myself standing and the power that came from that light was like an electric shock.
It first
first affected
affected my flesh
flesh and entered my bones. I immediately felt the pain in my whole body with
that power inside. I looked at at my hands and my whole body was illuminated. I felt that I was going
to faint—with
faint--with the heat and the strong power. Even my eyes. I was like the sun standing there. there . My
body
body waswas cchanged.
hanged.
I1 almost
almost fell
fell to
to the
the ground,
ground, but
but the
the angels
angels held
held me
me upup and
and said
said,, "Iohani,
"lohani, youyou have
have the
the same
same
power with which the Lord created the whole earth with and same power will stand firm for you when
you meet the Savior. The Lord called me from the side, "Iohani. "lohani."." . I tumed
turned and Christ put him arms
around me and hugged me and kissed me and told me how much He really loved me and wanted to
introduce me to his father Eloheim. Then He took me and introduced me to Eloheim in the place pl ace
where they dwell. It was more beautiful. The place was full of light and was clear like crystal and
pure and holy. ho ly. It was a beauty that 1I cannot explain,
explain , but 1I felt a warmth and spirit of love in that place.
He
He kissed
ki ssed me and hugged
me and hugged me me and
and told
told me,
me, "1"I wish
wi sh that all my
that all my children
children on on the
the earth
earth would
would dodo the
the same
same
as
as you
yo u have
have beenbeen doing
doing in giving your
in giving your time,
time, your
your talent,
talent, your
your faith
faith and
and sharing
sharing your
your love
love with
with others."
others."
And
And again
again embraced
embraced me, me, hugged
hugged and
and kissed
kissed me,
me, andand Jesus
Jesus did
did the same to
the same to me.
me. Jesus
Jesus Christ
Christ and
and
Eloheim
Elohe im laid laid their
their hands
hands onon my
my head
head and
and ordained
ordained meme to
to my
my calling.
calling. After
After that
that they
they hugged
hugged me me again.
again .
Immediately I heard someone speak behind me with his hi s mouth to my ear. "I tell you right now,
go and speak to your people. You don't have much time to call your people to repentance. Those who
haven't received the gospe
gospell must come unto Christ and be baptized. There will be many diseases and
people will die di e from them and destruction will come to them. them . Don't
Don ' t hesitate, but strai
straight
ght way talk
tal k to
the missionaries, they must call the people to repentance also." al so."
Christ spoke again in my ear and said, "lohani, look behind beh ind you and see what's going on" on".. I
slowly tumed
turned my head to see what was behind me. I looked at my own hands and body and it was full
of electric power and I saw thousands and thousands thou sands of people behind me. me . The understanding that th at I
had was that they were not members ofthe of the Church and they were full of evil-all
evil--all kinds ofof evil,
evil , and had
not yet repented. Again the voice spoke into my ear. "lohani, "Iohani , tum
turn around and continue to preach to
these people.
peop le. Go to these people behind you and call them to repentance. Speak to them like right
now."
When I was told to do that I obeyed the voice. I tumed turned around, walked straight at them, them , and
as IJ started to speak to them,
them , it was like my whole
whol e body was in a flam flamee of light. 1I didn't know where
oflight.
JI was standing, but like it was day time. As soon as 1I started to speak, the people started to fall to the
ground. Some started st3lted to cover their faces. They couldn't withstand the power that came from me.
Some fell on their back on the floor,
floor , some didn't want to look at the light and tumedturned their heads away.
 117
When I spoke to them, it looked like the people were were wil wilting. Some were
ti ng. Some were sitti
sitting
ng against some some boards
boards
and when I spoke, they fe fell
ll to the floor.
tloor. Some of them fell
fel l from the wall
wa ll they had
had been sitting on.
on .
That's how powerful
powerfu l the spirit was. Again they tried tri ed to hide their thei r faces or fafallll on their stomachstomach..
They were even falling fa lling from the houses. Some on their the ir knees. The people were beginning beginni ng to get
frightened-you
frightened--you could tell by their eyes. As I was was talking I told them to repent-thenrepent--then Christ told to ld me
to speak oout ut louder-three
loudern three times. Repent, be baptized, baptized , and and come to the Church of Jesus Christ of of
Latter-day Saints so you can have eternal etemalllife. I did as I was
ife. ldid was told. Christ sa said,id, ""lohani,
Iohani , speak up
louder."
louder. " Again for the second time I began to speak to them very loudly loud ly with all all my strength. The T he
third time Chirst spoke again to me and said, "LOUDER". Be obedient to the Lord or you yourr life will
wi ll
be taken. Some didn't didn 't have clothes,
cl othes, some had torn clothes, and were very frightened. I don't know
how many people were there, but many thousands.
When
W hen I was told to ld by Christ to tell them to repent-I raised my hand and brought it down firmly
and told them to repent. "Say it louder and louder," I was instructed. in structed. I called them to repentance with
all my power and and the Lord was very pleased with me. me.
When 1I was wasreturned
returned back backtotomymyhome
homeIIwanted
wantedtotowake wakeup upSalote
Salotetototell
tellher,her,but butthe
thespirit
spiritsasaid
id
it was not the right ri ght time.
time . I wanted her to massage my back because the pain was was sti stillll in my body, my
bones, my flesh,fl esh, my muscles and I needed aa massage. massage. But Butshe sheslept
sleptononand
anddidn't
didn't hearhearme mecall
call fo
forr help.
help.
1I crawled
crawled to tothethebathroom
bathroom and andburied
buried myself
myself ininthethecoolcoolwater
watertotoget
getsome
somerei relief, butititwas
ief, but was.nnoo
comfort. My body was on fire, espec especially
ially my bones and my fle flesh
sh was in pain. Again I ran the shower
over my head, but nothing noth ing helped. I said a prayer and asked if it would be alright to relate the story
to my
my wife, but the split sprit told me not now. now . I suffered
suffered that day day and throughout the next night ni ght until
moming.
mom ing. I couldn't even move my hands.
Salote
Sa lote woke up and thought I1had hadthe
theflu
fluso
sowent
wentafterafter some
someaspirin.
aspirin. While
WhileSalote Salotewas wasoutouttwo
two
sister missionaries
mi ssionaries walked into our missionary mi ss ionary home to see if they could have breakfast breakfast with us. us. I
crawled to the kitchen, cooked them a pot of rice. While they were eating Salote arrived with two
Elders to admini
administer ster to me. After After the blessing I felt a little littl e relief, but not much.
much . I still had had that pain
and mymy body was was so hot, and and especially all the joints. I never experienced sharp pain like that my my
whole life.
life . It began with wi th my toes, all all the way to the top top of my head. There was was no part of my body
was not in pain.
that was pain . I felt
felt like I was inside a furnace of fire--the fire-the pain in my body was tremendous.
I started to to get up and and try to to sit down
down,, but couldn't di scover a way
discover way to
to relieve the the pain andand heat
from my body. Salote went after some more aspirin. I took it but no relief. Again she she went after the the
same Elders to admini administer ster to
to me
me again.
again. While
While they
they were
were blessing
blessing me meIIwas
was taken
taken awayaway somewhere
somewhere and and
don'
don'tt know how long I was gone, but during that time the the Savior again saw me. me. After II returnedretumed II was was
able to exexplain
plain to my wife and the two two sister missionaries what had happened to me. me.
TThehe same day, day, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Why are you waiting? You You need to go now now
because I have ordained you as my mouthpiece. Get up and go now now." ." Though I had had almost no no strength
strength
in my
my legs and they were very shaky, I was was determined to go to Ha'atafu where T I was directed to go
first and take Salote
Sal ote with me. "You are not to turn away from what you are to say to the people. When
they do not what I say, there will w ill be tidal waves, there will .vi II be bad storms,
stolmS, and the water from the ocean
will destroy their the ir plantation, and will come over the beaches. It will be a testimony to them that I am am
Jesus Chri
Christ st who have sent you you,, and you willwi ll be my mouthpiece to your people. I am am the one who
created thisthi s earth andand everything
everyth ing therein."
therein ."
118

I was filled with the spiIit spirit of our Father in Heaven and no one cou could me. II could speak
ld stop me.
to the people with power and ask them to come unto Christ and repent and be baptized. I spoke to the
people at Ha'atafu and as I spoke to the people I was full of the spirit and started to prophesy many
things that would
wou ld come to their life if they didn didn't't change and come unto Christ. The spirit of Christ
was within
with in me that day. I fe feltlt a great love foforr the Sav
Savior.
ior. And the love in my heart for my Tongan
people caused my heart to ache because they hardened their hearts and I bore testimony and prophesied
many things that some ofthe of the old prophets had told them in the scriptures. I preached to them about
Joseph Smith and authority
authori ty was given to him and all the keys in the last dispensation of time. He was
truly a prophet ofOod.
of God. They must lilisten sten to the missionaries and and repent and be baptized and come unto unto
Christ and join his church, if they really want to have etern eternal
al life. If they don't they will wi ll be destroyed.
did the
And I did the same
same from Ha'atafu all all the way
way toto the next town
town and
and the
the next vivillage Kanokupolu.
ll age Kanokupolu.
As I retumed
returned home in the evening a van from mission headquarters anived arrived to take us to a
missionary meeting. When we arrived at the meeting I was very ill and they took me anyway and as
I1 got
got there
there II fainted
fainted.. They
They rushed
rushed me me to
to the
the doctor
doctor at at Vaio
Vaiola Hospital think
la Hospital ing rI had
thinking had aa heart
heart attack.
attack.
The severe heat had never left left my body and my whole body was Ilike fumace
ike a furn ace of fi fire.
re. TThe
he doctor
couldn't
coul dn't find anything wrong with me except my body was heated and they couldn't couldn 't get rid of ofthe
the heat.
1I was
was told
told II must
must go go back
back to to Te'ekiu
Te'ekiu andand run
run aa cold
cold shower
shower onon mymy head
head andand body.
body. Again
Again the
the Savior
Savior
came and spoke to me. I must go again on to the next town and was told not to fear for my life for I
would be protected. Many people will hate you and many will wi ll call you names,
names. but angels will wi ll protect
you. At this time also, he reminded rem inded me that angels have heard the prayers of your forefathers forefathers and want
their
their work done in
work done in the
the temple.
temple . For For II was
was toto include calling those
include calling people to
those people to bring
bring their
their names
names to to the
the
temple and get their work done. Those forefathers had died before the
temple and get their work done. Those forefathers had died before the gospel was brought to the gospel was brought to the
islands. Lastly, when
islands. Lastly, when youyou preach
preach to them they
to them Lhey will swear at
will swear at you, they will
you, they call you
wi ll call you all
all kinds of names
kinds of names
and hate you for telling them the truth, but don't give up but continue
and hate you fo r telling them the truth, but don't give up but continue on preaching. on preaching.
The next day 1 almost died
I almost died again.
again. We
Wewentwent out
out again
again and
and continued
continued on ontotothe
thenext
next village.
village. MyMy
body was full of the spirit of our Father in Heaven. I couldn't imagine all the words that filled my
spirit-words to be used when I spoke to these people. And when rI said those, I heard
mind and my spirit--words
voices back from them saying, "You are a liar, you stop spreading lies." I expressed to them my love
and the love of our Savior to them and bore them my testimony. I felt like I was going to die again. again .
Especially
Espec iall y my joints and my bones were killing me.
Again the missionaries
mi ss ionaries arrived in their van to check up on me. They had a welfare meeting we
needed to attend in Nuku'alofa.
Nuku'alofa. Again I fell down and passed out. They took me again to Vaiol Vaiolaa
Hospital. I couldn't get rid lid of the pain. I asked my mission President Hopoate and another Elder to
bless ing. After that they thought rI had the flu,
give me a blessing. After flu, which was prevalent in Tonga at that time.
rI stayed in the shower all night, but didn't get any relief. relief. I got up very early and went to Kanokupol Kanokupoluu
and started to preach to the people. The people were mean to me agai againn over there. We walked to
Kolovai. The same treatment.
Not my words, but from the Lord that spoke in my ear. Repent. Also He says that He will
punish those in His house fiJ-st
first before He punishes others. If the destruction comes to the house ofofthe
the
Lord, what about your house? Are you ready to receive the Lord when he comes? Have you repented
enough?
enough ? What He has told me is that He will completely destroy thisthi s whole
whol e world by fire and not to
to
be slow about
be slow about repenting
repenting because
because it
it will come to
will come to your
your house
house before
before it goes to
it goes others. Especially
to others. Especially to
to my
my
own family at home.
 19
J119

I am your father speakspeakinging to you. You can come unto Chri Christ. concemed about you.
st. I am very concerned you.
Are
Me you ready to change your life? Don't wait any longer. The Lord won't speak any lies li es to me.
me . It
is the truth. We must change our lives forr the better. I'm doing this
li ves fo thi s because of my love and concern concem
for you because
becau se I want to make sure that you will be protected and hope that you'll be obedient. T Thehe
voice of warn warning ing is from Christ.
I want to thank you for all you have done for your mother and me, me, and share all all my love with
you. The on only
ly thing I worry about is if you are not prepared. I don't want to see you die. Forgive me
if I am too harsh with you, you , but I won't be able to stand between you and the punishment puni shment that the Lord
will mete out to those that don't don 't repent. You must be humble before the Lord and the Lord will put
his arm around you and he will protect each and every everyoneone of you. All of you are members of of the
Church. I humbly humbl y ask of of you to please give up the smoking, your alcohol, alcohol , and attend your church
meetings. Most of you are not attending your sacrament meetings. Take your families when you
attend youryou r meetings.
I fear for your life if the World War III BI comes.
comes. It wi will go on
ll go on until
until the
the Savior
Savior comes.
comes. ThereThere wil willl
be no more peace upon this thi s earth until the Savior comes. That is the Lord's Lord 's word and he sa saidid read
Doctrine & & Covenants
C ovenants 103:4 This is not my word, word. but came from the Lord. As a fath father
er I know that
you are not livingli ving up to the great knowledge that we have and being obedient to the commandments.
When we do not obey and live unrighteously,
unri ghteously, this
thi s is what will happen to you: I Peter Peter4:16-1
4.16-18. 8.
This
Thi s is not my work, it is the Lord's work. The Lord again warns us who have been baptized in the
Church, that we must keep the 90mmandments. commandments.
The Lord can pour out the destroying angel on you—it's you--it's up to you. None of of you know the time
the United
Un ited States will wi ll be destroyed by an atom bomb. None of us will know about the great
earthquake that is to come. Some of you will be buried under the ground with it and many tidal tida l waves,
waves ,
hurricanes, lots and lots of of rain. There will be many disasters yet to come. T he cup of the Sav
The ior will
Savior
overflow with the evils of this world and he will not withhold his hi s judgments. Compare it to the ripe
grape, that is taken down and trampled trampl ed under foot and good for nothing after after that. In the future there
willll be many people fighting each other.
wi
unrighteousness , Doctrine& Covenants 441:1
grandch il dren: Why are you still living in unrighteousness,
To the grandchildren: / :i--
7.
7. This is the Lord speaking, if we don't change our lives, li ves, those that have been baptized in the church
and have taken Christ's name, if we do not live li ve as we shou
should,ld , your name will be taken away from the
records oftheof the church if you are not abiding. We should treat the gospel gospel with love and understanding
and respect, but here in the scriptures it says we shoul shouldd not share the gospel with dogs and pigs.
humbl y asking you girls that have left your husbands. Work your
I'm humbly you r problems out. Go back
to your husbands and make peace with your families. Have fam
YOUI·families. familyil y home evening, study the scriptures,
pray, and repent. The time comes soon that you waste your time running around, around , looking for safety,
but you won't find it. But those that have repented, repented , the Lord will wi ll protect your lives.
For those that have hardened their thei r hearts, they will be destroyed
destroyed.. It comes to me in my mind
because for I am your father. Out here in Tonga I preach repentance to the Tongans, but imagine my
children
ch ildren living in sin and not changing and repenting in America. My heart cries out for you. I'm here
to help non-members and they listen to the voice of waming, warn ing, but my own children reject the teachings
ofthe
of the Savior including your parents' teachings.
120

In the book of Ezekiel it tells tell s you there that when you see the wrong in yo your family,
ur fami shouldd
ly, you shoul
speak to them. Why Wh y am I wasting my time teaching others and neglecting neglectin g my own famil family. y.
Dear children, forgive me and listen to me. With all my heart and with love I beg of you that God lives
and God will remove you from this thi s earth if you do not keep all his hi s commandments. And I ask you to
all stay away from temptation and be active in the Church. Spend your time in the Ch Church
urch so we can
have eternal life. If you don't abide by this, you may end up in hell. Ezekiel 33:7. My children, I wish
li fe. If
you could listen
li sten to my voice, with love, come unto Christ.
un to Chri st. Together I speak with Christ and especially
those that have hardened your hearts and closed your ears. It's not to frighten you but to help you and
councilil you.
counc yo u. I am the doorkeeper in the house ofIsraei of Israel and am here to speak to you. A Allll of you living
li ving
in sin must repent. I am not preaching to you thinking I am better than you. Come back to the Church.
II wish
wish youyou could
could read
read allall the
the scriptures
scriptures that that II have
have mentioned
mentioned to to you
you..
Salote, read Ezekiel 18:21 18:21-22 Doc/rine &
-22 and Doctrine & Covenants 43:17-27.
43:]7-27. Listen what the Savior
says to us. How many times has the Sav Saviorior given us the information
infOImation and asked the mi missionaries
ss ionaries and
families
fam ili es to help
he lp them get back to the Church. Watch out and be prepared, for the Lord's puni punishment.
shment.
A few years fro from m now it will begin. The Lord will pour pou r out hihiss wrath and you won't be able to stand
the fire. You won't be ab ablele to stand still because he will
wi ll shake the whole earth with an earthquake. It
will cause the ground to open and many towns will be swallowed up in the earth. Those that live by
the ocean won't be able to stop the tidal wave wave.. It will fill the whole area. Where in the world can you
be safe.
I'm telling you, my children, don't harden your heart against the Lord's work. Be humble humbl e and
become acti active
ve in the Ch Church.
urch. I am very frightened what the Lord's going to pour out upon the world.
It is unbelievable
un bel ievab le what is to come, especially the fire will be like hell. T The
he only thing
th in g that will stop
from the fear is lo
you frOI11 LO repent and come unto Ch Christ.
ri st. I beg of you to come and change your ways and
do not fear but to be happy and lilive ve in harmony with the Lord and his hi s teachings.
Sad days are ahead of you. Many worry. But if you are on the right ri ght hand of God you find
happiness, but if you chose to be on the side of Satan, he is happy when he is able to drag you down
to hell. Most of all all,, I urge yo youu to pay your full tithing and fast offerings. Attend your meetings meetin gs and
make it a full tithing and not a part-tithing so you wi willll be safe from the destroyi
destroying ng fire that is to come.
observing
In observ ing the law of tithing you will be safe from that fire. The line of fire wi will
ll be in front of you
and from the back and there is no way for you to run away. Only one way is to repent. That's what
I'm trying to explain to you from frol11 the beginning. Isaiah 33:13-J6. 33:13-16. Where are you goin goingg to be safe?
Where are
Where are yo
youu going
going to to tum?
turn ? It It will come to
wi ll come Zion,, to
to Zion to people
people in in Utah,
Utah, andand people
peopl e in America. You
in America. You
will
wi II hear
hear the
the voice
voice ofof those
those that
that dodo not
not repent, screaming, Where
repent, screaming, Where cancan wewe be safe.. It
be safe It will come to
will come to those
those
that
that dodo not
not repent.
repent. T They
hey will
wi ll bum
burn them
them up and take
up and take their life away.
their life away. That's
That's what the everlastin
what the everlastingg fire
fire
is about.
is about.
When you choose Satan and his ways, then you can see the difference difference between the ways of of
Satan and Christ. There is no peace in sin and there is confusion confusion in your life and you don't know where
you are headed.
headed . Most of you, when the war comes, where will you get your water from. The Lord has
told us we must have our food storage. storage. He has promisedpromi sed us that those that Ilive ive and prepare themselves
have no need to worry. If ye are prepared, ye need not fear. Those who come to the Rocky Mountains
lfye
of Utah,
Utah , the Lord has prepared also for them bread and water and the teaching of the prophet that we
must prepare.
 121
121

TThis is what the

hi s is the lord
lord told
told us
us he
he is
is going
going to
to do.
do. He
He wi
will destroy from
Il destroy from one
one end
end to
to another
another end.
end.
All the
All the peopl
people. If they
e. If they forsake
forsake the
the Lord's
Lord's work,
work, you
you wi
will end up
ll end up with the
the rest of
of them.
them.
Ezekiel 39:17-29.
39:17-29. Jeremiah 25
25:27-34.
:27-34 . Remember we
we have
have come to
to the
the promised land
land to
to get
get our
blessings.
blessi Choose
ngs . C the way
hoose the way you shou
should go-the Lord's
ld go--the Lord's way
way or
or the
the other
other way.
way. And
And again,
again, [call
I call al
alll of
to repent.
you to repent. With aall my love,
ll my love, [ohan
lohanii Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm.

Given al
Given at a later lime:
time:
As oour mission
ur mi was drawing to
ss io n time was to aa close,
close, there were only two two town
townss in
in all
all of Tongatapu
Tongatapu
Ha'akame. During thi
that hadn't been visited, Mu'a and Ha'akame. thiss time we dedicated the rest of our time
knocking
knock the doors
ing at the doors,, proselyting.
proselyting. There was not one ni night call repentance to
ght that we didn't call to some
village.
vill age. AAfter
fter the problems some towns harde hardenedned their hearts, there were others that were ready to
gospel. We arranged aa day meeting, a mid-day meeting,
receive the gospel. meeting, an
an afternoon
aftemoon meeting,
meeting, and
and at
at night
night
we ddid
id genealogy. Most of ofthe teaching, there were many requests for us to explain
the time we were out teaching,
to them about the last days, days, genealogy and how to do it, how the many lines are connected, how the
gospel was sent to the earth and then taken away again again.. Most of them cou couldn't
ldn't believe all the
information
informati that [I was
on that was abable
le to expound
expound to them
them.. ItIt made them
them anxious
anxious toto learn
learn more about
about the
the Book
of Mormon. They want to know what would happen to them if they failed to repent.
a/Mormon . They want to know what would happen to them if they failed to repent. They were asking They were asking
me aboutt the
me abou the second
second coming
coming andand what
what they should do
they should do to
to be
be saved.
saved.

DA VIOIC LINE IN AMERICA

DAVIDIC

r
ore than 400 years after
after King Zedekiah's death, this people came in
ir. contact with the
M:-descendants of Lehi who left Jerusalem 600 BC or in the first year of King Zedekiah's
M descendants of Leh i who left Jerusalem 600 BC or in the first year of King Zedekiah 's
reign.
reIgn. Lehi's
Lehi 's colony evidently were landsmen. If they had been seafarers
seafarers along the westem
western coast of
of
Palestine
Palest ine they would
woul d have wished to go that way rather than hy the
Ihe borders
horders ofthe
o/ Ihe Red Sea and out
upon the broad expanse ofthe of the South Pacific
Pacific Ocean.
When
W he n the children
chi ldren of
of Lehi discovered the descendants of Mulek they were under a leader
named Zarahemla
Zaraheml a who was a direct descendant of Mulek, according to the tradition {Book ofMormon,
(Book a/Mormon.
Omni 1:18)
I: 18) (Mosiah 25:2) and therefore
therefore ofthe
of the royal line of of David (Helaman 8:21)
This
Thi s branch of the royal royal line did not however,
however. receive kingly recognition in the new world, which is is
the land promised
promised to Joseph
Joseph (Genesis 49:26) and not to Abraham (Genesis 15:18). 15 : 18).
At
At the
the end of of the
the 70 years of of Babylonian captivity
captiv ity the Jews were restored
restored to Palestine-a
Palestine- a
kingdom
kingdom without
w itho ut a king ofof Davidic
Davidic line.
line. If
[f Daniel and his associates were of of that line,
line, they made no
claim
clai m to
to the throne.
throne. Publicly
Publicly in
in Judea the royal
royal line ofof David
David disappeared and seemingly
seemi ng ly hashas been lost,
as they said,
sa id, to latter
latter days.
days .
To the Polynesians
Polynes ians (the Tongans) the royal royal line of of David
David did
did not
not disappear. The T he Lord
Lord took
took his
hi s
direct
direct royal
royal line
line from
from Palestine
Palest ine with
with King
King Zedekiah's
Zedek iah 's children
c;hildren along with
with their
their grandfather
grandfatherthe the Prophet
Prophet
Jeremiah,
Jeremiah, Princess
Princess Tamar
Tamar and her her younger
younger sister
s ister left
left with the
the prophet
prophet toto the
the British
Briti sh Isles,
Isles, and
and their
brother,
brother, the
the King's
K ing's son
son Mulek,
Mu lek, was
was brought
brought toto America
America on a ship sh ip that
that landed
landed near
near the
the Florida
Florida coast,
walked
walked andand traveled
trave led across the
the land,
land , found
found pieces
pieces of of gold and
and records
records ofof the
the people
people of of Ether.
Ether. The
122

descendants of Mulek Mu lek and hishi s company were under a leader named Zarahemla who was a direcl direct
descendant, met the peoplepeop le of Mosiah from Central America and were mixed. mi xed. King Mosiah taught
them of lheir
their ogenealogy
oenea looy
b
and language.
lanouaoe
b /:I .
From that direct royal line of of David was bom born a man named
Hagoth who built shi ships.
ps. He needed a captain for his ship.
hi s sh ip. He found one of his hi s royal cousins named
Hawaiiloa
Hawaii loa from David's
Dav id' s royal line to help find these Nephite people a new home. Another way our
Heavenly Father wanted wan ted to scatter the House of Israel around the world and later laler would gather them
through the gospel. It was God's plan from the beginning. beg in ning. Hawaiiloa including men, men , women,
women , and
children,
chi ldren, Prophet Spencer W. Kimball told told us,
us, itit took
took 400
400 years
years to to scatter
scatter these
these people
people outout to
to thethe South
South
Seas, and
Seas, and they
lhey were Nephite people.
were Nephite people.
From Central America, Hawaiiloa left 88 BC, BC, hihiss wife'
wife' name
name was was Hualalai
Hualalai,, hi
hiss oldest
oldest sonson Mau
Mauii
ai Alu
A lu was bomborn 65 BC, second a daughterdaughler named Oahu was born 63 BC and another son Kanai was
bom
born at 616 1 BC, and they named the islands of Hawaii after him. him .
Later his
hi s royal
roya l descendants were Tangaloa, Monuka, Tangarkoa Rangi, Rangi , Tangaloa Motua, and
Hawaiiloa's
Hawaii loa 's younger brother was named Kei. Kei wanted to sail and find him new islands. He
discovered
di scovered Tahiti. After being there he found out that some Tah Tahitians
itians were canncannibals
ibal s and he joined
with them. He was so surpri surprised
sed when he got there, the people who lived Tahititi spoke the same
li ved in Tahi
language as he.
There was a Nephite
Neph ite man named Opuka Honua who married manied a Lamanite named Lana in the
year 263 A.D.and used to live in Central America. He left with wi th his familyy because he didn
hi s famil didn't' t like wars.
So they sailed out to sea and found the Easter Island. They populated popu lated that Island and war again began
in the East Island and the land was getting too small for their population, popul ation , so some decided to head out OUl
to sea and look for new land, and that that's ' s when they found Tah Tahiti.
iti. Later they fo found
und New Zealand, the
land with the long white cloud,cloud , Rarotonga, and other islands. Tangaroa Monuka found Fiji, but when
they first arrived they found some dark skinned people were already living li ving in Fiji,
Fiji , up by the mountai
mountain. n.
But
BUl Tongaroa people lived by the sea. They had a ship wreck at sea with a big storm and hurricane,
hurricane.
and drifted out to sea and when they landed at Fij Fiji,i, they came from the Solomon Islands.
Tangaroa Langi said he needed to head out to sea also and to look for a new island for himself. hi mself.
When they sighted the tall mountain
moun tain off off Samoa it reminded him of of Hawaii,
Hawaii , so they called the island
Savaii, so he wanted to remain in Samoa.
Tangaroa Motua the oldest, decided to look for a new land for him and his hi s people so they left
Samoa and headed out to sea like the other two, and it ddidn't idn ' t take him long before they sighted the two
Niua Islands and TafahTafahi,i, and the third
th ird one was Toku Island. That's
T hat 's where the first royal line of King
David
Dav id resided. It is a beautiful small islands with beautiful beautiful white sand, and lots of different different colored
fish around
fish aro und so Tangaloa Motua wanted to stay at Toku. To this thi s day the descendants of Tangaloa still sti ll
own that island.
Later the king found out that big foreign ships would come and trick these islanders to come
inside their ship to trade their wares.
wares . They traded penny nails
nail s for a pig
p ig or food or tapa cloth, mats or
whatever the Tongans had,had , as they didn't know any better. As 75 to 100 people were inside their ship,
sh ip,
they closed and locked the doors. They used the people in the hold as slaves to clean their boats, even
sold the children for 50 cents, women for 50 cents and men for one dollar. They did this thi s throughout
the south seas.
 123

It was so sad, but it is a true story. To this thi s day you see the Hawaiians used to have a king but
they lost their king. Same as Tahiti, New Zealand,Zealand , Rarotonga, Fiji and Samoa, have lost their royal
king and queen. To this only
thi s day, on ly the Royal King Taufa Ahau Tupou IV rv and Queen Halauvalu
Mata'aho of of Tonga still rule their own people
peopl e and country.
countiy. Do you know why?
In 1989 lohani and Salote finally completed the Royal line. The genealogy genea logy of the King and
Queen of Tonga had been traced, researched, and checked over and over, and finally their line
connected with the Royal line of of Queen Elizabeth
E li zabeth of England. The Tongan Royal line came from from
Mulek,
Mulek , Queen Elizabeth's line from Mulek's
Mulek' s sister Temar Tephi, Tephi , and the royal
roya l line of Spain from the
younger ssister
ister (all of David's
David' s royal line).
line) .
So now we learnleam that the Lord took the royal roya l line of David (the male heir hei r to the royal
roya l line)
because it came from Mulek and hid him upon this thi s tiny
tin y island of Tonga. He can remain there the re without
fear and be protected in Tonga. And he will not go to war. He is from the Royal House of Judah Judah,,
Levi, Ephraim, and Manassah-four
Manassah-four blood lines that flow in the veins of ofthe
the Royal couple.

THE BAY
DA Y OF RECKONING
This was written
This wrillen by Salote
Sa/ole Fakatou Wolfgramm.
Fakalou Woljgramm.

1t the urging of my daughter Tisina, I would

wo uld like to exp
explain
lain to those of our fa
family
mil y and
Arfriends
A very personal and seri
friends about some yery serious
ous reports that came to Church Headquarters
from our ward and Stake and others regarding some activities ofIohani of lohani and myself. We are recording
recordin g
this on August 20th20thl999,
1999, though the event
even t took place in the summer ooff 1995. 1995 .
A woman was sent to our home to ask Iohani lohani and I if we would come for a spec special
ial meeting
or interview at the Church Office Office Building. lohani
Iohani and I were not afraid. We told her, "S "Sure,
ure, we
would love to come," but before we leave, Iohani lohani asked to have time to go and gather all infOImation
information
and evidences that he mightmi ght need to take with us.
lohani
Iohani went to our bedroom and in there he gathered all his hi s books, charts, genealogy and
scriptures. Later we left for the Church Office Office Build
Building ing with two brief
brief cases packed full of material.
materi al.
We were conducted into an interview room when we arrived at the office. office.
QUESTION I: I:
He began the interview by saying: "Iohan
"lohani,i, we have received many, many reports that yo youu have
broken some church rules by going outside of of your ward and Stake boundries to bless and adm administer
ini ster
to the sick
sick,, and you were told that you were not go perform pelform these duties
duti es outside of your ward or Stake.
Is that true.
true, Brother Wolfgramm?"
With no hesitation lohani
Iohani replied, "That's
replied , "That ' s true. I did that. But I've got a question for you to
explain
exp lain to me. Why was I ever given the MelchiMelchizedek officer of the high
zedek Priesthood as an officer priesthood??
hi gh priesthood
Isn't that our duty to do work for the dead, do serviceserv ice for our loved ones and families in the temples,temples ,
record our family histories,
hi stories, but most of all the Lord has given me, including yourself, serv ices and
services
duties on this earth to perform. Please open up your scriptures to the book of Matthew 10:1,6,7,8." 10:1,6.7,8."
124

(J))
(i And when he had called unto him his twelve Melve disciples he gave them power against
IIne/ean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of
unclean of sickness and all manner of
of
disease.
(6) But go rather to the lost sheep of Isreal.
isreal.
(7) And
A lid as you go, preach, saying,
saying, the
the kingdom of heaven is
is at hand.
hand.
(8) Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers.
lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; free ly ye have
devils; freely
received,freely
received, freely give.

After
After the scripture was read, lohani continued on, "It is my duty and responsibility that was
given me, if anyone call callss for me to give him or her a blessing, I must mu st help them and 1I should help
them. Another thing that you must understand, understand , I didndidn't' t as
askk them to call me or invite
in vite them to come to
our
our home."
home."
"Day after
after day people keep com cominging over to our home ask asking
ing me for a blessing
bless ing from the Lord
to heal
heal the sick
sick,, bless and help the lame to walk, walk , to restore the sight oftheofthe blind, to raise
rai se the dead
dead,, cast
out devils
ou t devi ls through their
the ir fasting, prayers and faith in the Lord. Most were healed by the Lord and only
a few weren
weren't' t as I was an instrument in the Lord Lord's 's hands."
"I was ordained to the office office of the Melch
Melchizedek
izedek priesthood as an Elder in Zion and now have
been ordained
orda ined as a High Priest. The same instruction in struction was given by Jesus Chri Christst who instructs,
empowers,
empowers. and send his Twelve apostles forth to preach, minister, mini ster, and heal the sick. Those who
receive them receive the Lord."
didn't' t want to tum
"I didn turn my back when people carne came or traveled many, many mil mileses to receive a
blessing. That's
bless ing. That yourr calling and mine as a Melchizedek
' s you Melchizedek priesthood holder to to give
give answers when they
call for our help, so we may give it to them free freely
ly as the Lord gave them to us freely. And 1I will never
cchase
hase anyone away from ou ourr home if they come with the intent in their heart for a blessing from the
Lord in thetheir
ir behalf-to be healed or not, it's up to the Lord, but I may be an instrument in his hi s holy
power and priesthood to perform perfonn my duty on this earth.""
thi s earth.
After lohani
lohan i explained
ex plained his feelings
hi s fee li ngs to them, one oftheof the interviewers said to lohani,
lohani , "Indeed, you
are right
ri ght Brother Wolfgramm. We have fin finally
all y heard the truth. We had heard that you went and
invited people to come so you could cou ld bless them,
them , and that was not true. They came by themselves to
your home, right? Indeed, lohani, Iohani , that's your duty and mine to go forth and perform perfolm our duties as we
are asked to do."

QUESTION II:
Again the interviewer said, "lohani,, 1I don't see any violence at all here, but 1I want to know,
said , "lohani
lohani, do you have a patriarchal
lohani. patriarchal blessing?"
lohani said, "Of course, let me give it to you." you ." He reached into his
hi s briefcase and opened up
his patriarchal blessing. It states there, ".... ..../I bless you that the priesthood which you bear will he be a
source of
of strength and power
power in your hands in righteousness that you you may administer
administer to the sick that
tilat
they may receive a blessing thereby; that you may have the spirit and the power of of healing through
the priesthood you hear
bear ....... that you may, through your faith and your prayers, see the hand of
yourfaith of the
Lord manifest
mallilest in behalf
behalf of those with whom you associate, particularly with those to whom you yOll
administer
admin ister the ordinance for healing. Can you understand what my blessing was all about?"
 125
125
The interviewer
interv iewer said, "Brother Wolfgramm, I commend you for you yourr great service to the
faithful
fa ithful members ofthe
of the Church. Now I can really see what you are doing now was wasjust
just fine, the prayer
faith
of fa ith will
wi ll help
he lp people
peop le to restore their lives
li ves and your patriarchal
patriarchal blessing
bless ing is a great opportu
opportunity
nity for
those who may call you for their thei r blessing,
bl essi ng, to heal the sick as a test of their faith."
faith."

QESTION 1II: III:

Our next question is: "The story that we have heard went something like this: If a person ca called
lled
from a great distance or a very far place on the telephone, you have agreed to bless them through the
telephone. We haven't
haven ' t heard such a thing in our Church previous to this. thi s. Is that true?" as asked
ked the
interviewer.
lohani replied aga again,
in , "That is also true. Circumstances vary, but when there is an emergency
where I am unable
unabl e to be there in person to perform my duty in matters of life and death death,, I had no other
choice but to leave it in the hand of God to guide me through his spirit what I should do at that
moment."
"Yes, to me it doesndoesn't' t matter, if a person is unable to come for forme
me and asks if! if I cou
couldld give him
or her that blessing,
bl essing, even though we are miles mil es and miles apart, yes, indeed, I'll try with all my heart hean
to give that person the blessing
bless ing that his hi s or her heart desires in righteousness
ri ghteousness if that is what the Holy
Ghost moves me to do at that time. time . I must
mu st wait and listen
li sten for an answer, and conti continued
nued to serve and
perform my duties as I am gu guided above."
ided from above ."
The interviewer said said,, "All right, Brother Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm , can you tell us any experiences that have
happened to anyone who needed your help and you were unable to be there in person, person. and with the aid
of a telephone, you were able to ask the Lord for his hi s help, and he or she recovered?"
recovered ?"
"Yes, indeed, I can can't' t begin
beg in to tell or count how many people the Lord has reached out to heal
and have recovered from whatever problem or disease that they were dying with that were healed,"
lohanii answered
lohan answered..
The interviewer
in terv iewer continued, "A lright Brother Wolfgramm
"Alright Wolfgramm,, can you relate to us any true story
of someone that this thi s happened to and has recovered?"
recovered?"
lohani replied, "Certainly. Li sten while I tell you this
Listen th is true story. Our son Mike and his wife
hi s fami
Vake and his family ly (known as Th Thee .leIS)
Jets) had
had invited us us to
to join them
them onon aa trip
trip to
tododoshows
shows and and concerts
concerts
around Alberta, Canada and British Columbia about 1981."
"About 6:00 a.m. a.m . one moming
morning while
whil e we were staying at Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada that
weekend, we received a telephone call from T ila, one of our twin daughters, calling us from
Tila, from St.St. Mark
Mark's's
hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah . Tila said, Dad Dad,, I really need some help. he lp. I don't know what has
happened to me, but I keep on fainting at home, so I came to see our doctor and he sai saidd that
th at I'm about
3 months pregnant. T he reason why I keep passing out is that my
The my little baby is inside the tube. tube. I1was
was
told that if the baby remains
remain s inside
in side this
thi s tube, the tube will rupture and the baby will die and perhaps
me also.
also. I was told the on onlyly choice left for me was to let the doctor operate and dissolve or vacuum
out my baby so I might live." li ve ."
lohani replied, "What would you like me to do,
Iohani do, Tila?"
Ti la cried and sa
Tila id , "Dad, please on
said, ly one thing I need to ask of you.
only you. Would it be possiblepossibl e foforr
you to ask our Heavenly Father what we should do at this time, because I don don't' t want them to kill our
baby. I want you to ask oour ur Heavenly Father to please take our baby from the tube and place him
inside my womb where he will wi ll remain until
unti l he is ready to be born.bom.""
126

lohani replied, ''Til"Tila,a, do you have enough faith if I pray to our Heavenly Heavenl y Father to help save
you and your baby from this serious tubal pregnancy so you both will wi ll recover?"
"Yes Dad, I know God will hear your prayers and our lives will be spared. That That's's why I
called."
called. "
Again lohani continued, "You
Agai n Iohani "You do this thi s Tila, seal your faith and mine to our Fathe Fatherr in Heaven
right now, and let him allow me to bless bl ess you with the aid ofthe
of the telephone because of our long di stance
distance
apart.
apart.""
Iohani began
lohani began to to pray
pray toto our Father in
our Father in Heaven
Heaven in in humble
humble prayer,
prayer, "Tila, by the
"Tila, by holy power
the holy power of ofthethe
Me1chi zedek priesthood that is vested in me and in the name of Jesus
Melchizedek Jes us Chri st, I, lohani,
Christ, Iohani , your fath
father er
unite our faith and prayers and seal this thi s up to God the Father and in the name of his hi s begotton Son Jesus
Ch ri st, we humbly ask thee at this
Christ, thi s time to look down upon our daughter Tila and the baby this moming morning
who has called to tell us what has happened to her at the St. Mark's Mark 's hospital. This baby was given you
by God to you who was also a co-creator of this thi s baby. But somehow this thi s baby
ba by was conceived inside
the tube, and we ourselves know that no one else can remove that baby from the tube without kkilling ill ing
either the baby or Tila.Ti la. Heavenl
Heavenlyy Father, you are the on ly one who would be able to accomplish
only accompli sh that.
You have the wisdom the knowledge to do that, so please, Heavenly Father, we humbly humbl y ask thee, if
it is possible for us topray for these two, may we ask thee for that blessing. bl essing. What her doctor can do
here in mortality is just a small and limited knowledge of what is possibl possible, e, but remember that our
daughter Tila doesn't
doesn ' t want to have them kill her baby."
lohani began to fee
Iohani feell the spspirit
iri t and began to thank the Lord for this thi s great opportunity to express
his love and gratitude for al alll our blessings and in this blessing he said said,, "Father, thank you so much for
this
thi s little boy that you have blessed our family with." with ." At that time no one knew that she was carryi carrying ng
boy. "When thi
a boy. thiss littl
littiee boy is grown up he will be useful in thy hand to serving thee in ririghteousness ghteousness
and in preparing the way for thy Son's second coming. Please, Heavenly Father, let thy will be done,
as we hope and pray that this thi s boy will grow in knowledge and understanding and faith in the gospel.
We ask thee Lord,Lord , to bless Tila Ti la also with what her heart'sheart 's desire at this difficult
difficult time, in the name of
thy son Jesus Christ, amen. amen.""
After we said goodbye on the phone, we asked Mike and the rest of ofthe
the family if we could fast
all day for Tila and her baby. We did so and at 5:00 p.m. we broke our fast in Canada and asked the
Lord that hishi s will
wil l be done, as we continued to pray that their lives might be spared.
lohani
Iohani again called St. Mark's Mark ' s hospital to check up on Tila's Til a's condition and the baby. Her
husband Kim answered the phone and laughed. laughed . He said they had taken Tila for another X-ray and after
st nd
comparing the J" 1 and 22"d X-rays they were identical. The baby was still inside the mother's mother 's tube so
they decided to take her up fo forr surgery. They operated on Ti Tila
la that same evening and unexpected
unexpectedly ly
found that the baby had moved from her tube and had been placed in his mother's womb.
The doctor who did the surgery was shocked and immediately called seven other doctors to
come and see this great change that had happened to his patient. They couldn't believe what they just
saw on the X-ray fifilm-nothing
lm-noth ing like before the operation. operation . The baby was back to his hi s normal area. They
closed her up.
 127
127

We all thanked the Lord for thi thiss miracle. We came back to to Utah.
Utah. Five months later we we were
temple
at the temp le and received another phone call. call. It was Tila stating that her doctor had call called
ed and asked
if she would come to the hospital.hospital. They thought it would be wise to deliver the baby by C-section C-sedion that
day, but she insisted
day, in sisted on another bless blessing lohani..
ing from Iohani
immediately
We immed templee and went in a taxi to give Tila another bl
iate ly left the templ blessing. In Iohani
ess ing. In lohani's's
prayer to our Heavenly Father, he asked the Lord Lord:: "lfTil
"If Tila's
a's baby is not quite ready to be born,born , through
the power of ofthe Melchizedek
the holy Melchi zedek priesthood and and in in the
the nameof"Jesus
name of Jesus Ch Christ, you, TTila,
ri st, I promise you, that
ila, that
Lord's
the Lord 's hands will be around and about you to protect you and your baby. baby. If your baby is not quite
ready to come, I bless you that the surgeon surgeon's 's knife will never come close until the appointed time for
him to be bomborn and the Lord'sLord 's hands will wi ll be there to protect you both."both."
Tila was ready and taken up for her last operation. Her doctor an·ived arrived.. He came in to check
her out, Tila explained. "I don't know what happened, when the doctor came in the room he had a
doubtful look on hi hiss face
face.. He wh whistled
istl ed around the room and fina finally
ll y came to her bed and said, 'Tila,
I am very sorry, [haveI have changed my mind. I will not operate on you you now, but will wait for your baby' baby'ss
new arrival date.
date.'"",
Tila cried and sa said,
id, "Thank you, ar.d and thank Heavenly
Heaven ly Father, that that's
that 's what the Lord wanted
us to do
do.. Tila was released from the hospital the very same day. day. A month later she gave birth bi rth to a
perfect little
pelfect littl e baby and he was named after our prophet Spencer Kimball-Spencer Kimball-Spence r JohnsonJohn son and with
his grandmother's family name too. too . Our Lord had blessed our fami familyly and all honor and glory to him. him .
The interviewer
intervi ewer saidsaid,, "lojlani,
"lohani, were there any other instances in which wh ich you have blessed people
on the phone?"
lohani replied, "Yes indeed, I can hardly count them. There were many of of them."
About 1972:
The interviewer said, "Can you relate another story for us so we may hear it?"
"Yes indeed," lohani Iohani replied.
"There was a young you ng man, Robert
Roben Frandsen, who had recently retumed returned from Thailand
T hailand after
serving with the United States Air Force. While attending a party in Price, Utah, he was acc identally
accidentally
shot by one of of his
hi s friends
friends while on his hi s stomach on the floor watching a television show. Seventeen
throu ghout his
bullets were scattered throughout hi s whole insides,
in sides, penetrating his stomach, lungs, and liver, but
mi ssed his
somehow missed hi s heart. They took him to the hospital. He had a lot of pain and suffered suffered from the
of a great amount of
loss of of blood. Within six months he had six different different operations. The doctors had
done all they could for him. His Hi s uncle and aunt had heard me bear my testimony in a Sacrament
meeting about how the Lord had restored one of of my daughters back to life Iife after
after she had passed away
17 hours earlier.
earlier. Robert
Robert's 's father
father called
called [ohani
lohani if hehe could
could drive
drive up
up with
with some
some of of our family toto give
give hihiss
son a priesthood blessing at the hospital.
in vited my sons-in-law, Weldon Sillito and Roy Gerber with their wives to go and assist
"We invited ass ist
Robert 's blessing.
in Robert's bless ing. One was an Elder
E lder and the other a Seventy."
Seventy."
" When we
"When we arrived
arrived there
there were
were doctors
doctors and
and aa few
few nurses
nurses around.
around. Robert's
Robert's father
father asked
asked if
if we
we
could come in
could come in so
so we
we could
coul d administer
admini ster to
to his
hi s son."
son. "
128
Bob had been lying flat fl at on his
hi s back ever since he was shot. He was unable to move by himself. him self.
He hardly
hardl y noticed anyone because he was in so much pain and very weak. They were so happy to see
us. Bob's
Bob 's father had tears in his hi s eyes. They feared they might mi ght lose him that night.ni ght. Bob was very
uncomfortable,
uncomfo rtab le, beingbein g in much pain.pain . His
H is father
fa ther asked the doctor
docto r to make sure it would wo uld be alright to
give hhis
give son a blessing.
is son bl ess ing. ""By all means, yes,"
By all said the docto
yes," said doctor.r.
In lohani's
Iohani's prayer he said: said: Holy Father, as you know by now, that Bob's Bob ' s body has been shot
at and almost every part of his hi s body has been injured, includingincl uding his stom
stomach,
ach, legs, kidneys and other
parts. The
T he doctor won't
won' t be able
ab le to heal all hishi s injured
injured parts right away. Hol Holyy Father, you were the one
who was responsible
responsib le for fo r creating hishi s stomach and every part of his body, and we pray and ask as k thee,
in the name of Jesus C Christ,
hrist. if thy will be done do ne on his behalf, and we can understand the suffering suffering
caused by this
th is gun shot. We know that he has lost a lot of bl blood already. Hi
ood already. Hiss nerves and musc musclesles have
been damaged, including
damaged , incl uding parts of his flesh.
fl esh. Some small bones have been shattered and damaged by
some of
some of the
the bullets.
bullets. AtAt this
this moment,
moment, Holy Holy Father,
Father, we we humble
hum ble ourselves
ourselves in in deep
deep humility
humility asking
asking thee
thee
in the name of thy son Jesus Christ to see to it that every little part and piece that
in the name of thy son Jesus Christ to see to it that every li ttle part and piece that had been shattered had been shattered
and broken
and broken or or had
had been
been damaged-to
damaged- to gathergather them
them and
and mend them carefull
mend them carefullyy and
and place
place them
them back
back in
in their
their
own
o wn place like it was before, so Bob will be able to raise up hi s own two feet and be heal ed . We ask
place like it was before, so Bob will be able to raise up his own two feet and be healed. We ask
that
that he will return to hi s nOl111al health aga in. We ask th at Bob's healing will stand as a testimon y to
he will return to his normal health again. We ask that Bob's healing will stand as a testimony to
the world that you are the living God who made it possible for Bob to recover
the world that yo u are the liv ing God who made it poss ible for Bob to recover from hi s wo unds. from his wounds.
""By
By the time Iohani
lohani and his hi s two sons-i
sons-in-law
n-law said amen, doctors and nurses were shocked. Bob
instantly got up fromfro m his
hi s hospital bed and thanked all of us and shook our o ur hands. Then T hen he excu
excusedsed
himself
hi mse lf and walked over to the bath room, washed his face and hands and retumed returned and sat on his hi s bed.
Bobb began to talk and talked to us without stopping.
Bo
After
After we visited for about 20 more minutes, m inutes, lohani
Iohani shook hishi s hand and asked, " How do you
feel."
feel. "
Bobb said, "I can
Bo can't' t feel
feel any hurts at all.all.""
lohani said
Iohani said,, ""Yes,
Yes, the Lord's
Lord 's hands have protected and have blessed you, Bob, and through th rough
God's
God 's priesthood power has made you well tonight. ton ight. T Through
hrough your faith,
fa ith, the Lord has healed your
wounds and what a blessing for us to be a part of hi hiss gospel to share God
God's blessing
's bl faith,, healing,
essing like faith
and the power of the priesthood
priesthood." ."
Three days later Bob was released from the hospital.
Around 1979 we received
rece ived another call from Bob Frandsen asking urgently for lohani. Ioh ani . He said,
""While
Wh ile I was working as a window cleaner, the safety equipment fail failed
ed and I fe fellll from the fourt
fourthh floor
fl oor
of a building
bu ilding in Arizona
Ari zona thisthi s year. I landed on my back and my right side and part of my back was
injured severely. In fact the doctor told me my right side was paralyzed and will remain like that th at until
die.. I know witho
I die withoutut a dodoubt
ubt in my m mind, lohani, if you can bless me tonight,
ind, Iohani, to ni ght, the Lord will hear our
prayers and will help he lp me heal and be able to make my ri right
ght side move normally,
no rmall y, so I can conti continued
nued
to work and support my family. Can you help me again, lohani?"
again , Iohan i?"
lohani
Iohan i replied,
repli ed, "Bob, I sealed up your fa faith
ith unto the Lord and I'm sorry
I' m so rry I'mI' m so far away from
you, but with the aid ofthe of the telephone,
telepho ne, I know that God will understand my m y ssituation
itu ation and allallow
ow me to
use the telephone for fo r your blessing. I received a peaceful feeling feelin g and knew it would be alright. alri ght. Put
your ear close to the phone and listen li sten quietly while
whi le I ask our Heavenly
o ur Heavenl y Father to please seal up our
faith,
fait h, prayers and your faithfa ith together with mine."m ine."
 129
129

Bob thanked lohani as as he lilistened reverently.

stened reverentl y.
lohani began to offer the blessing:
Iohani blessing: "Oh God the All Mighty, Mighty, hear me, me, oh God of Heaven and
give ears oh earth and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for ror the Lord is God, great is his wisdom. wisdom,
marvelouss are hi
marvelou hiss ways, from eternity to eternity he is the same.
""Almighty
Almighty God, thi thiss is the second time Bob has had a very serious serious injury, and
and you
you showed
showed himhim
your power before. Comb Combining
ining hihiss faith with ours, he has asked for thy blessing. As you know, has
has fallen and injured hi hiss back
back,, and one side has become paralyzed. paralyzed . Without a doubt in our mind mind,, if
we pray and ask thee, Oh Lord, to look down upon Bob's problems, problems, thou wilt be mindful of him. He
refuses to stay in bed for the rest of hi hiss life. He asks th that
at you may heal all hi hiss broken and injured parts,
his side, his
hi s body, and make it whole again. He has asked if iflI could bless him and sea seall oUl'fai
our faith
th with
thee, so he w will
ill completely recover and will soon be back to normal."
nonnal."
lohani agaiagainn asked the Lord to heal all hi hiss broken bones, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels
and the let blood flow freely. After this blessing. Bob thanked lohani and he went to sleep.
Bob's
Bob 's parents were extremely troubled and so were some of hi hiss friends. At the moment I
pronounced the blessings all doubts were swept away. Bob said said,, "When you put your trust in the Lord
he can open many doors and bless you through sincere prayer and faith fa ith in Him." T The
he next morning
moming
when Bob woke up he had forgotten all about his problems. He just didn't lie there as as he used to do,
do,
but got up, stretched his legs and began to move hi hiss hands, feet, and neck as they were before. He got
up and began to run. He sat down. down . What a change. He began to roll on the floor. floor. He started to laugh
and again rolled over. He was ~o so excited that every part of his body was back to normal. The dead
blood vessels,
vesse ls, weakened muscles,muscles, arteries,
arteries, veins began to function normally nonnall y and Bob was so so ex
exited
ited
and grate
and grateful.
rul.
He immediately called his doctor to witness what the Lord had done for him. The doctor was
surprised
surpri sed and thanked him for his hi s trust
tru st and fa faith
ith in God
God..
I was called for the blessing three months after the accident.
Notes from actual letter: " Doctors said I would never walk or go to the bathroom nOlmall normallyy
again nor be able to give my wife any children. chi ldren . The X-rays showed that spinal nerves had been
completely severed. IJ was taken to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and they did extensive
surgery on my back, but I was paralyzed from the waist down. down . I1should be in a wheelchair the rest of of
my life. "
Just before
before Christmas 1979 we were surprise and excited to have Bob arrive alTive at our home and
he was able to run, run , walk and even drive his hi s car back to Utah. He had great joy and was very happy
for his
hi s recovery.
After lohani told the interviewer
After interviewerthese these three stories, he was amazed and said, "I had never heard
of such a story like this before.before. It is inconceivable. We can't believe it. Anyone who has used the
telephone in behalf
behalf of of the sick and injured
injured patients beforebefore have not recovered."
lohani continued, "Christ"Chri st told us in the scripture, if we pray to him in faith, all our sick will
Book of
be made well. In the Book ofJames
James 5:14,15.
5:14,15.

(14)
(14 ) If
If any sick among you? Let
Let him califor
call for the elders ofthe
of the church, and let them pray
over
oller him, anointing him with oil in the name ofthe
of the Lord.
130
(75)
(15) And
Alld the prayer o.tfailh
of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up, and ilhe
if he
has committed
commilled sins,
SillS , they
Ih ey shall be forgiven him.
him.

"See, this
"See. thi s is what the Lord taught us that we must do.
"When I'm call ed to perform my duties among those who have called
called call ed up me,
me. 1I do it in the
of Jesus Christ
name of Ch ri st and 1I also pray to God in faith
faith,, that's
that 's why the keys and authority can be ours, and
he will reveal all mysteries, and God will wi ll honor those who serve him in righteousness and great shall
be their reward and eternal shall be their
thei r glory.

QUESTION IV:
"Reports have come to us saying that you have gone and held different different firesides without the
permiss ion of your bishop or your Stake President, but you go of your own free will. Will you
permission
explain?"
ex plain?"
lohani
Iohani sasaid,
id , "The bishop
bi shop of that ward and Stake President are responsible respon sible for whomever they
would feelfee l or be inspired
in spired to ask to come and share their testimony, their genealogy, or talk about any
doctrine of ofthe
the church. I have been called and and invited to to come and share those things in the church that
are sacred and dear to me. Never once did 1I ever invite or ask for any special group or church members
to come so my wife and I1 could could bebe their
their host
host or
or their
their main
main speaker
speaker for
for their
their fireside
fireside or or sacrament
sacrament
meeting,
meeting , ~ never.
"To my understanding, firesides,fires ides, sacrament meeting, program programss for youth, or Relief Society and
others, bishops, Stake Presidents or Relief Relief Society Presidents or High Priest Group Leaders can invite
those that have special gifts of of the spirit, or retumreturn missionary couples who involve their lives li ves in
genealogy, family
family history,
hi story, temple activities,
activ ities, or those whom they feel are good couples who dedicate
their
the ir lives
li ves for missionaiy service
mi ss ionary servi ce in building up the Kingdom Ki ngdom of God on this earth, earth , can be called to
come and share their testimonies and their work, fa faith,
ith , and experiences, to help others to build up their
own
ow n faith and testimony.
"There are no rules that we cannot speak at other wards or stakes, especially if the bishop of
that ward along with their Stake President calls and asks if we can come and share our sacred
testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the dream of King Nebuchadnessar, Nebuchadnessar, the 12 tribes of Isreal, Isrea l,
blessing
blessi ng given to Joseph Smith of Ephraim and Manasseh,
Manasseh , the Book of Monnon,
Mormon , baptism for the dead,
dead,
temple marriage, faith, faith , repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, healing of ofthe
the sick, the House
of Israel, the lost ten tribes,
tri bes, genealogy of ofthe
the Polynesian
Polynes ian people, covenant people, Christ's teaching, teachi ng,
true church of God, God , Jesus (the Rock), second coming, house ofthe
of the Lord, terrible destruction in the last
days, missionary
mi ss ionary work, teaching of the prophets, family fa mi ly experiences, patriarchal blessings, temple
marriage,
marriage, priesthood,
priesthood , repentance,
repentance, pioneer stories, Holy
pioneer stories, Holy Ghost,
Ghost, prophets
prophets of ofthe
the old
old testament
testament and and their
their
testimonies,
testimonies, Adam Adam and and EveEve and all his
and all his family
fami ly andand posterity
posterity andand their stories and
their stories and testimonies,
testimonies, faith faith,,
trials,and sacrifices, miracles.
trials ,and sacrifices. miracles. Moses
Moses andand thethe ten
ten commandments,
commandments, Abraham Abraham and Isaac, Jacob,
and Isaac, Jacob, Noah,
Noah,
Enoch, Jesus Christ,
Enoch, Jesus Chri st, Jared,
Jared, Lehi,
Leh i, Nephi,
Nephi, Mormon, Moroni, New
Mormon, Moroni, New Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, Jews
Jews in in old Jerusalem,
old Jerusalem,
Zion,
Zion , Urim
Urim and and Thummin, Salvation, promises,
Th ummin, Salvation, promises, three degrees of
three degrees of glory,
glory, satan,
satan , scriptures,
scriptures, word word of of
wisdom, the ten virgins. Sources are Matthew Cowley speaks, LeGrand
wisdom , the ten virgin s. Sources are Mallhew Cowley speaks, LeGrand Richards book, Spencer W. Richards hook, Spencer W.
Kimball,
Kimball, Priesthood
Priesthood manuals,
man uals, Ensign,
Ensign, Conference
Conference talks, B.Y.U. devotionals,
talks , B.Y.U. devotionals, Return
Return ofthe City of
of the City of
Enoch, Isreal in the Pacific, the Royal lines of Tonga are connected
Enoch, Isreal in Ihe Pacific, the Royal lines of Tonga are connected to the Royal line of Queen to the Royal line of Queen
Elizabeth,
Elizabeth, genealogy,
genealogy. King King David,
David, charts,
charts, maps,
maps, and
and different
different lines.
lines.
 13 1
131

"When
"W hen we teach there are only on ly a few of
ofthe topics
the topi we use when we preach or
cs we or speak
speak at fires
firesides,
ides ,
using all scriptures and other church
ch urch books and manuals. Many people haven't haven' t heard some common
things that
th at the Church taught by early missionaries
mi ss ionaries and their testimonies when they first first came to the
Islands. To them,
them , the same doctrines are different
different or new, but the Church is just the same throughout
the whole world.
world . The only difference is that widely scattered people within the Church have widely
onl y difference wide ly
diverse cultural background
background,, their clothing o
c1othin b is different,
different, their language
lanouaoe
b b
is different,
different , and they do things
thin bos
in their native way, and their food is different,
different, but the blessing
bless ing that we are so grateful for in the Church
is that of
of knowing that we all belong to our Father and Mother in Heaven and they love each and
everyone of us. He doesn't
doesn ' tjjudge
udge us from the outside
outside,, but what we are really
reall y like inside, and the intent
of our
ou r hearts." (The interviewer was shaking his hi s head in di
disbelief.)
sbeli ef. )

QUESTION V:
The
T he interviewer again said, "Here's another consideration. Brother Wolfgramm, Wolfg ramm , the story that
reached us said that you told others, including Ton Tongans
gans that they are descendants of Nephi? Nephi ? But
Tongans believe that they are descendants of Laman because their the ir skin is brown. Can you explain that
to us, Brother Wolfgramm?
Wolfgramm?""
"Oh yes. I will be more than happy if you care to listen. li sten. It's a long, long story."
The interviewer
in terviewer said, "We want to listen,li sten, Brother Wolfgramm."
lohani sat up straight and began to recite
rec ite the story of Lehi from Jerusalem to America, 600 B.C.
with his wife Sariah and his four fOIJr sons Laman, Lemuel, Sam Sam,, and Nephi. T The
he Lord wanted Lehi to
outt of Jerusalem,
depart ou Jerusalem , because he prophesied
prophes ied to the people
peopl e concerning their thei r iniquity and they sought
to destroy his
hi s life.
After
After journeying
j ourneying into the wildemess,
wilderness, the sons retumedreturned to Jerusalem after after the record of the
Jews, and a second time for Ishm Ishmael
ael and his family,
hi s famil y, and took the daughters of Ishmael Ishm ael to wife. They
came to a large body of water, and with the Lord's Lord 's help, Nephi
Neph i built
bui lt a shi
shipp to cross the water to the
promised land (America). Posterity of Lehi and Ishmael are descendants of Manasseh Manasseil and Ephraim
the sons of
of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. The Book of Mormon is their history. hi story.
At the time the Jews were conquered by the the Babylonians
Babylonians and and taken intointo captivity, Zedekiah was
captivity, Zedekiah was
the K
King
ing of Judah. They slew the king's sons before his eyes,, and put out King Zedekiah's
hi s eyes Zedek iah' s eyes. TThey
hey
bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon (Jeremiah 52 :JO,J J).
52:10,11).
When David was anointed King ofIsrael, of Israel, the prophet Nathan said said,, "Thine house
hOl/se and king dom
kingdom
and throne will he estahlished Dav id was of the tribe of Judah. After King
established forever." David Ki ng Zedekiah
Zedeki ah was
bless ing given to David was not to be fulfilled
taken captive, it appeared that the blessing fulfilled and hishi s throne would
woul d
not endure forever. However, such was not the case.
The mother of King ZedekiahZedeki ah was Hamutal,
Hamu ta l, daughter of JeremiahJerem iah of Tibnah (the prophet)
(Jeremiah 52:1). The ch
{Jeremiah ildren of King Zedekiah were great grandchildren
children grandchild ren of Jeremiah.
Jeremi ah . He took two
Zedekiah 's daughters for safety into Egypt for hiding,
of Zedekiah's hi ding, and later lead a colony co lony of people to Spain
where the younger daughter married into the royal family family of Spain.
Spai n. Jeremiah then went to Ire land
Ireland
where the older one married the chief chi ef king of Deland.
Ireland. These unionsuni ons eventually caused the blood of
Judah to mix with all the royal familifamilieses of Europe.
132

At the time the sons of King Zedekiah

Zedek iah were put to death,
death , he had one son that escaped the
destruction ofof his brothers. This
T hi s son was Mulek, and through his hi s father Zedekiah, was a descendant
of Levi through his grandmother
of grandmother Hemutal, and Judah through his hi s father Zedekiah. Mulek went with
aaco
colony ofpeople to America
lonyofpeopletoAmerica {Bookof
(Book ofMormon,Helaman6:10)
Mormon , Helaman 6:10) From the Mediterannean Sea
they crossed the great waters and landed in the area of of Florida, and then traveled about North America.
They found a record on goldgo ld plates, later translated as the record written by Ether, of of a people that left
at the time ofof the Tower of Babel (the Jaredites) who were scattered by the Lord at the time of the
confounding
confound ing of of the language of the people who were building a tower to reach to heaven. They had
preceded the Mulekites and the last Jaredite survivor lived to tell the story of his people. He was
Coriantumr
Cor iantumr and he dwelt with the people of Zarahemla for the space of of 9 moons {Book of
moon s (Book of Mormon,
Morm on,
Omni 11:21)
:21) before he died.
A completely opposite route was taken by Lehi in 600 B.C. They crossed the great Pacific
ocean and landed in the area of Central
Central America
Amelica {Book of Mormon,
(Book of Mormon, Helaman
Helaman 6:10)
6:10) Amaleki,
Amaleki , the
the son
son
of Abinadom tells about a Nephite who was named Mosiah. He discovered the land ofZarahemla of Zarahemla after
warned by the Lord to flee out of the land of Nephi and go into the wildemess. wilderness. There he found the
colony ofof Mulekites and their city Zarahemla and was greeted warmly wannly by them,
them , and became their king.
Thus were the Nephites and the Mulekites united in peace and hannony. harmony.
They had many wars and serious contentions with the Lamanites and fell by the sword from
time to time. The language ofthe
of the Mulekites had become corrupted
con up ted as they had brought no record with
them; they denied the being of their creator and Mosiah nor his people could understand them. Mosiah Mosiah
caused that they should be taught in his hi s language. Zarahemla
Zarahem la gave a genealogy of his fathers according
to his
hi s memory, and they were written,
written , but not in these plates.
The two nations united to become one nation and intermarrige
intennarlige took place between the two
people (That
(That's
's the Polynesian
Po lynesian royal line). Book of of Mormon Alma 63:4-10.

(4) And it came to pass in the 37' 37'"1' year ofof the reign of of the judges, there
Ihere was a large
company of of men, even 10 to the amount of
Ihe amounr of' 55,400
,400 men, their
Iheir wives and their children,
departed out
depaned oul ofthe
of lhe land of Zarahemla into the
ofZarahemla Ihe land which was northward.
(5) And it
il came to 10 pass that
Ihal Hagoth, he being an exceedingly curious man, therefore Iherefore he
went
wenrforth
forlh and built
buill him an exceedingly large ship, on the border ofthe of the land Bountijitl,
Bountiful,
by the land Desolation,
Desolalion, and launched it forth into the west sea hy by the narrow neck,
which led into
inro the
Ihe land northward.
(6) And behold, there were many ofthe of lhe Nephites
Nephi tes who did enter therein
Ih erein and did sail away
with mucjh provisions,
provisions, and also many women and children; and they took their Iheir course
northward.
norrhward. And thus ended the 37'" year.
Ihe 37"'
th
(7) In the 38'" year this
Ihe 38 Ihis man build other ships. And the Ihe first
firsl ship did also return, and
many
man)' more people did enter into it; and they also lOok
inro il; took much provisions, and set out oUl
again 10
to the land norlhward.
northward.
 133
133
Hagoth asked hi hiss cousin Hawaii
Hawaiiloaloa to be captain of his ship. Hawaiiloa was an an astronomer.
astronomer.
He studied about the sun sun,, moon, and and stars.
stars. He knew about the the weather
weather,, the currents
currents,, earth rotation
rotation,,
and was a great fisherman.
and fi shel1llan . Hawaiiloa was bora born 8888 B.C.
B.C. He discovered the Hawaiian Islands.
Islands. At that
time they were uninhabited. He returned retumed to to bring his fami
family
ly back to these beautiful islands and named
himself and hi
them after himself hiss children. The first island was named Oahu after his firs! first daughter. The
second isisland
land was named after hi hiss second chchild, Maui. The big island of Hawaii was
ild. a son named Maui.
named after himself, Hawaii.. The fourth island was named Kauai,
him se lf, Hawaii Kauai , his other son. The remainder of
the islands he named after his steermen.
hi s steel1llen. Hawaiiloa was a descendant of Anianikalan
Anianikalanii (Nephite).
There was another Nephite named Opukahonua bom born about 263 B.C.B.C. (H
(His
is birth is determined
from the birth date of King Kamehameha of Hawaii bom born 1797, figuring 25 25 years for a generati
generation).
on).
Opukahonua didn didn't't like war so he sa sailed
iled from America and came to Easter Island. They lived
there because it was the island closest to the American coast and was first inhabited around 200 B.C.
This is ev
evidenced
idenced by the stone carvings of the early Menehune. Both Neph Nephites
ites and Lamanites were
in the island. I believe the ""long ears" were the first to arrive in Easter Island, coming by ship.
long ears" ship. Later
the "short ears" arrived in Easter Island. They lived side by side unti untilI the time arrived that "short ears"
rebelled and slew the ""longlong ears".
At that time Opukahonua had alreddy already left with hihiss people to find a new home. Opukahonua
found Tahiti first and they settled there for a while. Tane and Atea were descendants of Opukahon Opukahonua ua
(Nephites) who settled the Marquesas Islands and another descendant of Lolokona who may have been
a Lamanite descendant, was born bom about 238 B.C. B.C. as son of Nu'u (Noah) and intermarried with the
descendants of Hawaiiloa and became b$!came the ancestor of the royal family of Hawaii.
The
T he interrogator was satisfied with lohani's Iohani' s answers and shook our hands warmly warm ly as we
departed.

THE SEINI KIVALU'S

KJV ALU'S STORY
lohani's daughter
daughter Tisina Gerber
Gerher relates this stOI)'
stoiy

eini Kivalu was a student ofLiahona

of Liahona High School when my husband Roy Roy Gerber andand I were
were
S serving
servll1g a family
famIly history
hI story mission
mIsSIon in 111 Tonga between the years 1992 and 1995. A thought
came to Roy, that if he could
cou ld train a few students from Liahona College how to run a computer they
could
coul d help with the family
fami ly history
hi story research in Tonga when our mission
mi ssion is over and we leave for the
United States.
At church we asked for some volunteers for computer training for family history. hi story. We had
prayed about itit for almost three weeks. It was kind of of hard because in Tonga only
on ly women of of chief
chief or
nob le descent knew about their different
noble different lines, except a few genealogists
genealogi sts in the Church. The
knowledgeable
know ledgeable people had either left left the islands or had passed away.
fo ll owing week after
The following after Roy spoke at Matagiake Ward and at Liahona Ward, there came ten
young girls. A sixteen year old whose name of ofLupi Matahau , Toa Fakatou,
Lupi Ngaue from Matahau, Fakalou, Ofa
Ofa Fakatou
Sister Ve'etutu,
from Mapelu moe Lau, Sister Ve'etutu , Sister Kaumavae, Sister Mateaki, Sister longi
Iongi from Ha'akame,
Ha ' akame,
Sister Ana Moli of of Matangiake Ward, and 15 year old Seini Kivalu from Kahoua Ward. Her Her parents
Man u and Kelikupa Kivalu of
were Manu of Fualu, her grandfather's
grandfather's land is where the Tonga temple is now
located, and was given for for that purpose.
134

Roy found out it is much easier to teach the youth computer work because becau se of
of their
the ir young
minds. They are so much eas easier
ier than an older person to be trained. Sure enough, they were great and
learned very quickly how to run a computer comp uter and we want to express our love and gratitude for them.
They were able to type out all our Tongan death records, Tongan census, the Tamaha Amelia Amel ia record
and did submit most of those who were related to them for Temple work. work .
Some who were working at the office office mocked us US and wanted to know why we trained these
youth (babies) as they referred to these young women, to help us with the work. But with fasting and
prayers these youngyoun g women's
women 's hearts were touched by the spirit in time of of our need and became
excellent
excel lent in typing and searching for their families families..
One day II asked Seini why she was interested so much in computer and genealogy research.
She said, "Brother and Sister Gerber I'm only 14 years old, almost 15 (unusual for a 14 year old
Tongan) but as I was reading my patriarchal blessing, I couldn't help but know that a part of my
blessing was to search out and help do genealogy for my family who had gone before me, and want
so much to leam all I can about genealogy work." She agreed to give us her time and we in tum
learn aliI turn will
give her training in all that we know about family search and genealogy.
Most of these young women that helped us out in our family fam ily history
hi story library, after
after they turned
tu rned
221.
1. left on a mission afterward and one served in in New Zealand, one in the Philippines, one in Australia
and one in America
Ameri ca and two in Tonga. Two couples got married in the temple and one outside the
temple. As for for Seini and her family, they were called to serve a five-year mission in New Zealand and
what a joy for the whole family. Late one aftemoon aftemoon we just barely finished typing all the Tongan Tongan
Death Records and Seini began to share with me what happened to her at the age of of six years old or
so.
Her family livedli ved right next door to the property on which the Tongan temple was to be built. bu ilt.
The land had belonged to her grandfather grandfat her Tevita Folau Mahuinga of of Pea. One day she came out to
play and had a skipping rope. She began to skip and play with her rope. All of a ssudden udden she looked
over to the area next to her house and saw many people out there. They looked like they were working
and clearing this area. Some were singing, some were praying, and some were performing performing some
cultural lakelaka and ma'ulu'ulu
culturallakelaka rna ' uilt' ulu (Tongan Dances). When she saw them, she dropped her skipping
rope on the ground and ran inside the house to tell her mother. Manu came and saw no people out
there working. She thought Seini was just kidding around, so went back inside in side the house.
Seini
Sein i decided to come out again to play. Again Seini saw the same people out there working,
celebrating, eating, singing, and performing perfOlming their cultural
cu ltural dances, and still cleaning that area. She
again went back to tell her mother. Manu came out the second time but she couldn't see anything and
told Seini to stay in the house because it was getting late and dark already.
Manu's
Manu 's sister
si ster and part of of her family were living at Nuku'alofa
Nuku 'alofa and at the village of of Pea and
decided
dec ided to drive over to Houma one evening. As they drove by close to Seini's Seini 's house, there
the re they saw
everything that Seini had been trying to tell her mother. They couldn't couldn ' t believe it, so on their way back
from Houma they stopped over at Seini's Seini ' s house. Manu's
Manu ' s sister asked her who the people were
working, cleani
cleaning
ng out the temple site, and ssinging inging and dancing out there earlier.
 135

Manu said there was no no one there

there and Seini spoke up up and told themthem that itit was the the same thing
she had seen before before and tried
tried to
to tell
tell her
her mother,
mother, but she couldn't
couldn't see it. it. After
After that she told her her father
fat her
also and now now they all believed
beli eved what Seini had had been
been telling
tel lin g them
them was true.
true. The family
fam ily thought
thought maybe
these
these people
people were some Tongans who had passed passed beyond,
beyond , who came to show them them howhow happy they
were thatthat Tonga wouldwou ld finally
finall y build a Temple there on that th at ground
grou nd so they could all be redeemed from
the dead.
dead .
Right
Ri ght after
after they built the Tonga temple Seini Se ini had a dream
dream one nightnight in which
wh ich she saw the
heavens open and Jesus Christ Christ descending
descendin g from
from above with heavenlyheavenly angels surrounding
surrounding him, him , and lots
of
of lights
li ghts and brightness
bri ghtness encircling them. Seini's Sein i 's eyes kept looking
looki ng up and saw them coming com in g closer
closer to
where she was standing along the sidewalk by the Temple along with all her Primary Primary children
chil dren friends
friend s
all dressed in in white, but they were playing pl ayi ng outside by by the temple walls.
Finally JesusJes us and his
hi s heavenly
heaven ly angels came closer closer and closer to the top of of the Tonga temple
where the statue of of Angel
An gel Moroni
Moron i stands, and they surrounded him in a circle for a little littl e while
whi le and
right after
after that she looked out and felt a huge force force of
of air. It came very quicklyquickl y like
li ke a huge wave and
swept all al l the Primary children
chi ldren inside the temple. As she looked out all those Tongan adult members
were standing outside the temple. Only the children chil dren could
cou ld get inside.
Jesus
Jesll s immediately
immediately came inside the temple. temple . He picked these Primary children up one by one, one.
held them close c lose to his
hi s heart, and told them how much he loved each and every everyoneone ofof them. He took
these children up to the celestial celestial room and told them many beautiful beautiful stories. As Jesus Jes us was almost
finished
fin ished visiting
vi siting with the children,
childn;n, Seini
Se ini spoke out and said, sa id , "Jesus, can you please come with with me to
my home. My father Kelikupa Kivalu is dead, and I heard how you helped heal the sick and raise rai se
people
peop le from the dead. Please come and bless my father, so he may be raised from his
hi s death bed,
please."
Jesus took Seini's
Seini 's hand and they walked over to her home and inside Seini's Seini 's home,
home , there is
a very special room. It was a very, very clean room painted white, that they had prepared for spec special ial
guests like general authorities.
genera l authoriti es. Pictures were on the wall, wall , with white lace curtains and table cloths, cloths ,
with
wi th a vase of of freshly
fresh ly picked tropical
tropical flowers every day decorated the room. In this room is where
Seini's
Sein i 's father Kelikupa
Kel ikupa was lying dead on top of a table. Seini lead Christ inside in side this room and when
Jesus saw Kelikupa, he walked up closer to him hi m and put his hand on top of his head and gave him a
blessing and raised rai sed him from the dead. Right after after that special blessing,
blessing. Kelikupa got up from the top
of the table and thanked Jesus and shook his hi s hand. Seini ran up quickly, stood by her father, hugged
father, hu gged
and kissed
ki ssed him and also thanked Jesus for restoring her father's life again.
They called for Seini Seini's's mother to come along with some of of the family and they all came
together and walked back into the temple. The Savior again started to hug and kiss them one by one
incl uding the Primary children. He spoke to the people outside as he was about to leave the temple.
including
He said to them that they must mu st change and have cclean lean hands and pure hearts like these Primary
children or they cannot enter into his hi s Holy House. As he left the Temple, again his holy heavenly
angels were there, surrounding him and they heard the voice of the Sav Saviorior inside the Temple saying,
"I will see you very, very soon. soon."" They heard the same thing three times. times. The children were filled with
joy and gratitude in their hearts. Some were in tears waving wav ing and saying farewells
farewe!l s to Jesus and fe feltlt of
his love for them. They were amazed and thankful. thankful.
136

Again
Aaain Seini waved and saw them surround the statue of angel Moroni on top of ofthe
the temple for
'"
a little while and later di disappeared.
sappeared. Seini quickly woke up. She ran to check up on her fa father
ther and
hugged and kissed ki ssed him and told her parents what she had seen in her dream. He father believed her,
got up and began to write Seini Seini's 's story down.
But this
thi s was interesting too. While Whil e we were in Tonga doing ourfamily our family history mission, SeiniSeini's's
father had a very seriou
father seriouss accident at Liahona. He worked in the school supply room. One day the
shelves caved in and crushed him. him . Kelikupa passed oout ut or died there for a while. They rushed him
Nuku'alofa
to Nuku ' alofa to the hospital
hospita l and no one knew if he would be able
ab le to retum
return home.
After he was administered to, Kelikupa's Kelikupa 's life retumed
returned and he was ab able
le to retum
return to his
hi s job and
later was calledcall ed on a missionmi ssion to New Zealand along with his wife and Seini for five years. Just
recently
recentl y I heard that the family had been at the missionaiy missionary training center at Provo, Utah, with a new
calling
ca lling to be the new mission miss ion president for the Tongan Mission. Mission . Seini is now attending BYU Hawaii
University at this thi s time. She was such a joy to have around us, us , she had a very warm,
warnl , happy and
wholesome attitude about life, country, and church, and a beautiful Tongan tauolunga dancer.
Seini
Se ini also had an older brother named Peni He Kivalu Kivalu.. He is now playing rugby in Japan.
Before
Be fore that he played on a college team at Liahona in Tonga. He met a lot of boy friends friend s at college.
family, including Peni
His family, Peni,, taught his hi s whole team the gospel. I believe there were between 15 to 18 18
young men who joined the church through the examp example le and love and sharing the gospel with these
young
yo ung men,
men , they were baptized bapti zed into the Church
Church..
When their families found out, they were so upset with their sons' decision
sons ' deci sion they were kicked
ki cked
out of their homes, including one nephew of Salote from Felemea, so the Kivalu family fam ily invited the
whole rugby team back hack into their home. They built large temporary living quarters for these young
livin g quartcrs
men, fed them, them , clothed them, them , and cared for them as their own. own . In the meantime, most of of these young
men were about the right ri ght age to be called on a mi mission.
ss ion.
So the Book of Mormon and scriptures were read, taught to them daily, and a choice was given
them. Did they want to prepare themselves themsel ves to go on a mission? enough,, the whole rugby team
mi ssion ? Sure enough
left and served missions mi ssions throughout the islands of Tonga.
I know this thi s story was true because I've I' ve met one nephew of my mother, Elder Fakatou at the
village
vill age of Malapo who was out there on a mission mi ssion when we came out to have a fireside one day.
Many,
Man y, many
m any times we were invited out for a lovely lovel y dinner at the K Kivalu
ivalu home. Missionaries
Mi ssionaries and new
visitors were always invited over fo forr a big
bi g dinner at their home.
I remember two months before we left T Tonga
onga. we heard of the American parents of an El Elder
der
Adams fro from mA Arizona,
ri zona, I believe
be li eve they had just barely barel y arrived in Tonga, hoping to bring their son back
from
fro hiss mission.
m hi miss io n. They discovered Elder Adams' last missionary mi ss ionary companion was E Elder Penii He
lder Pen
Kivalu,
Kiva lu , and they had been sent out to one ofthe
of the hardest islands for missionaiy
missionary work, Niuafo'ou,, where
Ni uafo'ou
Elder John
Jo hn Groberg served his mission. m ission. Thi Thiss is where they had sent him.
It is one of ofthethe poorest islands.
islands . They continued having drought and volcanic eruptions on this th is
island.
is land. People there are not too fri friendly
endly with the missionaries.
mi ss ionaries. The boats only on ly come there once every
six months. When missionaries mi ssionaries mn run out of food, they have to boil some water to drink without sugar
or hard cabin biscuits,
biscui ts , and if you yo u are lucky you'll
you ' ll find some boiled green bananas to eat.
 137
When Elder
E lder K Kivalu
iva lu and E Elder
lder Adams returned from Nuiafo'ou
Nuiafo'ou to meet his hi s parents at
Tongatapu, these two eelders lders were very thin and had lost quite a bit of weight. When they ran out o ut of
of
food they would
wou ld go out to the bush bus h and hunt for big fat worms
WOI111S that made their home inside in side old tree
branches.
branches . They put them overnight inside a full bowl of coconut cream so they would wou ld be fed all night
long. In the moming
morning they would wou ld be filled with the coconut cream and ready to be fried or boiled boi led for
their meal.
When they told us that, I was so scared, and asked myself if we were sent there what would
happen to Roy? My husband, hu sband , as apapalangi (white
a papalangi (wh ite man) would
wou ld have a real
rea l hard time. At one time
we did ask Pres. Uasila'a
Uasi la'a if we cou couldld go to Niuafo'ou
Niuafo ' ou for two weeks, but he discouraged
d iscouraged us because
of Roy's health.
health . He said it it might
m ight not be two weeks in Niuafo'ou, but might be six of twelve months
out there without
w itho ut transportation back to Tongatapu.
after seeing
So after see ing these two elders, I remember the first thing Beni Ben i He Kivalu's
Kivalu 's mother sa said
id to
me the day they retumed.
returned. Le's go over to Utulau and take some warm wanll food, clothing and bedding for
our missionaries
mi ssionari es who
w ho just barely got back from N Niuafo'ou.
iuafo'ou. They are both tired, sick and need help.
We did and they were so happy.
Though they struggled and went through a velY very hard mission
mission,, the mi
missionaries
ss ionaries said they woul wouldd
never qquit
uit or give up that speci
special opportunity because the island was where the spirit of the Lord was
al opportur,ity
upon them constantl
constantlyy and taught them many spiritual testimonies to the truthfulnesstruthfulness of the gospelgospel ofof
Jesus Christ. Th Thisis is where they gained a great love for the Savior Jesus Christ. It humbled them and
taught them to love and share what they had with others.
I'm grateful for Manu's ~sister i ster which I've grown to love and know.
know . Sa'ane and Taiana, Siesia,
Fale'etau FFineanganofo,
ineanganofo, their mother Onita Kaufusi and father Tevita Mahuinga, they are very velY special
friends of my family. We are grateful for their love of
frie nds of ofthe gospel,, and Peni He's influence on his rugby
the gospel
team.. Seini
team Seini's
's sweet spirit, and Manu and Kelikupa's
Kel ikupa 's love for missionaries including their sister and
husband the F Fineaganofo
ineaganofo w will
ill stay with us always. Sione and Fale'etau Fineanganofo are now serving
as the new Tonga Temple president. They have done a great work with the students at Liahona and
great leadership amongam ong the Tongan saints. May God continue to bless the family throughout the
islands, I pray in the name of of Jesus Christ, Amen.

EVIL SPIRIT BETWEEN MATA'IKA AND FELETOA

By flohani
ollan;

o;
O
,ur
ur family
fam ily was back in Vava'u from Tongatapu for a short stay after our first mission. The
Branch
B ranch President Saia Langi from Ha'alaufuli
Ha ' alaufuli assigned me to go to the village of Feletoa
and visit that branch and speak at sacrament meeting. All the family attended our own meeting at
Ha'alaufuli.
Ha'alaufu li . I decided to ride on my horse that day. I took my scriptures, we had our family prayer
then I was on my way.
way . I passed by aa lot of people on their way to Church that morning.
moming. Icame
I came through
the town ofTa
of Ta'anea, Mata'ika,
'anea, then Mata ' ika, the town of my grandmother Kisaea SiSisifa Tu'inahoki.
sifa Tu The family
' inahoki . The family
was very happy to greet me end asked where I was going? "To Feletoa" I said. They invited me to
drop in and have a Sunday meal with them after taking care of of my assignment at Feletoa, as is the
custom in Tonga. I thanked them and accepted the invitation.
138
\
I had hardly passed the village of Mata'ika when my horse started to jump up in the air as if
he was trying to avo avoidid something on the road. I said to the horse, "Oh! "Oh! Is there anything w wrong?
rong? Why
are you jumping like that?" The horse started to neigh louder and louder again and lifted lifted both front
legs up in the air and kept on kicking and kicking and going backward instead of forward. I looked
in stead offOIward.
down and in front of the horse and saw a huge dog that stood from one side of the road all across to
the oppos
oppositeite sside.
ide. 1 had never
I had never seen
seen aadog
dog that
that huge
huge before.
before. II said
said to
to myself,
myself, "No
"No wonder
wonder thethe horse
horse isis
acting
act ing so strange." I immediately
strange. " 1 immed iate ly felt that it was not a real dog but an evil spirit who came to stop me
from visiting
from vis itin g the saints
the sa ints atat Feletoa.
Feletoa.
off the horse, grabbed the extra rope I was carrying, and made it into four long ropes and
I got off
began to whipwh ip the dog. The minute I whipped the dog, I felt that th at the rope didn
didn't' t touch the dog at all.
al l.
The
T he dog disappeared
di sappeared from where he was standing and changed direction to the opposite side of the
road. I got angry and again took my rope to whip the dog, to clear the road so my horse and I could
move forward.
forward. The same thing th ing happened, again the dog moved to the opposite side of of the road.
road . I
came to the realization
real ization that by only one thing can I get rid of the dog and that was to use the power of
the priesthood of God God.. 1I ddid
id just that. When I fini finished
shed I saw the dog had shrunk from this thi s huge size
to aa very small
small dog.
dog . TThe dog fifinally
he dog nally ran across
across the street
street to an oold graveyard and
ld graveyard and disappeared
disappeared in somesome
kind of aa smoke
smoke or or mist.
mist.
I was on my knees thanking God for using hi hiss priesthood power to get rid of this evil spirit and
protect my horse. I ffinally inally got to Feletoa. As I walked in the small Tongan chapel chapel,, Pres. Kauvaka
welcomed me and said I could use the rest of ofthe
the Sacrament Meeting time to speak to them. I was so
grateful and gave a talk on an assigned subject subject,, expressed my testimony, and also shared the
experience
experie nce that I had on my way to Feletoa with the rest of Felctoa's Fclctoa's branch members. They were
touched and humbled by that experie experience.
nce.
 139

Guests in President Kimball's home

lohani - Tisina

lahoni with favorite

favorite hat and
Grandchildren
Grandchildren
Moroni, Gabriel, Selu Vaia

Iohani - Salote
lohani
 4-
O

lahoni -• Solate
lahoni
Return
Return from
from Tonga
Tonga Mission 1982
Family meets them
them at
at the
the Salt
Salt Lake
Lake Airport
 141

Tonga Temple 1995

(See the seini Kivalu Story)
~~

A Tongan-style Beach House

at Koulo, Ha 'apai
Ha'apai
Rented to the missionaries 1995
142
 CHAPTER VI

IMIGRATION TO U.S.A.
IMIGRATION U.S.A
 145
145

PREPARATION FOR AMERICA

Saturday. Sept. 6,
Saturday, 6. 1965.
'was over at the Liahona High School, finishing some roofing, remodeling some ofthe broken
Ii;-windows
was over at the Liahona High School, fini shing some roofing, remodeling some of the broken
when I was greeted by the Mission President Pat Dalton. He said that he heard a
wllldows when I was greeted by the MI ss ion President Pat Dalton. He sa id that he heard a
rumor that Salote and me, with our family, were leaving for the States?
President. Dalton was very concerned about our plan and said, "Iohani, "lohani, you must be out of you yourr
mind." (Tangata taka faka sesele aupito)
aupito).. ""HowHow are you goi goingng to go to America without any money?
How are yo mouth s? What about the language? lobs?
youu going to feed those little mouths? Jobs? I'm so afra afraidid you
might live on soup every day when you get there?"
I smiled and sa said,
id , "Pres. Dalton, nothing is too hard for the Lord. Lord. All you do do is to
to serve him
with all your might, mind and strength
strength.. He wants us to open our minds and mouth and ask in faith fa ith for
the things that we need and he will bless our lives. li ves . To have our family sealed to us in the Sa Saltlt Lake
lways been our goal so we can be a forever family. It's
Temple has aalways It 's up to the Lord to bless us when
we serve him well. II know he will continue to bless our fam il
family."y."
II told Pres ident
President Dalton, " I've
"I've been able to support all our children here in the islands, and I'm
wi lling to take any job offered
willing offered me in the States when we get there so I'll I' ll be ab le to care for my wife
able
and the rest of my family.
family."" President Dalton just shook his hi s head as we parted. I'm sure the President
was quite concerned
concemed about us because he and his hi s wife Lela really loved our family. family.
Sunday night:
I took my tapa cloth, wrapped it around my body and went to the Lord in a very humble and
low ly prayer say
lowly in g, "0
saying, "O Hol
Holyy Father, we have been waiting for an answe answerr to our prayers. How much
longer do we need to wait for an answer? if If we are to leave our island home for the promised land that Ihat
was given to us as oour ur inheritance in the last days and we are of the House of Israel, Israel , please give an
answer to our prayers.
Our Wolfgramm
""Our Wolfgramm familyfamjly isn't
isn' t allowed to go to to New Zealand at at this
this time,
time, but our blessings will will
be given to us when we go to Zion, our promised land. Please open the door so my family fami ly can
go to Zion that we might be able to receive our patriarchal blessings. I desire to have my wife and
chi ldren sealed in the temple. That has been our family
children fami ly wish and a goal set and encouraged by my
Wolfgramm before he left for the States and again on his visit while
Uncle Rudy Wolfgramm wh il e serving in the U.S.U.S.
Army.
future for the Wolfgramm
Uncle Rudy can see the future Wolfgramm familyfami ly ahead of of us. The
T he price of
o f copra is
is
going down. IfIf the children
chi ldren don't get an education,
ed ucation, life will
wi ll be very difficult,
diffic ul t, but most of
of all we desire
to go the U.S.A.,
U.S.A. , receive our temple blessings and continue to serve Thee.".
Monday:
My friend
friend Uaifa and I rode our bikes to Nuku'alofa
Nuku'alofa to do some remodeling at the new chapel
which was
which was being
being built
built next
next to
to the
the L.D.S.
L.D.S. mission
mission headquarters
headquarters at at the
the home
home ofof Soape
So ape and
and Mumui
Mumui Kaho
Kaho
at Nuku'alofa.
146

President
Presidem Dalton called to Uaifa and me to come over, he needed to see us. He said, "I want
you to sit down and I'll f'Il read you a very special letter that I've
I' ve just received from President David O. 0.
McKay." The letter said in part: President Dalton, The Church has no business to stop anyone who
has the desire to come to America and it is your duty to help them to come here legally.
My heart was moved and I could not express my love to the Lord at this thi s time, rI felt so grateful
grateful
and humble that this thi s was the answer to my long years of fasting, praying, and waiting for the right time
to leave our homeland and other family famil y members to come to America. My emotion was
so great that tears of joy filled my eyes. rI could not express the feelings of deep love for the Lord, his
Savior and the Prophet David O. McKay and the mission mi ssion president and his hi s wife and family.
family.
President Dalton shook our hands and told me that I must go back home, gather all the
important papers and he would help me fill them out. I did just what I was told to do. do .
Tuesday morning:
[I retumed
returned on my bicycle with all our papers. starting on this important venture,
Before stal1ing
President Dalton and I went to an inside room for a spec special
ial prayer. The mission secretary, and
President and sister Dalton were busy filling out all forms and papers, running from the mission office office
to the Tongan Government
Govemment offices, offices, and the papers were finally completed.
lohani and President Dalton took the papers and went to see the Premier. President Dalton Dal ton
told him that they had a favor to ask and also also would like to leave a blessing with him. They requested
that the fee of 200 hundred pounds for each exit visa be waived. He was blessed that if if he erased that
law the blessings of heaven would be open to him. him . The Tongans that leave here have a great love in
their heart for those left behind and will send them food and clothes and whatever they can to help
them.
The same day President Dalton told me that he would help me get all the visas from Fij Fijii
because
becau se there wasn't a Fijian Council in Tonga to handle the visas, but in exchange he would like me
to go to Houma and move their branch chapel to the village of Fatal. I hope you can do that while I'm
ofFatai.
away at Fiji,
Fiji , President Dalton added.
[I thanked him and promised to do my best. best.
Wednesday morning:
moming:
President Dalton left by plane for Fiji. I went to the Lord and told him of of my needs. "Help
me, dear Father. This is a very serious job I was asked to do. Give me the knowledge, and the
strength,, so 1[ may
strength may be be able
able to
todo
do thi
this. Guide me
s. Guide meand
and help
help me
me toto know
know what
what IIshould
should do.
do." This was
" Tllis wasaa
small part of my prayer.
That same day I was inspired to take each whole part ofthe of the four walls downdown,, then asked the
whole Houma
Houm a Branch to come and help me move the rest. They did the job as I was guided from
above. Both members and non-members came to help remove the walls, walls , dig up the poles, and all
work that needed doing do ing to take the chapel down.
Thursday:
I invited
in vited aallll of the Fatai
Fatal branch members to come and be united with those from Houma to
build their new chapel. Members and non members came to dig holes and help with the posts.
Friday:
 147
147

I was guided to ask all the Fatai branch members to help reconstruct the chapel.
chapel. In
In aa short time
the chapel was standing up. They went back to Houma to bring a small stage stage.. The chapel
chape l from
Houma now stands as a new meeting
meetin g chapel for the saints at Fatai.
Fatai .

Saturday:
President Dalton arrived back from Suva, Fiji. That afternoon afternoon he drove to Fatai and could
hardly
hardl y believe
beli eve that the chapel that had been in Houma, only on ly three days earlier was standing in Fatai.Fata i.
President Dalton said, said , "Good work,
work , lohani,
Iohani , get in my car and I will drive you back to Mapelu. I have
good news for you. I have obtained the needed visas." "lohani,, on Monday the To.ti.w
visas ." He added, "Iohani Tofua will
wi ll
be arriving and you and your famil familyy will be on that boat to Samoa".
Unlike most ofthe
of the people that leave the islands, I didn didn't' t take any tapa or mats or other artifacts
artifacts
with me-but rather took some cherished cheri shed genealogy
genea logy records to my new home. One of my treasures was
the first
first written record of of the
th e Royal line of the tamaha
tam aha recorded in 1844.
I left Samoa first with the older chi children ofthe
ldren of the family
fam ily and Salote came a monthmonth or soso later with
with
the younger children.
chi ldren . It was interesting for the participants but an uneventful uneventfu l trip.
Di
In due time they all arrived in Salt Lake City. Upon arriving at daughter Ana's home, I1
disappeared-only to to be fo
found
und in the back yard on my knees kissing the ground, ground , then raising my anTIS
arms
in supplication to the Lord for ou ourr safe arrival.
I1 sa
said, "How are
id , "How are we
wegoing
going totothe
the U.S.A.
U.S.A. without
without aapenny
penny inside
inside my
mywallet?"
wallet?" HeHepicked
picked upuphihis
s
wallet
wall et and showed President Dalton.
D,!lton. "See, I'm poor, no money."
President Dalton replied, "Don't show me your empty wallet, lohani. saidd for you
lohan i. When I sai yo u to
be on the boat Monday, that's what I mean. Be on the TO{1Io Tofua Monday."
Monday,"
"Thank you", President Dalton Da lton shook hands as I was dropped off Mapelu.. The good news
off at Mapelu
was given to all our family. famil y. We soon sang a hymn and were on our knees as I offered offered a prayer to
express our love and gratitude for this golden opportunity to finall finallyy come to the promised
prom ised land.

Sunday:
Sunday :
All attended Church.

Monday:
President Dalton said only
on ly half of the family can now leave for Samoa. Seats on the small
airplane were limited. The family left,
left. some with shoes, some without. Each only onl y had one set of
of
clothing and $100
$ 100 pocket
pocket money
money that
that President
President Dalton
Dalton gave
gave me.
me. But
But our
our son-in-law
son-in-law and
and daughter
daughter had
had
sent $3,000 plus extra
p lus ex tra money for the visas, papers, fare, pocket money to President Dalton
Da lton in Tonga.

Note: it
It appears that there was a change in plans between Saturday and Monday
Monday.. instead
Instead of
sailing on the Tofua
Tofua,, they went hy
by plane to Samoa at two
two separate times.
times.
148

A COPY OF MY BIRTH CERTIFICATE

CERTIFICATE
Sci/ole Fakatou
By Salote FakalOIl Wolfgral1l1l1
Wolfgramm

s s our family prepared our passports to leave Tonga for America, everyone in the family
Amad
A had a copy of their Birth Registration except me.
me. We cou
couldn't
ldn't find mine at home, or at the
govemment office. A few weeks went by. Our family decided to go and present our
government office. o ur problem to the
Lord and ask Him for help.
Sure enough, I went to sleep that evening, and in a dream, I saw myself myself as a childchi ld about eight
or
o r nine years old walking down Feleme'a beach. I met a nice looking man about 60 years old who
stood about 6 feet tall,
tall , with wavy hair, He looked like a real fisherman.
fishernlan. His sk skin
in was browned,
browned , tired
and wom
worn out from the wind and heat of the noon day sun sun.. He was wearing a vaia vola and was carrying
a fishing net across his shoulder.
shoulder.
He called me by my first name, "Salote" and introduced himself himself to me. "My name is Isileli lsileli
Mafi from Kolomotu'a, Nukualofa. Nukualofa. I'm your mother's father and I was the one responsible for
registering your name when you were bom. born . The name I registered was not Salote Fakatou, Fakatou , but it was
Mele Tu'ipulotu,
Tu'ipulotu , and if you need more information
infornlation you can go and see a cousin of mine named Dr.
George Niumeitolu, he has our genealogy line." line."
I ran up to him
him,, hugged and kissed and thanked him whole heartedly and we were parted. parted.
Grandfather
Grandfather left. Tears rolled down both our faces. The next morning as I woke up, my heart was so
full of joy
joy and happiness.
happiness. I offered
offered a prayer of
of gratitude to God for the infOJlllation,
information, and for being able
to meet my grandfather
grandfather for the first time. Then I left left on a bus to Nuku'alofa
Nuku ' alofa for the elusive
elus ive birth
certificate and sure enough I found it. My grandfather,
grandfather, Isileli
Isileli Mafi, had named me Mele Tu'ipulotu,
but my father
father Benisoni Kaufusi Fakatou gave me the name Salote Lasini Las ini Fakatou. I later met with my
cousin Siaosi
cousin Siaosi Niumeitolu and and leamed
learned much about my grandfather's
grandfather's family line that II never knew
before.
before. After
After v/e
we got
got toto America,
America, II was
was able
able to do the
to do the work for grandfather's
work for grandfather's line
line in
in the
the temple.
temple. MyMy
mother died when
mother died when II was
was almost six months
almost six old, and
months old, and grandmother
grandmother Teleita
Teleita Fifita
Fifita Fakatou,
Fakatou, Ofa Ofa Vai
Vaitai
tai
an aunt, and
an aunt, and an
an uncle Samuela Fakatou
uncle Samuela Fakatou cared
cared for
for me
me until
until II married lohani Wolfgramm
married Iohani Wolfgramm in in May
May 1933
193 3
at Neiafu,
at Neiafu, Vava'u, Tonga.
Vava'u , Tonga.
(Certificate
(Certificate of Birth Registration now in possession of
of Salote - 2000)
 FAMILY PICTURE
FAMILY PICTU RE 1958
Back Iohani, Napoleone,
Back row: lohani, Napoleone, Samuela,
Samuela, Diana
rd row:
3'"
3 Salote , Leilan
Salote, Leilani, i, Flofeni,
Flofeni, Maike
Maikelele
2nd row: Norma,
Norma, Elsie, Lisiat
Lisiatee 4-

1I"st row:
row: Tila, Uini
Uini
Child ren absent:
Children absent: Marlene,
Marlene, Ana, Siale, Tisina, Walterr
Tisina, Walte
150

WHR-'Si

Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking for the Tonga Temple
Taufa Ahau Tupou IV - Pres. Spencer W. Kimball
King Taufa

lohani - Salote at home

Iohani

Iohani
lohani
 CHAPTER VII

GROWING UP WITH

IOHANI AND SALOTE

 153

TRIBUTES T TO
O IOHANI AND SALOTE SALOTE
These stories were written th e children around 1987 as tributes
wrillen by the to their parents,
Tributes To ancl have
parellfs, ond hove heen
been
ahreviated
abreviated 1to omit duplication of
0 omil experiences.
afexperiences.

By MALINA WOLFGRAMM HENDERSON (Child #1)

knew lohani
Iknew lohan i to
to be this
thi s kind of man:
I
1.
I. fearing.
God fearing.
2. Obedient
3. Selfless and very giv giving
ing
4. Quiet, he possessed quiet inner strength.
5. Strong, faithful. He had a passion about is faith faith..
6. He showed unconditional
unconditi onal love for all and was very charitable and kind to everyone.
7. He had integrity
8. He was appreciative of family,family , nature, people and life. li fe .
9. He knew well and was very proud of his hi s lineage to the Royal Tongan line. li ne.
10. He knew his hi s genealogy and its importance to himself himself and the gospel.
11.
11 . He was a happy man and a very free person.
12. He was a deep thinker, very inventive and creative with wi th both his
hi s mind and his
hands.
13. He was an artiartist,
st: very skskilled
illed in drawing des designs,
igns, flats,
flats , costumes, made sketches of of
Temple Square for Kupesi.
14. I believe he was an engineer in is own right. In his hi s head he could build bui ld a car or boat
b:Jat
that could move without gasolinegasoline,, but time and money would not permit it. He built bui lt
the first passenger bus that carried people around Tonga in 1951. 195 1.
15. He was a carpenter and built many houses, movie theaters, furniture, furnitu re, cabinets,
cabi nets, etc.
He roofed a whole house with empty cans by opening each can, flattening them,
then using them as shingles. He made baking pans for the baker.
16. He lived the way he believed no matter what anyone sa said
id or how much they mocked
him.
him .
17. He was slow to anger and would laugh along with those that teased him.
18. A great teacher. He gave his hi s all in teaching the gospel with faith, faith. fasting, and
prayer.
19.
19. He had the
He had the gift
gift of blessi ng and
of blessing healing the
and healing the sick through the
sick through the power
power of the pri
of the esthood
priesthood
he held
he held and
and byby the
the great fa ith that
great faith that he
he possessed,
possessed, fasting
fasting and and prayer.
prayer. He
He waswas truly
truly aa
faithful
faithful servant
servant toto his
hi s God
God andand nono matter
matter who
who needed
needed his help spi
his help ritually.
spiritually.
20.
20. He was aa true patriarch to his children
children and fami ly.
family.
21.
21. He was a prayerful man, friendlyfri endly and warm hearted.
hearted.
22. abo ut life and the gospel.
Vivacious about
154

23. He was illiterate when it came to reading especiallyy when it came to

read ing and writing, especiall
English,
Engli sh, his second language, yet he spoke Engli
English
sh without fear of what peopl
peoplee
might
m ight say or thin think. k.
24. He was a very positive pos iti ve person
25. He was du dutyty bound to to family, religion
reli gion and country. He loved and respected this thi s land
of America.
26.
26. He honored his
He honored hi s ccitizenship
itizenship in in America.
Ameri ca. He He loved
loved andand honored
honored his membershi p in
his membership in
the Church
the Church of of Jesus Chri st of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Latter-day Saints
Saints and his duties
and his duties inin the
the priesthood.
pri esthood. He He
li ved aa simp
lived simple le lilife.
fe.
27.
27. He always
He always forgave
forgave and and fo rgot.
forgot.
28.
28. He
He hadhad aa pure
pure and and great love of
great love of Chri st. He
Christ. He learned
leamed so much about
so much about himhim and
and knew
knew of of
him personall
him personally. y.
29.
29. Hi
Hiss last
last coun
counsel sel to to me
me as he loudl
as he loudlyy cri ed when
cried when II came
came to to see him on
see him on Jul
Julyy 4, 1997.
4,1997.
When II entered
When entered his hi s living
liv ing room,
room, he he surpri sed me
surprised me byby hugging
hugging me, me, then
then lifting
lifting me
me offoff
the floor
the floor andand sw ingi ng me
swinging me around
around in in aa circle.
circle. He said, ko
He said, ko eku
ekufoifo i pele
pele (my
(my spec iall y
specially
favored, beloved
favored, beloved one). one). It was the
It was the first time he
first time he ever
ever sa id that
said to me
that to me andand II felt hi s
felt his
spec
special ial love
love andand forgiv
forgiving ing feeling
feeling for me. II felt
for me. felt somehow,
somehow, somewhere
somewhere in in my
my
struggle
struggle in in thi
thiss life,
life, hehe had
had approved
approved what what I1 had
had done
done with
with my
mylife.
life.
30.
30. T
Thehe constant
constant counsel
counsel he he gave
gave hishis children
children and
and grandchildren
grandchildren was was always
always thethe same:
same:
A. Practice
A. Practice repentance
repentance in in your li ves.
your lives.
B. We
B. We came
came to this cou
to this ntry not
countiy not toto make
make money,
money, butbut to
to do temple work.
do temple work.
C. Live aa righteous
C. Live righteous life. life.
D. Always
D. Always llive ive worthy
worthy to to carry
carry aa temple recommend and
temple recommend and dodo temple
temple workwork..
E. Pay tithing.
E. Pay tithing.
F.
F. Live
Live in in obedience
obedience to to God
God's 's laws
laws

By ANNA WOLFGRAMM SILLITO (Child #2)

Way back about 1936 our Uncle Rudy Wolfgramm, Wolfgramm, my father'father'ss cousin Charles Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm
and another cocousin Fritz
usin Fri tz Wolfgramm pplus lus Uncle Sam
Samuela
ue la Fakatou and Aunty Helene and my parents
had a family
fa mily meeting held
he ld at our old house at Ha'alaufuli.
Ha ' alaufuli . They were there to make pl plans
ans to fin
findd a way
that each family cocould
uld start to teach their chichildren
ldren to speak English, find
Engli sh, fi nd a good carpenter job,
j ob, and try
to save enough money for each famil familyy to come to America
Ame rica so we could all be sealed to our fami families
lies
forr ever and ever and to redeem our loved ones and have their work done in the temple.
fo
And at that titime
me there was no temple closer to Tonga than the Hawaiian Temple and the Salt
Lake Temple was in their dreams that time.
Somehow the fami family plan
ly pl an got out, and the people mocked us and they started to call Iohanilohani the
yankee. They laughed and said said,"
, " Dream on, you fools,
fool s, it's impossible for you to leave for Ameli
America,
ca,
you will never know how to speak English."
 155

By SALE WOLFGRAMM (Child #3)

The wonderful
wonderful people of ofthe
the church in Fo'ui were great in helping all new missionaries
mi ss ionaries who
came to their village.
vi ll age. Daily there was a plate
pl ate of food we received from each home at meal time to
feed us. In my father's time off
off on Saturday, Tevita Pau'
Pau'uu (a non-member) asked Iohani
lohani if he cou
couldld
build him a lumber house. Iohani
lohani agreed. TevTevita
ita said, "How much are we talking about for bui
building
ldin g
my home?"
lohani sa
Iohani said,
id, "For all my work there is only one thing
thi ng I would like from you."
you."
asked,, "What's that?"
Tevita asked
lohani
Iohani continued, "After
"After I build
bu ild your
you r home, how about all allowing
owing all the missionaries
mi ssionaries that come
to Fo'ui
Fo' ui in your
you r home to teach you the gospel gospe l and those who would be willing wi lling to listen?"
li sten?" With a big
smilee Tev
smil Tevita
ita told Iohani
lohani there was no problem.
After lohani
Iohani completed the home, it was opened to all missionaries mi ssionaries and later he joined the
Church and was baptized with his hi s wife and family.
lohani was ve
Iohani very
ry busy. He was the missionary,
mi ssionary, preacher, branch president, and also cared fo forr
the brach records, genealogy, Sunday school teacher, and the only elder in the village. vi ll age. He went out
at night to do street meetings.
meetings . Salote was Relief Society president, Primary teacher, M.I.A.
wa3 Relief M.l.A . teacher
and they both taught adults.
I remember well when Iohani lohani first left on our mission from Vava'u to Tongatapu. His Unc Uncle le
Rudy Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm,, who later married
marri ed Edna Pugsley, gave him some neckties and a mi missionary
ssionary jacket,
the only one he ever owned. He H~ used that everyday for almost three or four years during his mission mi ss ion
at Houma, Fo'ui, of lohani's
FO'ui, and Mapelu. The front part oflohani's shirt fell apart and the back part of his shirt
had too
lOO many holes to cover his hi s front and back. He usually took his vaia vola and wrapped it around the
front and used the collar from his hi s worn our shirllo
shirt to tie his necktie to and put his hi s jacket on on to to cover hihiss
boney back when he used to go out tracting or to do a street meeting at night, and no one would wou ld ever
know except his immedi ate family. We prayed for him that
hi s immediate thal his clothing would hold up until unli l we
retumed
returned to Vava
Vava'u.' u.
Vava ' u lohani started to work as a contractor to build new homes,
Back in Vava'u homes, com munity centers
community
(for men and women for their kava ceremony and tapa-making), schools. furniture, churches.
schools, beds, furniture,
He cut and designed a bread bakery with trays, bread pans, cookie sheets all throughout Neiafu Neiafu,,
Leimatua, Holonga, and Tuanekivale and for the wholesale bakery owners, even the Catholic nuns.
It was very hard to find scraps of tin cans to use for making baking trays trays,, so lohani
Iohani would col lect
collect
empty cabin biscuit
bi scuit containers that we received from Fiji and that' that'ss what he used to make trays with with,,
even cans they shipped their lard and oil in. He would use that for his hi s new inventions.
For the male youth in our family, bamboo or broken glass was used for circumcision. It was
so painful for them.
them . T hey usually waited until they were about 14 or 16 years old to do that. They
They
didn't
did n't have scissors to cut hair with, so they used a fire torch to trim their hair.
I remember the first time we arrived at Mapelu. We had so much trouble from our Aunty
Helene. She was always mad at us children and disliked her husband's side of the family. Helene
was not a very happy aunt. She was still struggleing with the Word of Wisdom. I fe feltlt so bad to be
there, but later we learned
leamed to understand her.
156

Single labor missionaries loved to come to our home at Mapelu for a kava party in the evening
because we had a lot of young single women who lived there attending school at Liahona. from
Ha'apai,
Ha' apai, some from Niua, and most from Vava'u. Vava ' u. lohani's
Iohani 's style of kava would always be theth e same.
Two girl
girlss in attendance to prepare the kava root. lohani Iohani would
wou ld start the conversation with his
scriptures. He would teach them and take tums turns reading to them. The young men would ask many
questions about certain scriptures and lohani
Iohani was able to break it down and explain to them in easy
words that could help them understand the Bible or Book of of Mormon
MOl1l10n or Doctrine and Covenants so
much better.
bener. Same with genealogy, his favorite time to teach the labor missionaries about their roots
and some of the genealogy lines.
lines . They never got tired of of listening
li stening to his
hi s teaching. Sometimes they
asked for an appointment for the next week, so they could cou ld gain more knowledge and understandi
understandingng
about the ChChurch.
urch.
He taught them the Book of Mormon and how it is their history and they must read it every day
so they can gain
gai n a testimony of
of it, same as the other scriptures. He taught them to prepare their family
to go to the temple, serve one another, love one another. He told them not to hit or abuse their the ir wives
w ives
or children,
orch ildren, repent daily, and come unto Christ and li listen
sten to all our Church leaders and follow the voice
of the prophet.

By TAIANA
T AIANA WOLFGRAMM BROWN (Child #4)
1I wou
would also lilike
ld also toexpress
ke to express my my love
love and
and appreciation
appreciation to
tom my two wonderful
y two wonderful parents,
parents,my
my fath
father
er
lohani and my mother Salote for
Iohani fo r all that
th at they have done for me in teaching, guiding,
guidin g, and working so
hard on my behalf, in putting me through school, and most of of all they taught me how to work, and love
lo ve
one another. They taught me the gospel and how to be a good mother when I grow up.
I was very lucky to have a dad who truly loves me and his family family.. He gave all that he had.
I do love and respect him for being so unselfish and sharing his hi s love with others too.
too. Mother and
father I do want to thank you both for that small seed of of the gospel that you planted so early in my
heart, since
si nce I was able to understand right from wrong, for this helped to guide and direct me
throughout my life. You both made me so very happy at this time, especially those happy mem memories
ories
and good times at home.
I do not know where he ever had the knowledge to take care of us when we were ill, ill , when even
some of of the so-called doctors at the time did not know what to do. do. He got right in and did a miracle.
He would heat up kettle
ketlle after kettle
kenle of hot boiling water and put our
o ur dishes
di shes and eating utensils
utensil s in and
said it was to sterilize them. He also told my mother to boil our clothes
c lothes when there was one of us who
came down with any kind of infection,
infection , to prevent the spread of the disease
di sease or infection.
I cannot express enough the strong feelings that I have for m myy parents, the many
m any thanks and
appreciation that I have kept in my heart for a long time, now that I am so happy to hhave ave a more
exquisite way of expressing my love and feelings for my parents for all the good things that they have
done for me. I will ask my Heavenly father to please continue to look over both of of you, mother and
father, and bless you with a long life on earth, so that you
father, yo u may be able to fulfill
fulfill the work and the
mission you both have here on earth to the fullest. I will always be thankful that I am your daughter.
I will
wi ll continue to fo
follow
ll ow all the good teachings that you have blessed me with w ith as a guiding light.
 157
157
By TISINA WOLFGRAMM GERBER (Chi (Child
ld #5)
Allow me to take my hat off to Salote, my specspecial mother, for all
ial mother. all the love on
only would
ly a mother wou ld
give and share her pain
pain,, worries, and serv
service, unselfishly
ice, unselfi shl y to her family and those who are about to
depart to the other sside.
ide. Throughout my whole life she is one in a million
million.. Most of us are so grateful
grateful
and so blessed to have such a humble, cheerful
cheerful,, loving,
lovi ng, and caring mother as we have. In a Po Polynesian
lynesian
way, we usually call our parents by their first name.
way,

By SAMUELA WOLFGRAMM (Child #6)

It happened to Sam Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm,, bomborn January 5,5,1942 Tongatapu,, the ssixth
1942 in Mapelu, Tongatapu child
ixth ch ild
family.. T
in the family The
he family was on a mission and it was during the confusion of World War B. II. Poverty
and hunger were shared evenly among the whole ki kingdom.
ngdom .
I cannot measure in weight
weight,, volume, or in time the adm admiration
iration that I have for my father.
fa ther. I
possess and selfishly guard untouchable
untouchabl e memories for those long gone years and its seasons. I
lohani qu
remember Iohani quite
ite well during the Christmas seasons.
seasons. I heard of Santa Claus the night ni ght before
Christmas.
Chri stm as . My sisters and I would go the day before looking for a nice Christmas tree--no tree-no pine, there
was not any of those around
around.. Our Christnills
Christmas tree is a special kind of treecalled kanume that grows on
treecalled kal7l1me
the edge of the cliffs
cliffs facing the ocean
ocean.. It always has fruits of different
different colors and has a delidelicious,
cious,
unique taste too. We would put the tree in the middle of the floor and by morning moming there would be a
toy on it for each of us. Candies and balloons were some of my favorite things, for they were always
included in my little package. A good home breakfastbreakfast with hot cocoa and bread and peanut butter was
part of our
ou r Christmas treat. I would find my father in bed, still sleeping until breakfast. After
breakfast
breakfast he would
wou ld take out a sack full of fine works, al
offine alll different
different kinds. Then he would
wou ld divide them
among the kids.
He is a carpenter, and a damdarn good one! He is a plumber,
plumber. a roofer, a brick layer, and a man of of
many hands—a self-learned perfectionist
hands--a self-learned of everything
perfection ist of everyth ing he touched. He built many houses, churches,
theaters,
theaters. schools,
school s, boats, ships, and furniture. I went with him to the different
different job sites and helped
he lped him
build.
bui ld. His
Hi s knowledge and methods of of solving
solvi ng problems in construction amazed me, because he had
to leave school
school after
after the sixth
six th grade. I am one of his many admirers.
My very first
first pair of
of shoes of
of my own were bought when I was in the Boy Scouts. I remember
my father
father and I went to a scout camp and everyone had sandals but me. So, he went and bought me
a pair. I was so proud of them I even wore them to bed that night. How could he afford afford to buy me
those I did not know, but I am sure he was proud of me.

By LEILANI ETTNA
ETINA WOLFGRAMM WATENE W ATENE (Child
(Chi ld #9)
I,
1, Leilani
Le ilani Etina
Etin a Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm, having been bom born of
of goodly parents, therefore
therefore 1 was taught
I was taught in
in all
all
the leaming
learninoo ofthe
of the gospel
0
oospel of
of Jesus Christ
Christ as found in the Church of of Jesus Christ of
of Latter-day Saints.
I am grateful for this opportunity to talk to you fromfron~ my heart about two people whom I love most
dearly. I shall speak here ofof a few things that it was my very sacred privilege to observe because I was
fortunate
fortunate enough
eno ugh to be bom
born to and raised by lohani
Iohani and Salote
SalOle Wolfgramm. I am a wiserwiser person now
because ofof having
hav ing wended my way across a half half century ofof life's
life's experiences. I humbly hope that
some portion of of wisdom is reflected
reflected in
in the words that follow.
foll ow.
158

I have witnessed many miracles performed by Iohani lohani through the power of God and the holy
Melchizedec
Melchi zedec priesthood which he held. he ld. My father was espec especially
iall y endowed with an abundance of the
twin gifts of faith and healing. Ever since I was a little littl e girl I have seen him give blessings to people
with all kind of diseases and infirmities. Happily, I was witness to the simp simplele majesty of his faith
faith.. 1I
saw the wonder of spontaneous healing right before my very eyes. Two such experiences will wi ll suffi
suffice ce
to illustrate what I saw:
I was once a little girl actuallyy I was a princess.
girl,, actuall princess. I was bom born to the most handsome of men and
the most beautifu
beautifull of women, therefore I must be a princess and you can' can'tt prove otherwise!
otherwise! As a littie
li ttle
gi wonderfull day when I would be baptized. It was then I witnessed how nature
rl I anticipated the wonderfu
girl
wou
would ld respond to the power of faith. On the chosen hour of the selected day the weather was very
disagreeab
disagreeable. le. It was a day of intermittent
in tennittent rain and wind. When we came to the place at the beach
which we had previously
prev iously designed to go, I remember how fealful fearful I was. The water was not only very
deep but the wind and the rain were making it angry too, and I may have thought that it was not such
a good day to be baptized. After all, all, II could not swim and I1may mayhave
havedrowned.
drowned. JustJustasasmy
myanx ieties
anxieties
were becoming uncontrollable, my father stood forth in the power of his hi s priesthood and called upon
the eelements
lements to be still. No sooner had he done so when there was an immediate immedi ate calm
calm.. He commanded
the boisterous seas to behave and they obeyed. I was joyously baptized and confirmed confirmed and if before
this you were able to prove somehow that I was not a princess, I truly became a real one then as a
daughter in the royal household of my Father in heaven. Not so incidentally, the wind, rain and waves
returned to their mischievous ways as we made our departure.
retumed
Another more sobering experience was an occasion when dad exorcized malignant spirits who
had taken possession of one of my aunts aunts.. To propcrly
properly prepare himself, lohani fa sted and prayed
fasted
several times. He elicited the assistance of two elders and the struggle that ensued between him and
my aunt was terrible to behold and it frightened me. Whil Whilee this remains a vivid memory, equall equallyy as
viv id is the awesome picture of my father commanding these evil intruders to depart. He cursed them
vivid
in the name of Jesus Christ and while they were loathe to leave, they soon recognized the authority of
the power of the priesthood and were gone.
When we moved to America, it wasn't long befo before re people discovered my dad' dad'ss unusual gi ft .
gift.
Our living room constantly resembled a clinical waiting room. room . 1lI
Ill or disabled people came from all
over the planet and probably from Mars too, or so it seemed. Dad was on call 24 hours a day. Some
people wouwould ld call him out of desperation and ask him to give them a blessing right over the telephone. te lephone.
They were afraid that they might not make it to the next day, and of course he was always
accommodating. There were numerous occasions when people would send an air ticket for him hi m to
come to them.them . He would promptly go to the airport and fly off off to places like Hawaii,
Hawaii , Florida, San
Francisco, Minnesota, Idaho and Canada, just to name a few few.. He would pronounce blessings upon
these soul
soulss and soon he'd be home again again.. It was all done so "matter of factly.factiy."" There were still other
folks who would call directly from hospital beds. Again he would find a way to get to them because
he did not drive, yet somehow he would soon be there ministering to their needs.
Since my parents retired from the workforce they went fa faithfully
ithfull y to the temple every mornmoming ing
at 5 a.m. They wou wouldld ride the early bus and spend the morning moming doing baptisms, often several hundred
at a time. They would then catch the bus home at 11 I I a.m. and return again in the afternoon
aftemoon to do more
 159
ofthe
of the work.
work . This
Th is was their unwavering daily schedule until Iohani lohani became too ill with cancer. I knew
his
hi s heart was breaking because his weakened body would not let him go to the temple any more.
We were not a famfamily
il y of substantial means,
mean s, nevertheless such as we had my parents willingly
shared with their fellow men. My husband Aaron wi willll tell
te ll you that Iohani
lohani was a man in which wh ich there
was no guile, for were it the last morsel of food in the house it was lovingly offered offered to any stranger or
fam il y member alike who came within sight. It would probably be a sin to refuse
family refuse such an offering
offering
because there was something sacred about the way that it was given.
While they shared so willingly of their material means, mean s, it would not possibly compare with
their instinctive desire to share the gospel with everybody they met. Their true character was revealed
when they courageously sought and received audience with the King and Queen of Tonga. This was
no small feat as they helped the royal nobility of their homeland come to a true understanding of of their
rightful destiny. Their steadfastness reminds me of Lehi in the Book of Mormon. Mormon. Like Lehi, they they too
have continually beckoned their children to partake of the incomparable fruit of the tree of life. As
they loved the Father so too did they love the Savior. They knew Him and He knew them. them . They were
friends and spoke to Him every day. Their lives were models mode ls of continuous strivings to be obedient.
The commandments were gu ideposts along the way and keeping them would guarantee anyone a safe
guideposts
and happy joumey
journey through life.
As a child, I knew that there was no one else in all the Tongan islands as beautiful beautifu l as my
parents. My mother originally came from a small island in Ha'apai called ca lled Felemea and my father was
from Ha'alaufu
Ha'alaufulili in Vava'u.
Vava ' u. A brief
brief account of their love affair wi ll briefly state here. lohani
affair I will Iohani was
adament in hishi s detelmination
determination to tQ keep himself
himself morally clean for his future bride, and was looking look ing in
earnest for whom that might be. One day a group of young people arrived from Tonga to put on a
concert for the people in our community,
community. lohani had taken a fancy to someone in that party so waited
for the truck bringing them to their area. When it arrived, a certain young lady disembarked di sembarked and he
was immediately dumb struck. She was not the one he had gone to see but this girl was breathtaking.
He and Salote fell in love at firstfirst sight and in a few months were married.
I have never seen my parents fight. They talked out any of their ddisagreements.isagreements. Not once did
my father lay a hand on mother or hit or hurt her in any way. He was the most devoted and loving of of
husbands. Dad was very handsome, part German and part Tongan He had brown eyes, dark cu rly hair
curly hai r
and his skin was fair so that when he tanned he was a bronze god. He stood about 5'10" 5' I 0" and weight
around 155 to 160 pounds. His smile was made ever so so infectious by by the
the brilliance
brilliance of
of pure
pure wh ite teeth.
white teeth.
His nose bespoke his German ancestry because it was narrow and straight.
Well now, the most handsome man in the world has to marry the most beautiful woman in the
world right? Well that's exactly what happened. Salote was gorgeous gorgeolls with an absolutely
absoluteluy pelt·ect
perfect
face . She had long black hair that reached to her knees. Her skin was a soft and supple olive,
face. oli ve, hinting
Polynes ian ancestry. Imagine big dark eyes in an olive
of more than her Polynesian oli ve face and flashing wh ite teeth
white
in her sm ile. It was eno
smile. ugh to make a man swoon. She was no more than 115 pounds in a five foot
enough
package.
My parents loved to dance and sing and participate
partic;pate in the local events. Mother had a wonderfu
wonderfull
alto voice and consequently sang in the choirs. She joined all the tau ' oillngas, lakaiakas
tau'olungas, lakalakas and
ma' ulu' ulus and she would get involved in the dances of other countries too.
ma'ulu'ulus
Father knew how
Father knew how to
to foxtrot, waltz and
foxtrot, waltz and swing
swing so well that
so well that all the ladies
all the ladies would
would line
line up
up just
just for
for aa tum
turn to
to
dance with him.
160
Mother got a tremendous enjoyment
enjoyment out of of reading fairy
failY tales and short stories and even the
old Tongan tales to us. Equally
Equall y as pleasurable for her was the daily routine of of reading the scriptures
to my dad.
dad . My parents possessed the magic that belongs only on ly to those couples who are truly devoted
to each other. My father could
cou ld do everything. I remember that he cleaned house, washed dishes, did
the laundry with an old washboard and often did the cook cooking.
ing. He could
cou ld make yummy
yumm y papaya jam.
My mom always had her hands full of babies. Sundays dad would bathe us in our big gray tub, comb
our still wet hair and help us get dressed for Church which whi ch we never missed.
Another thing that my father did that lives li ves forever in my memory
memolY is the very public way he
showed hishi s love for mother. At home he unabashedly kissed her in front of us kids and while in public
it was the same. They were never intimidated by the mocking and snide sn ide remarks of other couples who
made fun of of them-they were people who were too embarrassed to show sim similar
il ar affection
affection to their
spouses.
The principle of tithing was never adhered to more fervently than it was by my parents.
Because dad paid our fam family
ily tithe in kind our contribution was the best that our family fam il y could produce.
They included the finest roses, the best fruit and vegetables, eggs, a pig, a chicken, or perhaps a duck.
On the first
first Saturday of every month my father would load up our handcart with the finest fine st items we
had and walk to the bishop's home in Liahona. Our home always abounded in fruits and animals an im als of
of
all kinds. Visitors loved our home because of its profuse profuse bounty and it's it 's Eden-like atmosphere. Did
they know that the spirit of God was there?
When rI was five years old my parents ended their labor mission mi ss ion at Liahona where they helped
build the church school. Today our temple sits right across the street from it. We lived just one block
away from the school at Mapelu.
Mapelu . The joumey
journey home to Vava'u was on the Hifofua. Hifofua.
It was a well traveled ship going
goi ng regularly
regularl y to New Zealand. The trip home took us a full 24 hours. hou rs.
I hope I have conveyed just how very much I love my parents. Perhaps the greatest tribute I
can pay them can truly only be in the ev evidences of gospel living
idences of li ving in my own life. lohani Iohani and SalSalote,
ate,
please keep looking for me somewhere back there behind you trying so hard to fo follow
llow in your
footsteps.
footsteps .
Footnote by Aaron T. Watene: The virtue in this giant of a man is epitomized in a recollection
I have of a visit Leilani and I made to his hi s bedside in the hospital. From a bed of suffering
suffering and pain his
"Elone, oku mo
first thought was, "Elane, Oklll110 fie kaiaT
kaia?" (Aaron, are you hungry?)
hunglY?)

By FOLOLENI WOLFGRAMM DRABNER (Child (Ch ild #10)

One thing good about my parents that I remember was when one of them was really angry at
one of us, the other would try to look the other way and stand up for us. When mother sometimes lost
her temper, father would be there to back up the child, and it sort of made things equal. equaL
I remember father as always being some type of a vegetarian
vegetarian.. He
He would t1y
try all
all kinds
kinds ofleaves,
of leaves,
and if it tasted good he would
wou ld convince us to eat them. He rarely ate meat, and he never ate any meat
from any of of the pigs that he raised. He even felt sorry for the animals that he raised. He would not not
eat dog meat, or cat meat. He loved to fry tongan cakes and create his hi s own special dishes. He was
always inventing something, or leaming learning how something came about by using his hi s imagination. He
loved to cook papayas (lo'i every Sunday. One of his
(Io'i lesi) evelY hi s other favorite dishes was cocoa and bread,
and he enjoyed hot pepper. My parents were very hard working people.
 161
161

He
He used
used to
to shave his
hi s face with just
just a razor blade and nothing
nothing else-no
else--no water, soap or a mirror.
He had a very
very pleasant
pleasant and gentle nature towards others. He was outgoing and timid at the same time.
time.

By WA1LETA
W AILETA WOLFGRAMM (Child #11) # I I)
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be like my father father when I grew up. up . As
a child,
child , I have always
a lways admired him because he always stood up for what he believed. bel ieved. I remember
when my brothers or sisters or I would woul d be sick, he would
wou ld kneel
kneel down and pray pray for us. Sometimes
when he touched me, I would feel feel his
hi s strength go through
th rougll my body. My mother is still sti ll the same way.
She would
wo ul d read or tell
te ll us a Bible story at night, and sing her favorite
favorite songs in her sweet voice: Kuo KlIo
Hopo Ae La'a
La' a Ihe Langi Ma'a wouldd wake us up in the moming
Ma' a woul morning to our morning prayer. Her love and
tender ways have touched our lives in so many different different ways.
ways . I know she will always have a place
in my heart, forfor I will always love her. I know that she is a choice gift gift from our Father in Heaven.
May God bless
bl ess her with good health.
health .
As long as I can remember,
remember, we have always been a happy family;famjl y; our father ruled over us with
kindness and love. He is honest in his dealings, and integrity is his life. His Hi s love and kindness have
touched the lives
li ves of all that have known him.

By NOMA GOING WOLFGRAMM DEAN (Child ##12) 12)

The first thing that
T he first th at came to my mind while J I was trying to write you ththis
is small tribute, was your
smiling, loving
lov in g face,
face , Dad. You are a very kind and very gentle man. man . 1 neveronce
I never once heard
heard you
youcomplai
complainn
when youyo u came home tired and weary wemy from a long, hard day working in the hot sun. Since I came to
our home, you yo u tried
tri ed all you could, both you and my mother, Salote, to teach me and to guide me in the
mother. Salote.
right ddirection.
irecti on. YouYo u also clothed me and took me and my siblings to the best school school in TTonga,
onga, so we
could learn.
learn .
I know how much you love our Father in Heaven. The number one thing that I know for sure
is how much you love us and want us US to keep ourselves clean inside and out. I have leamed learned that you
are a very obedient father, and a very honest man. man. You are humble,
humble, loving and willing to share all that
you have with anybody who needs it. You love the Lord with all your heart and you are very close to
him at all times. You listen to Him, and also try to keep all his commandments at al alll times. You
honor your priesthood,
pri esthood, and I do adm admire ire you for that.
th at. You are a great missionary for the Lord, and you
have sacrificed most of your life, li fe, building up his kingdom upon this e::lI1h. earth.
I'll never fo forget
rget the time when you and our mother made the right decision that enab enableed
leed us to
go to Atele
Ate le to attend that PrimalY
Primary School. We were thereby protected from the sicknesses in the other
school at that time. T The
he most important lesson you taught me was that I should keep myself clean in
my mind and body. You impressed upon us the necessity of keeping keep ing our home clean, to sweep the
breadfruit leaves away, to pu pullll the weeds up and keep the pigs out from our yard yard.. Sometimes we
became lazy, and you were angry with us when we allowed the pigs to come and dig a big, fat, mud
hole in front of our home. I'm grateful that you sent us to the bush to get those brown coconut leaves
to cover up our front lawn and fi fillll the holes the pigs dug..
pi gs had dug
162
162

Dad,
Dad I'm grateful
, '"iITateful that not once do I remember yo youu sweari
swearingng at us. I really do love, love, admire and
respect you for this. You bawled us out, out. but never swore. When we did something wrong, wrong , you
showed patience with us. At times we were punished, puni shed, but always deserved the punishment puni shment we
received.
It
It seems
seems as as though
though II was
was always
always in in Church.
Church. II remember
remember my my parents
parents taking
taking meme toto aallll the
the church
church
meetin gs. It
meetings. It is
is now
now aa habit.
hab it. There
There werewere many
many of us, but
of us, but wewe werewere al ways well
always well cared
cared for by my
for by my parents.
parents.
II never remember goi
never remember ng to
going to bed
bed hungry
hungry or or running
running around
around without
without anyany clothes.
clothes. It It makes
makes me me happy
happy to to
look back
look back now now and and appreciate
appreciate all the love
all the and care
love and care my parents gave
my parents gave us us as
as we were growing
we were grow ing up. up. II
remember the
remember the times
times whenwhen II was not feeling
was not feeling good
good or was sick
or was sick and my parents
and my parents would
woul d al ways do
always do the
the best
best
they cou
could ld to help me get over the illness.
One of
One ofthethe most
most pleasant
pleasant feelings
fee lings II had
had grow
growinging up up was when my
was when my father would let
father would let meme comb
comb
his hair whil e he was resting. I developed a special closeness
his hair while he was resting. I developed a special closeness to him. He was always sure that to him . He was always sure that
whatever we
whatever we gotgot from the store
from the store was paid for.
was paid for. HeHe was
was strict
strict when
when it came to
it came to us
us running
running around
around with with
the neighbor
the neighbor kids, ki ds . and always made
and always made sure sure that
that there
there was
was some
some sort sort of work at
of work home for
at home for usus to
to dodo so that
so that
we wou
we ldn't take
wouldn't take off off and pick up
and pick up bad
bad habits
habits or or obscene language.
obscene language.
II remember
remember Christmas Christmas whenwhen II waswas jjust
ust aa little
little gi
girlrl because
because our our house
house would
would always
always have have aa
Christmas
Christmas tree. tree. It It was
was unheard
unheard of in the
of in the village,
vill age, but
but my my parents
parents made
made sure that we
sure that we had had aa good
good
Christmas.
Christmas, and and we we would
would always
always have
have aa gift
gift from
from Santa
Santa Claus.
Claus. That That always made me
always made me feel
feel very
very special.
special.
II remember
remember Father Father would
would taketake us
us to the ocean
to the ocean to to dig
dig for
for cl ams and
clams and catch
catch crabs.
crabs. It It was
was fun
fun.. II
am very grateful
am very grateful that that II was
was brought
brought up up in
in Tonga because it
Tonga because it always makes me
always makes me appreciate
appreciate lifelife here
here inin the
the
United States.
United States. It It was
was aa tough
tough life,
life, but
but it
it also had its
also had its most
most pleasant
pleasant moments-the
moments--the weather,
weathe r, the the fresh
fresh
air and sunshi
air and sunshine, ne, and the feeling
and the feeling of of closeness
closeness to to God
God andand his hi s creati ons. It
creations. was beautiful
It was beautiful most most of the
of the
time.
time.
II am especiallyy grateful
am especiall grateful forfor the
the lov ing parents
loving parents that that II have,
have, and
and II want
want toto thank
thank them them for for
everything that
everything that they
they have
have done for me.
done for me. II want
want to to say that Ir love
say that love mymy father with all
father with all my
my heart,
heart, and and II love
love
my mother with al
my mother with all my heart. l my heart.

By LISIATE
LlSIATE WOLFGRAMM (14™ (l4TH Child)
Because my parents had a strong conviction that the Church of Jesus Chri Christst is the one and only
true church upon the eaI1h
earth,, my whole
who le life has centered around
aroun d the Church, and it has become a big part
of my life.
ormy
rI love the Gospel; I know it's true.
true, and rI know Jesus is the Chri
Christ,
st, and President Spencer W.
Kimball is a prophet of God today. I'm thankful
thankfu l for Jesus Ch
Christ
rist and the principle of repentance. l"m I'm
forever
fo rever indebted to Him, and always want to be able to serve.

By TILA UEIUEl WOLFGRAMM JOHNSON (Child ##15) 15)

I have never really told my mother how much I love her and the many thanks in my healt heart that
1I have
have for
for her.
her. Now
Now that
thatIIcan,
can,words
words still
stillcannot
cannot express
expressenough
enough of
of how
how IIfeel
feel for her. rIhave
for her. have known
known
my mother to be most loving. I have not heard her say anythi anything
ng that was unloving toward another
 163

person, or gossip. She would

wou ld always say something uplifting aboutt people. She always refrained fro
uplifting abou fromm
speaking obscenity. She was quick to forgive and she never kept a grudge toward anyone. 11 try try to
to
follow the best of everythin
everythingg about her.
My father is the most humblehumbl e man I have ever known. He is so special to me. As far back as
I can remember my father was always busy, working and carin caringg for us. It was so wonderful when he
[t was
got home sometimes he would hold me in his arms and play with me, and would let me walk all over
hi s anns
his
hi s back. That was a lot of fun fun.. I remember that every time he got upset,upset. my mother would tellte ll us to
sing, No One Likes a Frowning Face and it always seemed to hit hi t him in the right spot because then
he would smilsmile.
e. Every Saturday he seemed to spare some time for us. We wou would swimming
ld go sw immi ng and
then fifishing
shing and digging for clam and hunting crabs. Some times we would not want to come home
because it was so much fun fun..
He was warm and loving lov in g when he talked to me, and 1I loved him so. My father was always
teaching us which way to go when we begin to fall away on the wrong road. For some reason my
father has that kind of voice that
father th at can cheer me up no matter how upset 1I am. He is the kindest person
known.. He is a very humble and friendly to everyone. I have never known a father that
I have ever known
cared so much about his familyy the way he does
hi s famil does.. He fasts every week for his famifamily
ly so that they can
be an eternal family.
eternal fami ly. I know that what he is doing is right. Everything he does is for our own good.
I love him so much and appreciate all the many wonderful wonderful blessings he has blessed me with.with. He is IS a
very special father.
father.

By ITILIAME LOSE WOLFGRAMM (Child ##18) 18)

I was very blessed to be adopted to such lovin
lovingg parents as lohani and Salote Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm.
There is one thing I could say. I have never felt out of place in this thi s family,
family, and 1
I still fee
sti ll feell the same.
same,
lohani
Iohani and Salote have treated me just like the rest of the kids as far as I can see, if anything I think
lohani spoiled
lohan i spoi led me a little bit more.
I have always felt close to lohani ever since I was a little girl.
girl. I can remember him tel telling
ling me
fairy tales before I went to sleep. This was really special to me. It made me feel closer to him. I can't
ever really remember him beating or hitting me. He always talked to me about problems instead of
hitting me.
Another thing I can remember was when I always would sneak down to their room wherever
they were sleeping and crawl right in between them to sleep. This Th is really made me feel close to them them..
Even when they locked their room I would open the door with a knife Rnd and go in and sleep with them.
1I am so thankful to have been raised by such loving parents as Salote and Iohani. lohani. They have
taught me a lot and have really set a good example for me. I just hope and wish that I could fol follow
low
their example.
An experience that happened to me was when Lily and Makanesi Makanesi,, my birth parents, took me
to New Zealand to have me sealed to them in the temple. I got lost for some reason. reason . It was getting
late before they decided to check with the police and find out if someone had tumed turned in a lost child.
To their surpri se, the police had me in the police station
surprise, station.. They found me wondering around in the
street calling out lohani's
lohani 's name
164

I am so lucky to have such loving brothers and sisters as I have now. They all mean a lot to
me. They are all so nice to me and very sharing. I'd just like li ke to tell each and every one of them how
everyone
much I love them all for accepting me as a little sister. I sometimes wonder what it would be like li ke ifif
I ever went back to my real fami family.
ly. I know itit wouldn't
wouldn't ever
ever be be the
the same
same for
for me.
me. II don't think
think I'd
I'd really
really
ever be as close to them as I am with this thi s family.
Salote
Sal ate is not as patient as Iohani.
lohani. She always jumps to to conclusions. Somet
Sometimes says thi
imes she says things
ngs
to me that really hurt me. I guess it's because she feel feelss like I don't love her.
he r. I can never really
reall y come
right
ri ght out and say verbally
verball y to her that I really
real ly love her, but I sure can write it and I want her and lohani Iohan i
to kow just how much Ir love them both for raising and taking care of of me. Lily and Makanesi
Makanesi could
have never found parents to take better care of me than lohani Iohani and Salote. I know that sometimes II
do things that upset them, but I don't really mean to hurt them. them . I could never have had such loving
parents as they have been to me.

LAST DAYS
DAYSOF
OFSAMUELA
SAMUELAFAKATOU
FAKATOU
Sa/are Fakatou
By Salote Fakarau Wolfgramm

^he second day

he second day of Jan
January 19911
uary 199 received aatelephone
1 I received telephonecalcalll fro
from Mosese,the
m Mosese, theson
sonofFakatou
of Fakatou
T:
T and Ngauna relating to me that they had come and found Uncle Unc le Sam out by the curb and
took him home. He was at the time living with Mele and David Brown in Califomia. California. They were two
months behind with their rent and evicted. I told Ngauna to let me call Rodney and get permission permiss ion to
see if I could be of help to Uncle Sam and allow all ow us to
1O get him a ticket to return to Utah. Utah . I opened up
my wallet
wa ll et and only
onl y had $20.00 left. Five minutes later my son Samuela arrived and I told him what
I needed and he gave me another $50.00. Lose Vaitai was living with us, I was cari caring
ng for her, and she
also gave me $50.00.
Rodney agreed to let Uncle Sam come on the airplane. Taiana took me to the airport and
picked up Uncle Sam at 11:00 I I :00 a.m.
a.m . the next day. We met him and greeted him and told him of our
plans.
plan s. Instead of going with Rodney, it was agreeable to have him stay with lohani Iohani and me.
me . He was
very happy, but when we brought him to our home and he met his hi s niece Lose Vaitai they hugged each
other and cried on each other'sother 's shoulders. UncleUnc le Sam said, "I'm''I'm so happy to be home again again".". The
nurse told me that I mustmu st get baby food for those two. two . T They
hey asked what they would like to eat and they
said, rice, porridge, fr fruit,
uit, and just mashed up food food.. BVt
But that's what I was serving and helping Sam and
Lose with.
with . I felt
fe lt that I never could pay back the debt that Ilowe owe to my family
fami ly for these fine people.
Uncle Sam was just like a father to me. I felt his hi s deep concem
concern and his love for me and my
family
fami ly and he also shared everything. He was a very special uncle and had a strong testimony and
great faith.
fa ith. He was a man of honesty and he loved the Lord. That same spirit he brought to my home.
It was a joy for me to be around him and to serve him each day. day.
Up to the time when he was dying I would woul d often
often hear him at night.
ni ght. He would
wou ld be preaching and
teaching the gospel to others. He would continue on every day from moming morning to night. Many times I've
asked his doctor what I could do to stop him from talking? talk ing? The Dr. was a member of ofthe
the Church and
told me not to worry about Uncle Sam, he is busy preaching to the other side of of the veil. After
After that
 165
165

it didn't bother me, and llet I let him talk all he wanted until he got tired, then I starred
started to feed him food. food.
Most of the time now he refused to ear eat from the spoon so I started chewchewinging the food and feeding him
directly into his mouth like in in the olden days as
as they fed babies.
babies. Uncle Sam took that. that. He was fed like
for the last two month
that for monthss before he passed away.away.
I knew UncUncle Sam's
le Sam was short.
's time was short. I called my cousin Lil Lilile
ile Tuaone to see if they owned a
hospitall bed because Uncle Sam needed one at thi
hospita thiss time. It was so hard for me to lift and bathe him. him.
Lose weighed about 300 pounds. I1hurt hurt my
myback
back sosolohani
lohani took
took LUrns
tums with
with me
mecaring
caring for
for them
them.. TThe he
thing
th in g they liked the most was cocoa and bread with each meal. meal. Also soup and mashed potatoes, the
kumala, and that was most of their dai daily
Iy meals. At night
ni ght time I tried to talk to Uncle Sam to see if ir hi
hiss
mind was still good. I questioned him about the names of his hi s parents. He answered it right
ri ght off. I
asked him the names of his brothers and sisters. He repeated them without any hesitation.
He made it very easy and simple for me to care for him. him . One day my daughter Tisina came to
give Uncle Sam a hai haircut.
rcut. After the haircut I gave him a bath. Tisina shampooed his hair and blow
dried it. I got him dressed
dressed.. Samuela kissed her on the cheek. He was very happy. He said, "I reall reallyy
love you, Ti Tisina,"
sina," and turned around and hugged me and told me the same thing. thing. He wanted hi hiss white
shirt on all the time.
time . When he was sick, he wou wouldld not permit his garments to be removed, and didn didn't 't
want any youngyo ung granddaughter to see him without his cloth clothing
ing on. He was velYvery modest. I put him in
bed when Ivoni Ivoni,, his daughter, walked
wa lked in. I asked her to watch Sam for a few minutes as I didn't fee feell
very good. I had a cold co ld and a fever. I layed down in the rocking chair in the living room and stretched
out.
out.
During that time I was cold and could hear them talking about Uncle Sam. 1I hurried hurried toto the the
bedroom
bed room and saw that he had moved from laying on his side to laying on un his back. He had crossed his
hands on his hi s chest and passed slowly away a few minutes later.
Samuela was the one who acted as a father to me and put me in school at Makeke in 1928. He
taught school
school at Makeke since 1926 up to the time when they were transferred to Liahona. I found my
uncle to be a veiy very loving man and a very velY humble and caring person. I will never forget him. He was
the one who introduced me to the gospel and planted the seed of faith in my soul. He bore his
testimony that God lives and this is the only true Church of of Christ on this earth.

MEMORIES OF TILA UEI

'nn July
Ju ly 14,1955
14, 1955 my mother went to the Vaiola hospital at Nuku'alofa,
Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu to have her
IE 15 th
15'" child. Four hours later number 16 was also bom. born. It was a total surprise
surpn se to my mother
that she was carrying
can·ying twins. I was the first one bom,
born, then luni
Juni my younger twin.
twin . The nurses and my
mother
mother really
reall y had a hard time telling the difference
difference between us. We were identical. They looked and
looked and finally
final ly spotted a crooked eyebrow on luni.
Iuni. That was the only difference
difference between us.
I remember my mother always made matching dresses for us to wear. When we started going
to school
school we still looked so much alike that the teachers could not even tell us apart so they kept us
in the same class. I remember
remember when we went to school
school we had to walk about 5 miles each way. Every
morning about
about six in in the moming
morning my father
father used to get up and ride
ride his bicycle
bicycle to work. He would
wou ld
166
paddle along with his bundle of tools. When he had time he would have some of us ride with him on
the bicycle. The rest were older and just ran along the side aallll the way to school. It was sure hard on
my little bare feet.
feet.
Mother would send one of the older brothers about noontime with a hot meal for our lunch
because we did not have a cafeteria at the schoo school,l, but it all had to be brought from home. Those hot
meal s were so delicious, that sometimes now and then I just have a craving for them
meals them.. It was
was so
so good
and delicious tapioca, banana, or breadfruit. My mother always made us feel special. She made it
known that she cared. In the momingmorning she always made hot meals meal s for us and when we came home from
school there was always something there waiting for us to eat. She made a lot of effort effort preparing food
and a pleasant place for us to live.
We really kept the Sabbath day holy. At night we always had our family home evening. My
mother
morher would read the scriptures from the Book of of Mormon and the Bible and my father would try to
interpret it in language easier for us to understand. Then we would have a little light supper and play
some quiet games. I never wanted the night to end because it was so much fun. We would al also
so have
talent shows, singing, poems read, and magic games.
My mother was a Primary teacher too. She was the best teacher and still is. She is a very
special woman. She always taught us how to be good mothers and to be clean. She always kept
herself
herself clean, and was a good example for us to follow. She would always tell stories of when she was
girl. I loved to lilisten
a little girl. sten to her stories. Sometimes I would find her kneeling down in the middle
of the ni
night
ght saying a prayer and she would bless us. us. It made me feel very spec special
ial to know that she
cared even at that hour of the night. She taught us to to say our prayers at night and in the moming
morning and
anytime
anyti me we found life unbearable. If it were not for my mother, we would not have family prayer
regularly.
regularl y. She is still the best teacher. NowNuw that I have grown up and have my own little family, I want
the same
same teaching for for my own
own children
children as
as my mother taught me. II have known my mother mother to be most
loving.
loving. I have not heard her say anything that was unloving toward another person, or
I have not heard her say anything that was unloving toward another person, or gossip.
gossip. She
She
would always say something uplifting about people. She always refrained from speaking
would always say something uplifting about people. She always refrai ned from speaking obscenities. obscenities.
My father is the most humble man I have ever known. known . He is so remarkable. As far back as I
can remember he was always busy working and caring for us. It was so wonderful when he got home.
Sometimes he would
wou ld hold me in his
hi s arms and play with me, and would let us walk all over his back.
That was a lot offun.
of fun. Every time he got upset, mother would
wou ld tell us to sing No One Likes a Frowning
Face and it always seemed to hit him in the right spot because then he would sm smile.
ile. Every Saturday
he seemed to spare some time for us. We would go sw swimming
imming and then fishing and digging for clams
cl ams
and hunting crabs. Sometimes we would not want to come home because we enjoyed it so much.
When mother spanked me Iohani lohani would stand up for me and made me feel good inside. I
remember mother being upset with me for going with this guy whom she thought was not right for me
to marry.
many. I was very upset, but father took me by the hands and we went to another room and talked tal ked
to me and clarified what my mother was trying
uying to tell me, that mother was right.
right. I came out feeling
feel ing
fellow.
a lot better and that was the end of going out with that fellow.
When I went to the hospital to have my first baby he gave me a blessing.bless ing. In it he kept saying
hoy and it was the most wonderful
boy wondelful blessing. In it he told me that I would recover from my C Section
really fast. I checked into the hospital late Saturday night and was out by Tuesday moming. morning. The
doctors couldn't believe how fast I recovered.
recovered . I know that it was the priesthood blessing that helped
me recover so fast.
fast.
 167

I know the Lord is guiding my father in everything he does

does.. He fasts a lot for his
hi s children who
have fallen
fa ll en away from the Church. Even though they have tumed
turned away from the Church, think
Ch urch, I don't think
he will
wi ll ever give up on trying to bring them back into the fold. He is a most loving and understanding
father. I am very lucky
I ucky to have him as my father.
father.
(This story has been abbreviated, to avoid duplication from other stories.)

MEMORIES OF IUNI UEI

lI;'am luni Uei, one ofthe twin girls bom to lohani and Salote Wolfgramm in 1955. When we
am Iun i Uei, one of the twin girl s born to Iohani and Salote Wolfgramm in 1955. When we
-were small and still breast fed by mom, we became allergic to her milk and broke out with
were small and still breast fed by mom , we became allergic to her milk and broke out with
skin
a sk in rash. It got so bad she had to stop nursing us and fed LIusS other kinds of milk milk.. Even powdered
milk
mi lk made the rash worse. Great big sores appeared, and because we scratched them, they were
bleeding all the time. Mom had to tie our hands because we could not stop scratch scratching
ing them. Even
with
wi th our hands tied,tied , we would still find ways of scratching our bodies. However, the sores slow slowlyly
healed. Even at three years old we still had this allergy, but it left scars and marks all over our bottom
down to our feet. Now that we are grown, there are just a few spots here and there sti stillll noticeable.
My brothers and sisters used to tease us a lot about our scars. When I cried, mom wou wouldld say, "That's
not true, it's just an allergy to the milk they drink." drink ." That would always make me feel good,
fee l good.
I was about nine years old when my brother Richard had to go to the doctor to get ci circumcised
rcumcised
th
on his 12'" birthday. In the Tongan language, they call it kau kau or bath. I thought Richard was going
hi s 12
to a special place where they got into a nice big tub, like a sw swimming
imming pool, and would sw swim im around
to become clean. I told Tila that we were going with Richard and have this special bath. When dad
got us up in the moming,
morning, we told Richard we were going with him and have the bath together. Even
Richard didn
didn't't understand what was expected of of him.
him . When father came to get Richard he exp explained
lained
that only boys were able to do this. We were upset and cried and even Richard was upset that we
weren't' t going. Father took him on his bicycle
weren bicycl e downtown to Nuku'alofa
Nuku'alofa about seven miles or so to
where the doctor was. When they came home it was almost dark. Ti Tila ran to
la and I ran to him
him and asked him
about his kau . He didn
hi s kau kau. didn't't say much except that it hurt a lot. We still sti ll didn't understand why it hurt
him so much just to go and have a bath at the doctor' doctor's.
s. I didn't find ou outt what it was all about until I
was about 17 years old.
One ofofthe
the memories I treasure the most as a chi child
ld is the time we had our week weeklyly Family Home
Evening. It was the most precious time of the week for me and the things we did together as a family. family.
Mom or dad would always tell us a story from the Bible or the Book of of Mormon.
Mormon. I have always
enjoyed
enjoyed those stories. After
After the lesson,
lesson , a program was
was given by the children, or else aa story or act was
ch ildren ,
given by the older ones. Tila and I always sang some English Engli sh songs. It was funny because we knew
how to pronounce the words but didn't didn 't have a clue as to what they meant. One of our favorites was
Little Boy Blue. After the program mom would have a game ready and we all all had so much fun playing
these games. Sometimes we had refreshments, other times we didn't. didn ' t. Family Home Evening seemed
to pull
pu ll our family closer together with a very spiritual feeling. feeling.
168
One day dad took me [0 to the dentist to get my tooth filled. Th This first time JI ever
is was the first
remember being alone with him and spending a whole day [Ogether. together. I felt very lucky because he took
the time off off work to take me. Where we had to go was about seven miles mi les and I rode on the handlebars
of his
hi s bike. All the way there we didn didn't't talk much.
much . JI don
don't' t know why, but I always felt very shy
around my own dad. The only word I ever remember speaking to him was yes a few times. That is
when he asked me if I was O.K. or if I wanted [0 to get off
off and walk a little while whi le so I1didn
didn't gettoo
't get toosore.
sore.
It was almost noon when we got to the dentist. Dad stayed in the waiting room while whi le the denti
dentist fixed
st fix ed
my teeth. T I promised myself that I'd never go [0 to the denti
dentist again.
st again . I thought I was a gonner when the
drill was put on my [Ooth tooth.. There was nothing to numb my mouth with. with . It hurt so bad while whil e he was
drilling
dri tears were
lli ng tears were running down my
running down face. II tried
my face. tried soso hard
hard not
not to cry, but
to cry, but thought
thought he was trying
he was trying [0to drill
drill
through
through my my head.
head. After
After he filled my
he filled tooth, II rushed
my tooth, rushed outout of
of his room and
hi s room and waited outside for
waited outside for dad
dad while
while
he paid
he paid the dentist. He
the dentist. He came
came out out and
and asked
asked me me howhow II felt.
felt. II told
told him
him II was O.K.
was O.K.
Before we started for home he said he had some things to do downtown downtown.. We went to one of of
the big
bi g stores. He took me in and said for me to
[0 pick out anything I wanted. I looked at him shyly and
said,. "I don't
said don 't want anything." I was too shy to say, "Yes, I did want something." something."
He took my hand and we went around the store and looked at fabric fabric,, then at some other stuff. stuff.
He sasaid,
id , ""Do
Do you want a new dress? I can get mom [0 to sew you a new dress."
I shook my head no. Then I saw these thongs. thongs. I stared at the blue thongs and he said, "Is that
what you want?"
said,, "Yes."
I said "Yes." He bought the thongs and a new [Oothbrush toothbrush and gave them to me. me. I was
delighted.
deli ghted. My first pair of shoes. I thought to myself that the drilling wasn wasn't' t so bad after al all.
l. On the
way home we stopped at one of the villages and dad went to see about one of the jobs he had done for
a family.
famil y. They in invited
vited us to stay and eat, which we did. did. II was anxious [0 to get home and show everyone
my new thongs and toothbrush. It was about 5:00 p.m. when we finally arrived home. Everyone was
home from schooll except Tila and Rich
from schoo Richard
ard who were at Liahona (a few blocks block s away) pplaying.
laying. I ran
there to show them my new things things.. They were so mad at me. I guess they were jealous because I got
something and
something and they
they didn
didn't.
' t. JI felt
felt so
so bad about
about the way they acted. acted. I [Old told them that I'd take turns turn s with
them
them wearing
wearing my shoes. I1 gave
my shoes. gave TilTila the thongs
a the thongs toto wear
wear first,
first, then
then Richard
Richard had had aa tum.
tum. When
When we we
walked home, Tila wore one and I wore the other; then we rotated
walked home, Tila wore one and I wore the other; then we rotated with Richard wearing one. I felt with Richard wearing one. I felt
very happy afterwards.
One day Elisi, Walter, Ri Richard, Tila,
chard, Til a, Lose and I with some of the neighborhood kids decided
we were going [0 to walk to the beach,beach , which
whi ch was about three and a half half miles from our house [0 to go
swimming.
swimm ing. One of the rules of our home was that it was forb forbidden
idden for us kids to go [0 to the beach by
ourselves, onl onlyy if there was a church orfamily
or family pal1y
party or wewe were accompan
accompanied Suturday
ied by adults. That Suturday
we sneaked out of ofthe
the house and walked [0 to the beach. We were so happy about just being by ourselves
and not having any older person there. T Thehe only one that didn didn't' t come with us was my older sister
Norma. She told us that she was going goi ng to tell
te ll mom and dad that we took off for the beach, so she
[Ook off
stayed at home. Mom and dad were away at a meeting or something. Norma NOlma was supposed to babysit
us. It was about noon when we finally got to the beach. We were so happy and we all ran and swam
where
where it it wasn'
wasn'tt deep.
deep. WeWe were
were allall very careful because
very careful becau se we didn't' t want
we didn want anyone
anyone to get hurt.
to get There were
hurt. There were
some kids there swimming and we made friends with them. It
some kids there swimmin g and we made fri ends with them. It was getting very late and we were was getting very late and we were
worried because
worried because we we knew
knew th thatat we
we would
would be be inin big
big trouble
trouble when
when we we got got home
home for for leaving
leaving without
without
permission
perm iss ion and not having any adult with us.
 169

We all got together and sat around on the beach wondering what we were 00going ooino0. to tell mom
and dad.
dad . Not only were we worried, but we were starving to death. Lose, my youngest sister was
crying because she was hungry and tired. Just Ju st then we heard someone calling us. We looked up and
there was dad standing on a big bi g rock. We were really surprised.
real ly scared and surpri sed. We thought for sure that
we were going
go ing to get punished.
puni shed . He came down and asked if everyone was O.K. and we told yes. yes . He
then asked why we left home without permission or without an adult. We told to ld him that we wanted to
go swi
swimming
mmin g so bad. He then told us never to ever do that again again.. Then he said, "Go and swim
sw im for just
a little while and I'll keep an eye on on you.
you.""
I knew that day that fath
father er was a very understanding person. He expla explained
ined how worried he had
been,
been , and asked us not to ever do anything that we had been warned not to do do.. He sat there on the
beach watching us, then rolled up his hi s pant legs and joined us. After we swam we walked home. home. I was
so tired from swimming and so hungry. My legs and stomach were aching. 1I had had to
toforce
force my
my legs
legs to
to
take each step. I guess dad was trying to teach us a lesson. We had left home without food or towels. towel s.
We weren't at all prepared. I was cold, hungry and tired. We had to walk all the way home. The tears
were rolling down my face as I was walking. I kept telling myself that if! if 1had
hadlistened
listenedand
andobeyed
obeyedmy my
parents, this wouldn't
wouldn ' t have happened to me. I promised myself that day that I'd never go anyw anywhere
here
without permission.
pemliss ion. We finally got home. Mom was really upset with us. us. She talked to us and then
gave us supper. Right after I ate I went stra straight
ight to bed. That food tasted so good
good.. I celtainly
certainly leamed
learned
day.
a lesson that day.
Another time mom aSke.d asked Tila
T il a and me to go over to the neighbors and borrow some sa salt.
lt. We
truly didn't want to go there because they had a very big and mean dog. We never went to that house,
but this
thi s time we knew that we had to. We walked over there holding on to each other's hands very
tightly and I was frighten
frightened.
ed. The first thing we saw was the dog coming toward us growling. groWl ing. OuOurr
neighbor was sitting talking in an open hut that was their kitchen. I said to Tila, Ti la, "Let's go home so the
dog won't
won ' t bite us."
She said, "No, it will be O.K." So we kept on walking toward the hut with the dog walkin walkingg
right beside us growling. As soon as T I called out to the neighbor that we wanted to borrow some salt,
the dog sunsunkk his
hi s teeth into my left leg and I fell down screaming. Tila screamed. Kilo jumped out of
his hut and threw a coconut at the dog and beat him with a big stick. I fainted fainted.. As they picked me up
they could see the bite was so deep that the muscle was protruding out of the sk in. They carried me
skin.
home. Mom Morn was quite upset as my leg was bleeding badly. I thought the dog had bitten my leg right
off. The neighbor apologized. He said the dog had taken off bush , but he would find and kill
off into the bush,
him and he did it.
Mom washed the blood off off and tried her best to bandage it. We didn't
didn ' t have any medicine.
medicine . Dad
was still at work and didn didn't' t get home until
unti l very late. I cou ldn't sleep all night because it was so
couldn't
painful. The next momingmorning dad told me we had to go to the doctor to get my leg fixed and to make sure
that I didn't have rabies. The doctor put in some stitches and said the bite was a bad one. After After my leg
was taken care of, of, dad took me downtown and bought me some candies and peanuts and then took me
home. My leg finally healed, but you can still see the two big teeth marks where the scar is.
Mom was very sick while she was carrying her last baby. We were afraid she wasn't going to
make it. That whole day we sat around the house taking care of her. Dad told us to pray so that her
170

life would
wou ld be spared. I remember that whole day I prayed in my heart that Heavenly Father would not
take her from us. We all cried as we knelt down in prayer. Her fever was high and she kept moaning
in pain. Dad told us to pray again again,, and we did. It seemed like we spent all that day praying for mom.
The next day she was much better. She was talking to us and was able to eat. We were so happy as
we al alll knelt down together and thanked the Lord for hearing hearin g our prayers.
One ofthe
of the things I reall
reallyy enjoyed doing waswas talking about the gospel to our little friends during
during
recess time at school. We would tell them about our Family Home Evening when dad and mom told
us stories from the Bible. Most of ofthe
the kids were not members ofthe of the church, but were interested in all
we told them. We would also tell them about the spiritual experiences that father had, and also about
primary and Sunday school. We would gather together about five or six kids and teach them about the
church. They would wou ld sit there the whole time and listen,
li sten, then ask us if we would tell them everything
once more. They had never heard anything so nice. They told us about their church, but it sure wasn't
as nice as the L.D.S. ch church.
urch . Tila and I always enjoyed talking to our schoolmates that weren't
members about the
members about the gospel of gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Chri st.
Sunday was a very special day in our home. Dad and my brothers would put our food in the
umu
1/111/./ Saturday night very late, then in the moming
morning it was cooked and left there till after Sunday school.
Everyone was to bathe, wash their hair on Saturday, and have our clothes ready for Sunday too. We'd
all get up, up , say a prayer, and the older ones helped us get ready, then we all walked to Sunday school.
As long as I can remember mom always taught Sunday school and primary. If If she wasn't a teacher,
she was the counselor or president of the organization. She was very busy in church activity. I am
really grateful for that because it helped me a lot, just having her there and knowing she's involved and
lot,just
caring about our class and what we were doing in those organizations. Shc She was a very good teacher
even though
even though she she is my mom,
is my and II liked
mom, and liked having
having her
her asas my teacher.
my teacher.
There was always a big feast on Sunday. We would eat the very best food that day. We never
had any dishes to wash because we mostly used leaves to eat on. All we did was throw the leaves
away. We had only a few plates, cups and utensils that were saved to be used when aapapalangi papalangi was
eating with us, mostly the missionaries. The food always seemed to taste better eating off off the leaves.
We left Tonga when I was ten years old. Just a week before we left for America, my mom mom's 's
brother and his family moved to our house. I gave away most of of my clothes to my cousins because
they hardly
hard ly had anything to wear. I was so excited about coming to America. I didn didn't' t know what it
would be like. I had heard that there was snow snow,, but didn't know what snow was. The only words we
knew were, hello, hell o, yes, no, and goodbye. All my life while whi le growing up in the islands, we fasted as a
family at least once every week for our papers and fare, so we would be able to come to America.
Finally our prayers were answered. Three of my older sisters had gone to America before us: Marlene,
Ana and Tisina who were now married. Tisina and her husband Roy took a loan from a bank to send
our fare to us. We needed someone to sponsor us. us. Malina and Joe decided not to get involved.
involved, Ana
couldn't,
cou ldn ' t, married to a Canadian, so another friend from Bountiful became our sponsor. Then our
papers were on the way.
JI remember going to town to get our shots, blood test and a physical examination. Half of us
had to come first, and the rest came a month or two later because there were so many of us. Dad came
with us younger children and a few of my older sisters and two brothers came with mom. It was an
 171
171
exciting
exc iting time.
time . When we arrived in Samoa mom's mom 's relatives met us at the dock and took us to the their
ir
home. We stayed there for three days. It was so different different from Tonga. My cousins on only
ly spoke
Samoan so we couldn't understand them very well well,, but they were nice. T Thehe land was so different
different from
Tonga-it was so rocky with lots of hills
hill s and mountains.
mountain s. It was beautiful,
beautiful , but I wasn't
wasn ' t used to the big
mountain. I was afraid to walk outside for fear of stepping on numerous numero us frogs that seemed to be
everywhere, so I tried to stay in the house as much as I could.
We left Samoa and it was the first time for any of us to fly fl y on an airplane. Mom had sewed all
of us a new dress to wear to America. When we arrived in Samoa, our aunt told us we should have
shoes and socks on because the weather would be cold when we landed in America. They bought us
some sandals
sandal s and socks. We landed in Hawaii the next day after leaving Samoa on Sunday night. ni ght. We
had an hour in Honolulu
Honolulu so went and ate lunch at some park. We boarded the plane and arrived in San
Francisco where my sister Ana and her husband and chi children
ldren Gary and Danny, along with Tisina and
her husband Roy were waiting for us. Gary and Danny were so friendly. They came and kissed ki ssed us and
hugged us and said to us, "Are you our aunt?aunt?"" We didn
didn't' t understand what they said, so Ana translated
to us what they were saying and they laughed.
On the way to Salt Lake City, Ti Tisina
sina asked us to guess what color snow was. was. We guessed
purple,, pink, orange, green and other colors. She shook her head and said, ""No,
purple No, it's
it 's white." We
couldn't' t believe her. She said, ""When
couldn When it snows, everything is white. white."" She didn
didn't' t tell us thatth at it was
cold. We thought it would be just like when it rains in in the islands where rain rain is so
so wmm
warm that you can
go out and play in the rain. It was the fall of 1965 about the end of September when we arrived arri ved in Salt
Lake City, Utah. EvelYEverything
thing looked so dead and baren to me. I couldn't couldn 't figure out why the leaves on
the trees were not green and the grass was brown. Ti Tisina
sina explained to us that it was the fa fallll season and
that pretty soon it was going to snow.
The following week we started school. They put us back in third thiJ'd grade because we di didn't
dn 't
understand the language. I remember sitting in school listening li sten ing to the teacher speak, but couldn couldn't 't
understand what she was saying. The kids were kind ki nd of mean to us. We cou couldn't
ldn't understand them, them , so
they picked on us all the time. One boy would come up to me every day and say he was going to beat
me up.
up. Once he attacked Tila and me. She was the tough one. She tackled him, him , got him down, and
sat on top of him and told him not to bother us again. Thi Thiss kid was twice as big as she was, was, but she
sure pinned him down good. He promised promi sed not to bother us again and since that th at day was frien friendly
dl y
toward
toward us. us.
Mom and the rest of the family came a month later. It was wondelful wonderful to have them with us.
We moved to our own house with three or four bedrooms in November. Dad gOl got a job and and mom did
too.
too . Things were hard on mom and dad. dad . TThey
hey didn't make much money. They worked day and
night as janitors. My sister Lei
Leilani
lani worked ataat a sandwich place. She brought home the bread ends they
didn't
didn ' t use for sandwiches. We lived on welfare the first first two years.
Our first Christmas was so neat. One of the big department stores played Santa Claus for fo r us.
The day before Christmas, a great big truck stopped in front of our house and two men came and
brought us so many presents. We each got about six presents. There were also stockings al already
ready
stuffed with surprises. We were overwhelmed. Mom and dad couldn
stuffed couldn't' t believe it. Everythi
Everything ng was of of
good material. I received pants, shirts, stockings, a doll and doll' doll'ss bed and other things.
things. Everyone was
so happy.
172

When we were living in the islands, we never had to worry about shoes, stockings, coats, warm
food.. Our life was so simple. If you just wrapped a vala
clothing and food vaia around you, you , that was your dress
for the day, but here it is sure different. You really have to work harder harderto to be able to survive and if you
don't, you die.
We all understood that they had to work to be able to pay for the house, gas, and utilities and
also the loan that helped us come to America. It was an awful feeling to come home from school and
mom 's not home any more nor any food ready for us.
mom's us. I was always hungry. We never had breakfast
before school because mom was gone and there wasn't wasn ' t much food in the house to eat. Even our family family
weren ' t said as regular as usual. We hardly had our Family Home Evening any more.
prayers weren't more . I really
missed how our family used to be so close in the islands, even our Sundays were different. I knew that
wasn' t anybody's fau
it wasn't lt, it was just that we had to adjust
fault, adjust to a new way of life and new ways of
making a living to be able to survive. I1 used used totowake
wake upupatatnight
night wishing
wishing IIwas was back
back ininthe
the island
islandss and
and
hoping that someday I would go back
When we were about 13 years years old,
old, Elisi
Elisi,, Tila
Tila and
and IIstarted
started aa trio.
trio. Eli si wou
Elisi would ld play
play the
the ukulele
ukulele
and we would harmonize as we sang. We were called to sing about three times a week at different different
places. We al so performed with a group of sisters and cousins where we danced at luaus, weddings,
also
parties, conventions.
conventions, and were busy doing shows in wards and stakes in the church church.. We enjoyed this
meeting a lot of people and seei ng many new places.
seeing
This same year, Ana and her fam ily went to Canada for their summer vacation and asked Tila
family
and me to go with them. Mom and dad said yes. Mom sewed us some new clothes, then gave us each
20 dollars to spend. We thought Canada wou would ld be a a really different
different place and they would wou ld speak a
different
different language. We were surprised that Canadians were just like people pcople in the States. We
genuinely enjoyed meeting Weldon Weldon's 's family. We did some dancing for them and also sang our songs
at their fami ly reunion. That is where I first met my hu
family sband Denni
husband Denniss Sill ito. He was Weldon Silli
Sillito. to's
Sillito's
nephew. Dennis was J18 8 years old at the time and I was only 13. 13. We were in Canada forthree for three weeks.
We went to the Calgary stampede and to Waterloo Waterton lake. It was very beautiful. At home, we told
everyone what a good time we had.
When I was 14 years old I started breaking out with pimples. Tila and I would get up early
every Saturday and go downtown on the bus. We shopped for makeup and clothes. We would then
walk home or sometimes hitchhike. Mom and dad never knew what we were doing or we would wou ld have
been in a lot of trouble. Heavenly Father must have been watching over us, us , for we did many fool foolish
ish
things. Sometimes there would be three or four fellows in a car that would wou ld pick us up. We just wanted
to talk. We were lucky that they were good young men for they never swore, and our conversati conversationsons
were always clean. We would tell them about ourselves and they would talk about their cars. After
the summer was over, we decided not to ride in cars with strangers.
 173

SKETCHES OF MIKE
MIKE AND VAKE
VAKE
These stories are told by Tisilla
Tisina,, with the of Mike alld
th e approval of and Vake.

ITEM I: Love Affair

Affair ofof Mike and Vake
Mike is the eighth child of lohani and Salote Wolfgramm,
ofIohani Wolfgramm , who at the time of this thi s story in 1963
was was living in Mapelu on TongatapuTongatapu,, though originally from Ha'alaufuli Ha'alaufuli,, Vava'u.
Vava ' u. Vake is from
Matahau, a small village in the western di district
strict of Tongatapu. The couple met when Mike's fami family ly
came to Tongatapu to help build Liahona Li ahona College.
Co llege. Mike was on onlyly 17 years old
17 years old and
and.. Vake
Vake waswas 15
15years
years
old. When Mike first saw Vake, he thought, "That's "That 's the girl for me." The young men from Matahau
did not like Mike to date Vake, and not only that, Mike was a Mormon and Vake was a Catholic.
Mike did not want anything to happen to their friendship friendship so Vake arranged for Mike to come
on horse back to Matahau from Mapelu and maybe her fami familyly would
wou ld allow them to visit. But when
some young men from Matahau found that Mike was going to be there for the fai kava
thejai kava,, they went out
and began to beat him up. When Vake heard about that, she was furious furious and felt fe lt so bad for Mike.
Vake sent a love letter to Mike with someone she trusted. tru sted. She told Mike that th at she was not free at her
home. They had someone keep their eyes on her 24 hours a day. She was not allowed to leave her
house no matter what except to go out doors to their kitchen to eat, or to the fale vao (out house).
the/ale
When Mike received Vake's letter he felt so wretched. The Matahau boys almost caused a
concussion.
concuss ion . He had a black eye. Arms and legs were hurt also. M Mike didn't't want to give up Vake
ike didn
yet, so he sent another love letterlett~r down with his cousin Sione Po'uha with instructions in structions to make sure
his letter only went to Vake and no one else. Sione took a different different horse with him so no one would
recognize
recogni ze Mike's horse. After Sione got there he arranged for one of his hi s girl cousin
cousinss to sneak Mike Mike's 's
letter to Vake when she came out to use thejate the fale vao.
vao. This she did. Vake hurried and read Mike's
letter and sneaked another love letter back to Mike that evening by Mike's cousin cous in Sio Pauni who lived li ved
at Matahau. Vake's
Vake' s family never knew what had been going on for these two were so lovesick for
each other.
each other.
lohani noticed a big change in Mike.
Salote and Iohani M ike. He used to eat everything, but now when we
sat down to dinner, all he wanted was to see Vake and to be with her. Another letter was sent to Vake
and this time Mike proposed and wanted to know if she would marry him." him. "Oh, Oh, yes, with all my heart
marry you, Mike, as soon as possible, but how?
I will malTY how?""
Mike and some of of his friendss including his
hi s friend hi s cousin Sio Pauni planned to sneak to Matahau and
kidnap Vake from her home and elope to Nuku'alofa Nuku'alofa and get married. Vake was just as scared as
Mike
M ike and his friends,
friends , but Mike insisted
in sisted they carry out their marriage plan the next day. day. Moming
Morning came
and Mike's
Mike ' s horse was ready. His black eye finally cleared up. up . I'm sure his hi s legs, arms and his hi s head
were still sore, but all on hishi s mind was Vake. They left Mapelu for Matahau early at dawn so no one
would know what they were going to to do. All of Mike's friends
friends were hidinghid ing waiting for Vake to leave
her house so so they could
could gogo ahead with their plan. It didn't take long. Vake could cou ld not sleep
sleep that night
trying to
trying to find out aa good
find out good excuse
excuse to to let
let her
her go out for
go out for aa moming
morning walk.
walk . The The girl
girl who
who was supposed to
was supposed to
look after her trusted her, and let Vake leave. As soon as Vake left the house
look after her trusted her, and let Vake leave. As soon as Vake left the house she was headed out to she was headed out to
where
where M Mike and his
ike and hi s friends
friend s were
were hiding.
hiding. T They
hey ran as fast
ran as fast as
as the
the horses
horses co could
uld take
take them and headed
them and headed
to Nuku'alofa for a marriage licen se. By the time they finally made it to town, the j udge asked how
to Nuku'alofa for a mamage license. By the time they finally made it to town, the judge asked how
174
old they were.
were . They said 17 and 15 years old. The Judge refused refused to give them a marriage license
because they were both underage, so they had to go back home and ask one of ofthe
the parents if they would
come and ssign ign for them.
them . lohani and Salote co counciled
unciled them and they both agreed to let them go ahead
with
wi th their marriage. This Thi s was the beginning
beg inning of Mike and Vake's Vake' s marriage. Nine months later their
oldest son Leroy was born at Mapelu. Mapelu .
Mike and Vake moved to the United States along alon g with lohani
Iohani and Salote's fami family.
ly. Three
children were already there.
children the re. Everyone arrived
arri ved in Salt Lake City
Ci ty in 1965.
1965 . Vake and Mike had only one
child at that time named Leroy after his hi s Uncle Leroy Gerber who helped sponsor the whole famil familyy to
come to America
America..
Leroy is now 221. 1. At first
first Mike
M ike worked in a grocery store to support his hi s rapidly
rapidl y growing
family.
fam il y. Mike also had a garden on the side while wh il e his
hi s eldest sons
son s formed a band that playedp layed at famil
familyy
parties. The Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm band often played a mi mixture
xture of Polynesian music and American Pop. Vake
performed as a singer and a dancer during each of her pregnancies. pregnanci es. The 17 year old Rudy, who was
named after lohani's
after Iohani 's Uncle
Unc le Rudy Wolfgramm,
Wolfgramm , did most ofthe of the group's
group 's choreography, he explained in
a recent interview. Their father qu quit
it his job in J1978,
978 , bought a van and drove the gro groupup from concert
to concert with Vake as lead singer. Their group was known as The Quasar aatt that time. They
performed
performed in the midwest of America and Canada and at one stage were virtually left homeless when
the chain of of hotels they were playing went bankrupt.
The family
fa mil y fortunes changed when Don Powell, Powell , a talent scout for Motown Records, walked
into their
thei r life.
life . Powell encouraged the group, now called The Jets, into long rehearsal rehearsals,s, sometimes as
long as six hours a day. They T hey continued
contin ued to attend school and would aalways lways find time to study. A A
Tongan
Tongan newspaper editor, ed itor, Paua Manu'atu
Manu 'atu of the Tongan Chronicle,Chron ic le, arranged for The Jets J ets to be in
lh
Tonga in JulyJu ly ((1988)
1988) for
fo r King Taufa'ahau
Taufa 'ahau TupouT upou IV on his 70 birthday
hi s 70'" b irthday celebration. Paua hopes to
convince the Air Pacific to fly The Jets from Los Angeles by Quantas Q uantas to Fiji,
Fiji , where
whe re they could catch
catch
the Air 42 turboprop flight to Nuku Nuku'alofa.
'alofa.

ITEM II: Contribution to Temple Fund

Mike and Vake had promised to take their chi
children
ldren to Di
Disneyland
sneyland in California.
Califomia. Through hard
work they had saved $ 1,000
1,000 for
for the trip.
trip.
At this
thi s time all members of of their stake were invited
in vited to attend a special
special meeting by invitation
in vitation
of their
the ir Stake Presidency. Vake wanted to attend this meeting, so Mike drove her to the ward house.
Mike ststill
ill had on his levis
lev is and didn't plan on staying for the meeting, or else he wouldwoul d have changed
clothes. As Mike tumed turned his van around to retumreturn home, he had a very strong feeling to go back and
attend this meeting. Mike felt out of place because of wearing weari ng his
hi s work clothes to a church
ch urch meeting,
meeti ng,
as that was a no, no for him.
So Mike walked in and sat at the very back of the chapel. Just as Mike M ike sat down their
Stake President got up and expressed his hi s love and greetings,
greetin gs, and thanked the members for their
attendance. The main reason for calling this meeting was an invitation for all members who coul couldd or
would
wou ld like to to donate whatever money they could for the building bui lding of the Jordan River Temple. Their
Stake President explained to the members that they could decide whatever money they could give to
the Lord to build his hi s House and kingdom on earth and give the people the opportunity
0ppOltunity of entering this
Holy House to offer offer their ssupplication
upplication to the Lord. The Stake President continued speakin speaking.
g.
 175

Mike sat quietly

qui etly at the back and listened to every word that th at came out oftheof the President's mouth.
At the cclosing
los ing ofof his
hi s speech the Stake President gave a promise promi se to his hi s members. He said, when you
give the Lord your fair share of whatever your family fam il y can give, IJ promi
promise se you the Lord wi will
ll grant unto
you the blessings fo forr which
wh ich you ask, and his hi s power will extend in your yo ur behalf. The windows of heaven
will open unto you and your famil familyy will be blessed that there will wi ll hardly be room left le ft to receive God
God's 's
blessings
bless ings unto you and your families. When Mike heard that remark he immediately wanted to see the
Stake President after the meeting. meetin g. Closing song and prayer was offered offered and at the end Mike stood at
the back hoping to shake hands with the Stake President. Somehow lots ooff members wanted the same
thing too. Finally at the very last Mike made his hi s way in and shook hands with the Stake President.
Mike
M ike said, ""How How much money do you need my family to give?"
The
T he Stake Pres President said,, "How many children
ident said" ch ildren do you have?"
Mike answered, "We have ten children at this thi s time."
The
T he Stake Pres President
ident said, "Good, you can estimate whatever money you can give or spare and
give it to the Lord
Lord." ." Mike reached down in his hi s pocket and pulled out all al l the money that his hi s family
famil y had
been savsaving
ing for their Disneyland
Di sneyland trip and gave the $1,000 to the Stake President.
Mike explai
explained ned that hishi s family would like to help with the building of the new Jordan R River
iver
Temple. He tumed turned to the Stake Pres President
ident and questioned him again about the promise made to his hi s
Stake members if they each made a small sacri sacrifice
fi ce or donation
donation,, the Lord would bless them with
needful things of of lilife
fe and eternal blessings
bless ings from the Lord, and he would wou ld concontinue
tinue to watch over them
wherever they mi might
ght travel. Mike shook the Stake President's hand and thanked him. him . He felt he had
made the right decision
ri ght deci sion and hoped those blessings could be given to his family
hi s fam il y also. The President
didn't' t know that Mike had given him everything they had that
didn evening.
th at even ing.
After the meeting
After meeti ng Mike looked for his hi s wife. They soon found each other and got into their van
to drive home. Mike told Vake what he had done with their money. You can guess what happened
next.
nex t. Mike's good deed met with bitter opposition. The warfare watfare started in Heaven by Lucife Lucifer's
r'S
rebellion
rebelli on continued right then and there. Vake cou couldn't
ldn't understand at that time why Mike wanted to
do what he did. It seems that now the family couldn't co ul dn't go to California
Califomia as planned for the com coming
in g
Friday. But Mike M ike kept on saying, "Don't worry, be happy Vake. We were given a beautiful beautifu l blessing
at the meeting tonight, and the Lord will grant blessings bless ings to those who are obedient to hi hiss voice, and
he always keeps his promise.
hi s promi se. Maybe someone might call for us to do a few lawns and yards so we
can continue with
can continue with our our plans for California".
plans for Califomia". Vake finally agreed.
Vake finally agreed.
The meeting was held on a week end and the following followin g Friday was the day that they were to
leave on their trip. Mike sa saidid that Sunday they all left for Church and the next day they co couldn't
uldn ' t
believe it. T Their
heir phone kept ringing and ringing. People needed them for lawn and yard maintenance.
Tuesday
T uesday was the same and Wednesdaywednesday and thursday. By friday moming they had accumul accumulatedated
$800.00 fo forr their gas money and for their trip by doing lawn maintenace ma intenace around the Salt Lake area.
The Lord kept his promise to Mike and
The Lord kept hi s promise to Mike and Vake' s family. Vake's family.
176
176

ITEM UI:ill: Familv

Fami ly Bus Trip: Related Re lated by Tisina
Mike and Vake had been entertaining entertain ing and made a little more money. Children kept on arri arriving
ving
from the other side and they needed more room for their transportation. So they finally put some
money down on a motor home so they could more easily easi ly travel
travel around
arOlLtld for their entertainment.
enterta inment. One
day they were traveling
traveli ng all day and around ten o'clock o'clock that evening Mike something
M ike felt someth ing wrong with
their
the ir vehicle,
vehic le, so he quickly pulled pu ll ed off
off the highway
hi ghway and parked so they could all rest for a while.
Mike fe fellll asleep right
ri ght away. He was so tired and needed that rest anyway. He was asleep for
about an hour then he quickly qu ick ly woke up. He saw in a dream, while his hi s family
fam il y were parked on that
highway,
hi ghway, that a large truck kept on coming and would hit their the ir motor home. He saw blood all over
their children. Some were injured and so on. on . The feeling
fee ling came at that th at moment to leave that area
immediately. He got up and tried to tum on the key but the motor home wouldn't wou ldn 't begin to start.
Mike got all his hi s young sons up to help him push their vehicle veh ic le away from this area. They tried,
but they couldn't
cou ldn't budge it. At that time my parents lohani Iohani and Salote were at home asleep and in their
family
famil y prayers that evening as usual, usual , they were praying for the safety of of Mike and Vake's family,fam il y, and
the rest of the family also.
Mike again tried to start the motor home and to his hi s surprise the vehicle staI1ed
started right up again.
So everyone got back in and Mike drove a ways down the highway. Again the motor home broke
down,
down , so the boys got out and tried to get help. They pushed the vehicle to the road side so see what wh at
to do next.
After family
fami ly prayer
prayertheythey decided for everyone to go back to sleep until morning and then they'd they 'd
try to get some help. Around 4:00 a.m. they were awakened with a great big booming sound.
Something justjust exploded near by. As they all jumped up and looked out, they saw this big diesel truck
on fire in the area where Mike saw in his hi s dream that the area was not safe for his hi s family to park.
They were on their knees thanking the Lord for his hi s loving, caring protection that evening, and
had given the power of ofthe
the Priesthood and the gift of ofthe
the Holy Ghost was their guide and direction directi on for
fo r
fami ly throughout their trip.
the family

ITEM IV:
IV : Temple Experience: This was related 10
This to Salote
SalOle in 1998.
1998.
Mike and Vake shared a very special stOIY story with me just a few weeks ago. While they were at
the Los Angeles Temple waiting for the sess session
ion Mike saw a littlelittl e girl come by and say, "Hi daddy
daddy. "
She was smiling at Mike as she came to him and he heard her say, "I have to go now, now , goodbye," and
she was gone.
Mike tumed
turned to Vake and said, "Did you see that th at little girl? She called
call ed me daddy and as she
said , T
was leaving she said, 'I have to go now, goodbye.'"
goodbye.'"
Vake said,
said , "That's
"That' s really strange"
That same evning
evni ng after arriving home, Vake started to have some problems, so laid down on
their bed. There she had a miscarriage. Vake and Mike never knew that Vake just lost a little baby
girl. Now they realized
rea lized for the first
first time why the little
littl e girl showed herself
herself to her father
father at the temple.
I'm
rm sure she wanted them to know that she belonged to them. This Thi s child would have been their
number 18.
18. Vake was amazed that she was in her 40's and never knew of of this pregnancy.
 177

LEILANI'S GREAT EXPERIENCES

I: Blessed bv
ITEM I: by the Prophet
I was six at whe whenn we moved back to Vava' Vava'uu in 11954
954 and I started having
havin bo a real bad infection
all over my head. head . My mother took me everywhere, tiying trying to find medicine
med icine to ccure
ure the infection.
infection. The
doctor gave me all kinds of of shots but the infection seemed to get worse. She even used the Tongan
medicine.
medic ine . She would
wo uld go out intoin to the woods and pick leaves and scrape skin out of ofthe
the bark from some
special medicine
medic ine trees and she would mix them up and squeeze the juice out and let me drink it. I used
to hate it. I remember not having havi ng any hair for a long time. My mother always put on a scarf to cover
my head.
head . Sometime when I went to schoo schooll the kids teased me and callcalleded me names. It was so stinky.
They laughed and mocked at my hair.
In 1954
1954 I heard from my mother that the Prophet David Dav id O. McKay wouldwou ld come to Tonga and
he would also visit and hold ho ld a mission conference with the members of the church at Vava'u. I was
m ission conference
very happy to hear about this thi s news. I knew that the infection on my head would be healed. I would wou ld
be able to meet the Prophet and shake his hi s hand and through my faith fa ith when 1 I shake his hi s hand the
infection
infecti on would be healed and banished from my head forever. I wanted to shake the Prophet's hand
because m myy mother
m o ther was my m y Sunday School teacher and she used to tell the stories ooff Jesus Jes us Christ
healing the sick and there was a story that she told once about Jesus and the woman who touched the
hem of
hem of the robe of Jesus and through her
ro be of her faith
faith she
she was healed. MarkMark 5:25-34.
5:25-34.
Anyway, when w he n that Sunday
Sur:day finally came my family got on the bus that was fu fullll of people that
wanted to go and meet the prophet. We drove about 5 miles from Ha'alaufuli to Neiafu where they
held the conference.
confere nce. I remember sitting in the front front on the floor with the scarfscarf over my bald head
listening
li stening to the prophet speak. After After the meeting there was a long, long line ooutside. uts ide . People were
lined up to meet the prophet and I was in that long line li ne waiting for my tum. I lost contact with my
family.
fam ily. I ddid
id not know where they were in the line but it finally came my tum. I walked up and lifted
my hand up. T The
he prophet bent down and shook my hand and he also picked me up in hi hiss al1l1S
arms and
held
held me close to
me close to him.
him . I1 knew
knew thenthen the
the infection
infection on
on my
my head
head was
was healed.
healed.
After he put me down I ran to the chapel to find a place where I could cou ld say a prayer and thank
our Heavenly
Heavenl y Father for fo r the prophet. I crawled under a big table where a big table ccloth loth was hanging
down that covered me. U Under
nder the table I knelt down and placed my hands that had touched the prophet
David
Dav id O. McKay's hands on my own head, and said my prayer. A week later my mother cleaned my
head and was ready to put more medicine on. She was surpri surprised
sed that she found no more infection
in my head.
head . It was all gone. She did not understand why. I never told anyone in my fam family ily about my
experience with the prophet until 18 years later. I first told my husband after we were married.

ITEM II:B: Leilani's

Leil ani 's Missionary
M iss ionary Experience at Ha'apai
Ha'apai abt 1968
I am Leilani, the ninth child of my parents Iohanilohani and Salote Wolfgramm. I should like to tell
of a missionaiy
you of m iss io nary experience I had while
whi le on my mission.
mi ss ion . I was lucky to have my close friend
friend as a
missionary comcompanion,
pani on, Salakesiu Paletu'a. We were called to serve in the center group of islands
Ha'apai
called H a'apai at Pangai. We labored there for fo r at least three months, and at that time our zone leader
came and told
to ld us th
that
at we were to transfer to another sma smallll island called Lofanga.
Lofanga. When we arrived
178

at Lofanga we fo
found familyy which consisted of Vaiokema Kinikini
und one member famil Kinikini,, the father
father,, his
hi s wife
and three of their children, and one young man. A branch of the church had not been organized yet
and this good man and his hi s wife were so happy to have us come, hoping more people would woul d be
baptized.
bapti zed.
We arose earl earlyy the next morning and had our prayers and di scuss ions. We tracted from door
discussions.
to door. No one would answe answerr when we called, and we were so di discouraged
scouraged as peoplepeopl e continued to
tum
turn us away. As soon as they di discovered
scovered we were Mormon missionaries, mi ss ionaries, there was no way we could
even say hello
hell o and have any answer. The women, seeing us approach, would quickl quicklyy run to the fale
thefale
vao (out-house) and spend all their time there, so we couldn couldn't't talk with them about the gospel.
Most of ofthe
the people living here, perhaps 150 150 to
to 200
200familie
families, belonged to
s, belonged tothe
theMethodi
Methodist Church.
st Chu rch.
Their
T heir minister
min ister told
to ld us we were wasting
wast in g our time there; no one would join jo in our Church, but we di didn't
dn't
give up.
One day we decided the best thing for us to do would be to try and arrange for all the youth on
the island to leam
learn how to play volleyball.
voll eyball. These people
peopl e at Lofanga had never seen anybody play
volleyball before. I hung up a big volleyball vo ll eyball net, and we started playing. We watched to see if the
young people became interested in joining us. It didn didn't't take very long until the whole field
who le fi eld was fillfilled
ed
with mostly young people. Even the parents and old people walked over just to watch their the ir children
play voll
volleyball
eyball for the first time. After our game we invited them back at 4:30
4 :30 p.m. every afternoon
afternoon
but Saturday and Sunday.
nextt day, before the appointed time of 4:30 p.m. our
The nex our miss
missionaiy
ionary hut and the smallsmall field
field was
was
filled with
wi th all ages of youth who had come to leam learn how to pl play volleyball.
ay voll eyball. We had asked brother
Vaiokema Kinikini and his famil familyy to teach some the gospel of Jesus Christ
Jes us Chri st inside
in side his
hi s hut while wc we
were playing w with
ith others out on the field with their parents enjoying the game.
At night when my compani companion on and I would go to bed in our small Tongan hut next to Brother
Vaiokema's home, we were often often frightened
fri ghtened by the men who lived there in Lofanga. Lofanga. They would wo ul d stick
their heads into our hut, and often often tried to peek at us US when we didn didn't't know they were there. Many
times we would
wou ld call out to Brother Vaiokema for help. He would come and chase the men away at
midnight and often as late at 2:00 a.m.
There
T here was only one small sai sailboat,
lboat, owned by the Methodist
Methodi st minister,
mini ster, at Lofanga. It was used
by these people for transportation. The sai sailboat
lboat would leave once a week for Pangai, the cap capital
ital of
Ha'apai,
Ha'apai , for food and materials for clothing for these people. They would also use the boat to
transport their copra and bananas. Patients who were were.iill
ll would go to the main island to see the doctor
at the same time.
My companion and I knew we had to find find a way to Pangai for our weekly zone mi missionary
ssionary
meeting. We went over to the minister's home and asked if we could buy a ticket to Pangai Pangai.. He said,
"I'm pretty sure there's just no room for you two, so I can't say yes or no."
''I'm no ." He knew we were
missionaries
miss ionaries of ofthe Church.. He contin
the Mormon Church continued
ued by sayi
saying,
ng, "You just give me a bunch oftobacco of tobacco
or pineapple or sugar cane and that wi will
ll take care of your ticket."
ti cket." We ignored him and just sm smiled.
iled.
Early Friday moming
morning we got up, had our prayers, and hopefully hopefully set out for the beach. We saw
passengers all ready lined up to get into a small canoe which whi ch heheld
ld four or fi five
ve people at a time. This
canoe would transport them to the big sail boat farther farther out in the ocean. The man who was in ch charge
arge
 179

of loading the people and sai sailing

ling the canoe was the son of the Methodist minister. He hated the
Mormons also. After After waiting a long time, we approached him, him , asking if there would be any room for
us. He answered, "You two just better wait." This we did until everyone was on the large boat out in
the ocean.
ocean . He finally said
said,, "OK, you can come with me now." now. "
We were so happy, but didn't realize what he had planned for us. We got into the small canoe
and were about 40 feet from the large sailboat and in very deep water. Everybody was watching us,
and after rowing about ten feet more, the man quickly flipped the canoe over, so we were underneath
it in the water. He had done this thi s on purpose, that we might drown. Our Tongan basket filled fill ed with our
Books ofofMormon,
Mormon , ourour Bibles,
Bibles, and other
other Church
Church books,
books, along withwith a meager
meager supply
supply of
of food
food went
went into into
the water with us.
We called out to the 45 or 50 people on board for help, but they just laughed and mocked us.
They seemed to enjoy our helplessness. As my mission mi ss ion companion couldn't sw swim
im very well,
wel l, I tried
cou ldn't. r1 saw
to help her, but couldn't. saw aa young
young fellow
fellow whom
whom we we had
had taught
taught to
to play
play volley
volley ball.
ball. He He was was
sneaking away to Pangai that he might be baptized without his hi s parent's knowledge. He knew they
would disown him if they found out. He turned to his friend on the boat and asked for his
hi s fliend hi s help to
rescue us. One young man assisted my companion cC'mpanion back to the safety
safety of the larger boat, and the other
youth dived into the water to look for our books and our basket. I swam to the boat and was surpri surprised sed
to see my fliend
friend recover the Tongan basket with all the books inside. in side. The little food we had prepared
to take along with us had fallen into the deep water and was gone.
We now realized that the th~ son of the minister had planned this all along. As we stood on board,
dripping with ocean water, we became very cold. co ld. It was around 6:30 a.m. One unfeeling
unfeeling lady sa saidid to
us, "You poor little lady missionaries.
mi ssionaries. They should teach you how to swim before sending you out on
a mission. Too bad you are soaked and wet" wet" She started to laugh at us.
It was difficult
difficult for me to ignore her, but we knew the Lord would help us in this difficult difficult time.
My companion whispered to me, "How about abou t a prayer in your heart? I'll do the same, asking ask ing our
Father in Heaven for help." We did just that.
The captain of the boat, the minister of the Methodist Church, just ignored our wetness and
cold. Soon the Island of Lofanga disappeared in the distance, di stance, yet the island of Pangai was nowhere
in sight. The sick who were being taken to the hospital, along with others, became concemed concerned that
there was not a single breeze blowing. People became more frightened as the boat stood st ill , even
still,
during the efforts
efforts to row.
Finally the minister came up and said said,, "Let us all sing a hymn." Then the minister prayed and
prayed , but the boat never moved. The men tried rowing once more, but they finally
prayed, fina ll y gave up. They
didn't have the strength to continue.
One man
One man got
"ot up
I:>
up and
and said
said, "W ho is
"Who
I
is going
'
"oin"I:> to
'=' to toss
toss them
them out
out to
to the
the deep
deep water
water again?
agai n? Then
Then maybe
maybe
we'll be
we'll be able to get
able to to Pangai."
get to Pangai." The boat usually
The boat usually takes
takes only two hours
only two hours from Lofanga to
from Lofanga to Pangai,
Pangai, and
and itit
was hours
was hours late.
late. We
We knew
knew why
why the
the boat
boat had
had ceased moving, but
ceased moving, but the
the poor
poor people
people who
who were
were there
there with
with
us did
us not understand.
did not understand.
180

We started
staJted to pray again and
and asked our Father in Heaven to please see that we would get safel safelyy
to Pangai. We didn't want to miss mi ss that missionary meeting. It was very important for us to meet with
the mission
mi ss ion president and
and church leaders from Tongatapu on Saturday morning. Soon after after our quiet
prayers, a small wind began to blow. It was now now 2:00
2:00 p.m.
p.m. and
and soon
soon wewe were
were on
on our
our way
way..
Instead
Distead of taking us straight to Pangai, the captain ended the trip on top of a reef with aa bbig
ig hole
underneath hishi s boat.
boat. My
My companion
companion and and II only
only had
had to
to step
step out
out of
of the
the boat
boat and
and walk
walk aa few
few yards
yards toto the
the
home of the couple who had been waiting for our arrival. We were able to attend our meeting, and told
ofthe
them of our experience. The young man man from Lofanga who who helped us, us, was baptized
bapti zed that day by the the
Elders. WeWe all joined in a prayer of thanks to our Father in Heaven for our safe ani val , and
arrival, and for thethe
protection he gave us from our enemies that day.

ITEM ffl:ill: Leilani's

Leilani 's Missionary
Miss ionary Experience in in Tongatapu abt abr 1969
1969
I was inin Tonga on on a mission
mi ssion assigned to thethe Tongatapu district. My My companion was was a young
sister from Vaini,
Vaini , Hahake district and we lived at Kolomotu
Kolomotu,, Nuku'alofa,
Nuku'alofa, at at the
the home
home ofTevita
of Tevita Maile
Maile
Finau,
F inau, a middle class family.famil y. They owned one of the buses which most of the Tongans used for
transportation
transportati on from Nuku'alofa to all all the eastern
eastem villages.
One Wednesday moming morning my companion and I got up and and said our prayers and and had our lesson.
That
T hat day
day we had forgotten
we had forgotten that
that one
one ofof Maile
Maile Finau's
Finau's bus
bus drivers
drivers named
named Siaosi,
Siaosi, had
had invited
invited us
us out
out for
for
a spec
special
ial feast at the Methodi
Methodist st Church at Afa, a village about 16 16 miles from Nuku'alofa. At 9:00 a.m.
the bus dridriver
ver came to seesee if we were ready to go. We We apologized to him him and told him we were very
sorry but they had forgotten all about the invitation. Although we didn't feel like going, after he
sony
insisted, wewe decided to go. go.
Siaosii brought a fri
Siaos friend
end named ToniToni,, and
and they
they picked
picked upup 1212 passengers
passengersalongalongtheir
theirway.
way. As
Aswe we
rode along in the bus, bu s, we both felt impressed to get off. We also al so felt we shouldn't disappoint Siaosi
di sappoint Siaosi
and soon came to the end end of Vaini village. By that time the spirit had wamed warned us to get off the bus.bus.
I got up and wa walked
lked over to the bus driver and said, "Do you know, I just
know , Iju st remembered we have to to pick
pick
up our laundry at my companicompanion'son's home here in
in Vaini. Perhaps you and
you and Toni could bring some food
from the feast back to us, us, and then we
we will ride back with you."
you. "
Siaosi
Siaos i said, "All right"
"A ll ri ght"
It was a 20 minute drive between Vaini Vaini and Afa. Thi
Thiss same bus and and another bus had had a head-on
collision
colli sion not long after
after we
we left it. The other bus was speeding and
it. The and Finau's bus was torn tom in half. One
One
part
pan of the bus was
was hanging over a tree and
an d the other half
half was on the front of the other bus. A few
people
peop le were injured,
injured, including Toni and some women. Siaosi's head was split in half. He died
instantly.
in stantly.
When we we retumed
returned with our laundry, we waited and and waited for almost two two hours before we we
heard of the the accident. My My compani
companion on and I were very grateful to the Lord for protecting us by the the
waming
warning that came to us us that day.
day.
 181
181

ITEM TV: Leilani's

IV: Leilani Crisis --1974
's Crisis 1974 Bylohan;
By lohaniWolfgramm
Wolfgramm
While Salote was at the temple 1I was baby sitting for about 16 grandchi
grandchildren
ldren at home and
hoping she would retumreturn home soon to help me out. Finally I answered a knock at the door. JI found
Leilani
Lei lani standing there with tears in her eyes. She said, "Here is a letter for you,
you. lohani,"
lohani ," I invited her
in,, but Leilani said
in said,, "I must
mu st go real soon.
soon."" I asked if she was alright and she said she was fine. Then
I took the letter and placed it on top of the fire place. I1 thought we could read it together when Salote
returned.
after Leilani left our home, she took her car up to the mountain. This time she was very,
Soon after
very down. She was depressed and needed a way out of thi thiss life fast. She was thinking everyone in
the famil
familyy was mad at her. I felt fo forr her because since her marriage Leil Leilani
ani had always worked to
support the family and it was up to her to make her own choice. Then she ignored or forgot our
council and went up the canyon by herself. herself.
Soon Salote arrived at home and I said, "Let's read Leilani's letter and see what she has to say."
Inside the letter she said said:: "I'm
''I' m writing you this thi s letter to express my deep feeling about how I feel
about myself and the rest of the family family.. I know that all of you hate me, also hate my husband, huSband , and I
know that this is the only on ly way that I can end this thi s problem
prob lem by committing suicide, so don don't' t come
looking for me, I'm on my way up to the mountain to jump off the the cliff
cliff and you don't need to look for
me any more."
more. " She wrote down all our names, all her sister's names and their husbands and expressed
being
bei ng angry with
w ith them.
Then
T hen she said, a/a {~IU, your daughter Leilani. As soon as we read this, Sal
ofa lahi atu, Salote
ate and I got
really
rea ll y excited and tried to look for someone for help. help . We couldn't find anyone at home and we didn didn't't
own a car. We tried to call Ti Tisina
sina at home and she wasn't there. We tried everyone in the family fam ily and
they were all at work, so Salote and I went to our bedroom down stairs and knelt down and asked the
Lord for help.
The wording of my prayer was someth somethinging like this: Father in Heaven, I have a terriblterriblee problem
problem
that came up this thi s moming
morning with one of my daughters. I need your help immediately. I need someone
to help me bring back my daughter wherever she is at this time. She is one of my daughters that has
been sealed to me and my wife for time and throughout all eternity. I am her father father and through the
power ofthe
of the priesthood,
priesthood , I ask Thee humbly in the name of Jesus Christ for you to protect my daughter
from jumping off off that cliff. You know I cannot drive, I can't find my fam family
il y at home. We have 16
grandchildren in the home to watch, and I have no way to to find Leilani. Please help me find a way that
I can reach her he r through the power of the priesthood for whatever she is planning to do to destroy
herself.
herself. II dodo this
th is in
in the
the name
name of of Jesus
Jesus Christ,
Christ, Amen.
Amen.
After that prayer I was walking back to the front room from down stairs to check on the
grandchildren and half half were already asleep and some werejust were just playing around. I didn't
didn't have aa problem
problem
with any of them. I again felt the spirit whisperingwh ispering in my heart to go back to my closet and again say
a prayer in behalf
behalf of Leilani
Leilani.. T
This
his time I1wentwentalone
aloneandandstarted
startedtotopray.
pray. AsAsIIdid
didthis
thisthe
thesecond
secondtime time
I said in my prayer: "Leilani"Leilani,, through the power of the priesthood which I hold and in the name of
Christ,
Jesus Chri st, I command you wherever you are that you will wil l open your ears and be able to hear my
voice and when you hear my voice it will wi ll cause you to call out with a big cry to get the ev evilil sp
spirit
iri t out
of you.
of you . After
After you hear my voice you you will feel tired and
wi II feel and will lay down
wi ll lay down until all all that anger
anger comes
comes out
182

of your body and the spirit of our Father in Heaven will be upon you and he will w ill be able to guide you
to the truth everything.
tru th of evely thing. He will
wi ll show you what to do afterwards
afterwards if you lend him your ears. He will wi ll
direct you in the way that you have been taught, and for you to retum return home and care for your you r young
children because your time on this thi s earth is not finished
fini shed yet. I love you,
you , Leilani. I am your father and
Salote loves yo youu also. Please
Pl ease hear my cry and come home. In the name of Jesus Christ, Chri st, Amen."
At that moment LeilanLeilanii was up on top of the mountain. She was inside in side her car in the front
seat looking down at the cliff. All Al l she had to do now was tum on the ignition and drive off off the cliff.
cliff.
As she looked down she got frightened.
frightened. The cliffcliff was so steep. Immediately she was thinking thin king about
her fami
familyly and about her mother and father. All of a sudden her ears opened up and she heard some
ringing in her ears. Then she heard her fat father's
her' s voice speaking words to her ears in Tongan. She could
hear the prayer I was offering
offering in my closet though she was on top of the mountain. mountai n. It was just like li ke a
telephone call from dad dad,, she told us. When she heard that, she started to scream and cried and all the
anger came out from her. She felt that she was going to fall asleep after after that, and was out of breath.breath .
After
After the anger came out she was exhausted, so she layed her head down and went to sleep.
A few minutes later she heard a voice calling her. "Leilani, Leilan Leilani,i, what are youyo u doing here.
Do you know this thi s is a very dangerous place to be. I urge you as soon as possible, take your car and
drive it back home. You Yourr family is looki
looking you."" When Leilani heard that voice she remembered
ng for you.
it was the voice of her dead brother Napole. He also came to help Leilani in her difficu difficultlt time of need.
Leilani
Lei lani woke up, she remembered laying down on the front seat of the car but when she woke up,
someone had put her in the back seat of the car and the car was sitting in the ward parking lot. She
didn't know how she got there nor who drove her there to safety. She didn't didn ' t know who had done that
to her. She started calling for her brother Napole, but couldn couldn't't find him anywhere, but had fel feltt his
hi s
presence there.
She knew she shou shouldld repent and come home. By the time she got home, her he r husband Aaron
was over at T Tisina's
isina's house looking for her. The police officers officers were looking fo forr her also. All
A ll her
brothers and sisters and nephews were looking for her. About 11:00 11 :00 p.m. Leilani came back to our
home.. She cried and asked for our forg
home forgiveness
iveness and thanked me for the specia speciall blessing that I gave in
her behalf.

TISINA'S GROWING UP YEARS

By TisinG
Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber

I had a lot of good friends at High School, not to brag, but it was true. My cousin Suliana and
I were chosen to be the very first band leaders for Liahona High School by Elder Peck from Idaho. We
led the marching band for the Tongan cultural
cul tural activities, the opening of Parl
Parliament,
iament, whenever there
was a celebration for the King's birthday, royal weddings, or even when Queen ElizabethEli zabeth came to
Tonga along with her husband. We marched along with our band playing and were well loved and
respected by other schools and non-members, especially by the Royal fami family.
ly.
 183

One day I met one of my high hi gh school friends at school. He was not a very honest young man. man .
He was talented w with
ith many musical
musical instruments,
instruments , and could sing, dance and play. All my girl friend friendss
had a crush on him too.
He said, "Toni
"Tonight ght I'm coming over to your house."
I asked, "What for?" for?"
He said to me, "Have you been kissed before?"
I sa id, "'" No,"
said, No."
So he said, "If "If you don't know, I'm coming over to show you how." So he continued telling
me that he would be over at 6:00 p.m. and to meet him under the avacado tree outside by the hibiscus
fence..
fence
I sai
saidd "OK." My! My! I was so nervous. I wa walked couldn't
lked the floor. I cou straight. II was
ldn 't think straight. was afraid
afraid
to tell anyone. The T he rule
ru le at our home was that at 6:00 p.m. no young lady was allowed outside the
house. If If we needed anythinganythi ng from outside, our brothers were the on onlyly ones that couldcou ld remain
outdoors, because there were too many young girls that had been raped by some uncivilized uncivi lized youth or
older men after
after dark. It was almost 6:00 p.m. I decided to sneak out anyway and see what my friend friend
had to say. Our home only had a kerosene lamp inside the living room and one hurricane lamp out in
the kitchen.
Under
Un der age girl girlss (under 18) weren't allowed at the kava party, so they had to either go to bed
or stay in the room and do their homework. I looked around inside in side the living room through a small
hole in the wall. I saw about 8. 8to
to 10 young men including labor missionaries who came for a kava
party at our home. My older sister Taiana, and our cousins Mele Fakatou and Luisa Ote'afi Ote ' afi were
sitting by lohani
silting Iohani to mix the kava. My mother was still out feed feeding
ing some of the younger ch children
il dren
So about 10 minutes after 6:00 I finally made it to the avacado tree. My friend was hiding hi ding
behind
beh ind the hibiscus fence. He said, "Is that you?"
I said
said,, "Yeah!
"Yeah!"" I was so scared and shaki shaking.
ng. He came over and we stood underneath the
avacado tree. I could see the full moon above. I heard the beautiful music from those at the kava
party. I could smell the beautiful tropical scents from the flowers surround surrounding ing our home. 1 said toto
I said
myself
myself that I shouldn't
shouldn ' t be out here alone. So I said to him him,, "I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind. I'm
going back inside the house."
He said, "No, just wait a second. First thing, th ing, put your hand behind your back, close your
eyes, pucker up your lips and I'll show you how to kiss." I did just that. Next thing I fe feltlt
numerous avacados falling fall ing on top of his head and mine. I started to scream
scream.. As I looked up, Samuela
and Napole, my younger brothers, were laughing from the top of the avacado tree. tree. They sa said,
id ,
"You'dd better get back in the house, girl, before you get in real trouble." I was so embarrassed, my
"You'
friend too.
too . He ran back to Liahona while I finally made it back to the house and begged my brothers
not to tell on me. He was never able to show me how to kiss, but 1I was wasso
sorelieved
relieved and
and happy
happy that that my
my
brothers saved my good name and I didn't didn 't get in any trouble.
I also met another young man from Vava'u and he said he wanted to come over to my house
so he could get to know me. I was still under age to come out for the kava party, so he used to come
and climb up the big hibiscus
hibi scus tree by our bedroom door. There was a honeysuckle tree, tree, aa gardenia tree
and rose bushes near. He would pick up a white gardenia and toss it through the open door or window
184
and if I was there he'd whisper whi sper to me, "Can you come and talk by your window please. Your sister
can come with you too." Sometimes he would toss a red hibiscus inside our room, meaning that the
young man cared for me. No telephone in Tonga at that time.
During
Durino that time 1 alsomet
I also metone
oneof ofthe labormi
the labor missionaries andwe
ss ion aries and webecame
became real
realgood
goodfriends.
friends. WeWe
"
wrote and made plans to be married at the temple. temple. But soon the labor mi missionaries
ssionaries were called to serve
at Laie,
La ie, Hawaii building the B.Y.U. And the Polynesian cultural center. About the same time I left
Tonga fo forr Canada. We continued writing to to each other.
In 1957
1957 I arri
arrived
ved in Vancouver, Canada and left on a train for Calgary. I cried a lot there.
About 1959 I couldn couldn't't stand the emptiness and homesickness that I fe feltlt when I was away from all my
family.
family . An in-law man tried to rape me and I determined that I shou should ld leave Canada for the United
States. When I[told told my
my sister
sister Ana on on him
him II was
was beaten and and scratched
scratched andand was
was kicked out out of
ofthe house.
the house.
So I asked one of my M.I.A. teachers if I could move in with them, and I promised promi sed that I would do
everything to to help her and her fami familyly if she would only let me stay with them. She was so excited.
She had 5 ch children
il dren and very glad to to have a baby sitter to to do the housework
hou sework because they had a lumber lum ber
yard business to care for
yard bus iness to care for each day. each day.
seminary every morning
I walked to seminaryevelY moming and met a lot of of wonderful L.D.S.
L.D.S. students
students there. Another
family
fami ly heard that I needed a little extra money for school. They called and asked for my help. I was
paid 25 cents per hour doing housework and baby sitting.
In the summertime in Canada, another family hired me also. also. They were so kind to me, and
even gave me my very own palomino horse I called Sugar. Their niece Pamela used to come every
summer so we could ride horses together. We used to go up to the mountain at RosemalY, Rosemary, Alberta,
Canada, and race over to their ranch. ranch . We went to the Calgary Stampede w with
ith members of of the Calgary
Calgaiy
ward where I used to be and so sold
ld hot dogs, hamburgers and home made root beer. I felt very cclose lose to
my ward family.
fam il y. They used to invite all the young women for a campout and it was a blast. My stake
president at that time was President Nathan L. Tanner. I used to babysit some of of his grandchildren.
My bishop was married to one of his daughters in the year 1957- 1957-1959.
1959.
I also spent time at Peny Perry and Kathy's home in Calgary. I used to attend the Vincent Ben Bennett
nett
Ih
High School. I felt so bad, here I was 16 years old and they put be back in the 8'" 8 grade because I
couldn't
cou ldn 't speak Eng English.
lish. I wanted so badly bad ly to take an art class, but they said no, I must take literature,
English
Engli sh and math. I didn't even know how to read English. Engl ish. I wanted to be in the musical play pl ay
Oklahoma because I love to act and sing and dance, but they said I couldn't because becau se I couldn't
couldn ' t speak
the language. That same day I got in trouble at school. One girl pushed me in the lunch room and
called me the "N" name. I lost my temper and smacked her. I was called into the principal's office.
principal 's office.
After that I1 withdrew
withdrew from from junior
junior high
high school
school and and left
left for
for Rosemary
Rosemary because
because mymy sister
sister Ana
Ana and
and her
her
husband had changed jobs. Before we left for Rosemary I stayed with Percy and Kathy at their home.
I1allended
attended school
school withwith their
theirch children. ThereIImet
ildren. There met two
twoyoung
young men
men whowhowerewere renting
rentingfrom
from them.
them. OneOne
was
was named
named Al AI from Scotland, another
from Scotland, another Hank
Hank fromfrom Hungary.
Hungary. II loved
loved living
living there. Kathy was
there. Kathy was soso kind
kind
to
to me and gave me a lot of clothes in exchange for me working after school. Percy was a lways out
me and gave me a lot of clothes in exchange for me working after school. Percy was always out
working and we were there alone. Some of their children were experiencing
working and we were there alone. Some of their children were ex periencing smoking, not attending smoking, not attending
church, and
church. and II didn't
didn't want
want to to fall away from
fa ll away from thethe way
way II was
was brought
brought up.
up. On On our
our way
way to school that
to school that day,
day,
we didn't take the bus but were walking, when to our surprise we saw this
we didn ' t take the bus but were walking, when to our surprise we saw this milkman making deliveries.milkman making deliveries.
When
When he saw us
he saw walking he
us walking he pulled down his
pulled down his pants and showed
pants and showed usus his
hi s rear
rear end.
end. Man.
Man. II was
was soso scared.
scared.
II had
had never
never seen
seen that
that in the islands.
in the islands.
 185
185

One day we were invited

in vi ted to see the movie of Elvis Presley
Elvi s P res ley Jail House Rock in a theater in
Calgary.
Ca lgary. When we came in it was about 4:00 p.m. There was hardly hard ly anyone around so the eight of of
us sat down. Unknown to me, the giTl girlss had called
call ed their boy friends
friends to come and join us. T They
hey showed
up before the movie didn't't know them
movi e started and I didn them.. These boys came in half drunk and they were
kissing
kiss ing and necking, and I didn
didn't't want to be there. I felt very uncomfortable so I1excusedexcused myself
myself and
and
moved to another seat way back, thinking I was going to be safe. I was on only
ly there for 20 minutes when
I looked over and there was a very nice looking guy. He looked like the movie star Joh Johnn Saxon sittin
sittingg
on my left side and had no clothes on. Man Man!! That's all I needed. I got up and left the theater, got on
the bus and went home.
I was so glad to get away from that influence. It was so refreshing refreshi ng to go back to seminary the
next moming
morning and M M.I.A. forr the youth Wednesday. It helped me a lot to overcome my homesickness
.LA . fo
and other forces.
Di Calgary
In Calgary II metmet aa fami
family that weren
ly that weren't members of
't members ofthe Church but
the Church but her
her older
older sister
sister used
used to
to hang
hang
around with some of us. One day she invited us to her home for a birthday party. Inside their the ir home
we met her little ssister
ister who had been kept inside this th is room for 16 years
years because she she was
was "mentall
"mentally ill".
y ill ".
wasjust
She was just skin and bones. Th This friend's
is fri end 's name was Vera. I was broken hearted when I saw that little li ttle
child, In
child. m my prayers at night ni ght I asked Heavenly Father to please take good care of that poor little girl
who looked like a child to me, and I'm sure he did did..
Back to Rosemary I was with the Parker family, fam il y, the Nelson familfamily, Sillito
y, Sill ito family, and
Stringham family. I loved the people Reople in this country
countiy town. They were very warm and welcomed me
in.
in . We used to build fi fires
res and have a big wiener roast, and marshmallows and home made root beer.
Then we used to go out to the canal and remove rcmovc our clothes and sw swim
im when no one was around around.. We
use to have nice
ni ce ward dinners. The Sillito's of course were the best and very velY talented in singing and
playing their band.
One day I was out doin doingg housework scrubbing the family bathroom and singing away in a very
good mood. Everyone was out working in the field field.. Some of the older students were out to a
stampede in Calgary. I didn didn't' t think anyone else was around, but in that moment I heard the bathroom
door lock and I was inside. In front of me a young man took off off his clothes and came after me. 1I
started to scream but no one was around, so 1I fought with him and tumed turned the cold
co ld shower on him. I
ran and unlocked the door and escaped. When the family came 1I told his hi s mother that I must leave. I
was afraid to stay at their ranch any more. They all felt so bad, but I knew there might mi ght be more
problems later
problems later if
if II stayed,
stayed, so so II thanked
thanked themthem and left.
and left.
Back to CalgalY.
Calgary. When I first 3ITived arrived in Vancouver, Canada. Canada, my sister Ana came to meet me
on the train. What a shock for me to see this thi s beautiful place and the sto
stores.
res. My eyes were so big bi g
looking at this beautiful city. Then we left for Ca Calgary
lgary the next day. My sister wanted me to go and
work at a night
ni ght club and be a dancer, but I didn't want that. I told her 1I woul wouldd go to church functions
functions
and dance there but not outside the church. Man, I got beat up when I told her that but I could
understand her
understand her now, she was
now , she was just
just trying
trying toto help
help me out.
me out.
But through the trials,tri als, I had the desire to come to the United States. With help from Uncle
Rudy and Aunt Edna they filed fi led papers for me to come. I stayed with them and they taught me
everything a young woman needs ph physically, mentally.
ysically, spiritually, mentall In the
y. In their leamed aa lot.
ir home I learned lot. Many
Many
186

ourr cousins have chosen them as our second parents away from home and occasionall
of ou occasionallyy we would
go
00
0>
over to Uncle Sam and Aunt Helene Fakatou 's
Fakatou's to eat and sleep over, and visit with other cousins
who used to live there like Atolofi and Ruby Sanft,
Sanft, Raymond Sanft,
Sanft, Finau Mohokoi
Mohokoi,, Pauline Tupou,
Veisinia Tupou
Tupou,, Fine Tofavaha, David Bloomfield,
Bloomfield, Talau Tonga, Bill Tofavaha,
Tofavaha, Viliami Hemaloto
and Saia Lavulo.
As yo that 's why I1 wanted
youu can see, that's wanted totocome come totoUtah
Utahso soIIcou ld be
could bewith
with my myother
othercousins
cousinsand and
fam il
family. y. I missed them so much
much, , and especiall
especially y the Tongan food
food, , I missed that too.
too.
Aivini and Ka Ha laufia
Halaufia were here too, but were living at Logan
Logan, , Utah.
At Uncle
Uncl e Rudy
Rudy's 's house were all the other cousins who came from New Zealand. We were
li vi ng upstairs, and the rest were downstairs, and they also had a basement. There was Harold
living
Wolfgramm, Ena, Of Ofa,a, Rona, Mali na, and me plu
Rona. Malina, pluss their own chi ldren.
children.
One even ing we heard there was go
evening ing to be a big stake dance at Taylorsvi
going Taylorsville, lle, out in the ward
of one our schooschooll teachers, Kenneth Lindsay. We heard that there was a young man from their stake
th
thatat would likeli ke to meet some Tongans. 1 I asked
asked Rodney
Rodney and and Mele
Mele ifif we we cou ld sneak
could sneak out
out there
there so
so II
could check out this young single bachelor and we did. As we went in, Roy and his hi s date were dancing
on the fl oor. They saw us come in and both came over and shook our hands to welcome us. The first
floor.
thing he said to me was malolelelei in Tongan Tongan.. So we greeted him and as Roy tumed turned with his hi s date to
go, the spirit spoke to me and said he should be the fath er of my chi
father ldren.
children.
So Roy wanted to come and meet Uncl Unclee Rudy and Aunt Edna's family because we were so
blessed to have them as our second parents away from home when we came to America. They treated
us with respect, love, kindness,ki ndness, and we will always share that special ex perience and memory in our
experience
heart. Roy was we wellll impressed when he came in to meet the Wolfgramm family and the Sanfts. We
dated quite a bit and I got to know kn ow him a littlelittl e bit better. I didn
didn't' t want to tell him that I was still
writing to my myoidold boy friend in Hawa Hawaiiii until he got back from his mission. miss ion. What I fo und out, he was
found
just like my father in many, many ways ways.. He was a worthy priesthood holder who loved and respected
hi s mother and grandmother. He was very shy and I thought if he treated hi
his hiss family that way, I wou would ld
love to be treated the same way too.
In my heart I knewknew that he he shoul d be
should be the one one who wouwould ld be able
able toto help fulfill my family
family's's pl an
plan
and dreams so we cou could ld be sealed to ou ourr parents in the House of the Lord. Here again again,, Uncle Rudy
had that plan layed out for all his hi s uncles in Tonga in looking forward to hav havingin g all of them come to
the Uni
Unitedted States for the same reason. Not only that, Uncle Rudy and Aunt Edna had to put up with
all our problems and caring for us until we left to get. get married.
In 1963 Roy and I were married at the Logan Temple. The first thing he asked me after after our
marriage was, was. "What can rI do to help your fami family?"ly?" I told him of our plan. It was a plan I'm sure the
Lord knew and we probably knew each other before we came to this thi s earth
earth.. It was love at first sight.
I'm so thankful,
thankful , in 1965 my parents and fami familyly finally immigrated here with no probl problems.
ems.
Doors were opened and we were able to go and be sealed to each other in the House of the Lord. Lord.
 187
OH! TO BORN IN TONGA
T O BE BORN TONGA
These are excerpts taken from
Fom the tributes 10
to lohani alld by their
and Salote hy Iheir childrell.
children.

It happened to ANA Bau'

Bau'uu Wolfgramm Sill Sillito
ito bom
bam December 23, 23, 1935,
1935 , the second child of
of
my parents lohani
Iohani Otto Wolfgramm and Salote Lasini Fakatou Fakatou..
I was born at Ha'alaufuli in the same house in which my oldest sister Malina was bom born and it
was ou
ourr favorite house that my father first built for our family
family..
My great uncle Seoeli Fusiloa Unga's
Unga 's wife Losaline Fale Unga was the midwife. I weighed
ten pounds
pound s and my family told me that I was a very beautiful baby with fair skin and without hair for
a long time.
time. I cri
cried especially
ed and fussed a lot, especia lly at Church time.
time. I had very light, thin hair, but was
very healthy and outgo
outgoing.
ing.
It took two days for Salote's milk
mil k to come in,
in , but I was
was very
very lucky
lucky my
my Aunt Losali
Losaline Fale Unga
ne Fale Unga
had a 3-month old baby boy so she took and nourishednouri shed me for at least three days and nights.
I was three days old when a bad hurricane
hurri cane hit Vava
Vava'u' u and my parents packed everything up
and all ran and hid in the big Lever Brother's store. We stayed there for at least two days and two
nights until it was safe fo
forr us to retum
return to our own home.

It happened to SALE, bom 2,1937,

born July 2, 1937, the third child of lohani and Salote. It was about time
ch ild ofIohani ti"me
that Salote gave birth to a new baby. She had struggled with hard labor pains pain s and kept on struggling
until she fifinally
nally heard the first ~ry from the baby, a boy. He didn't
first cry didn ' t look very well. He was bomborn with
a black eye and blue color around his face due to a fall Salote had taken when she was out vi visiting
siting
teaching.
teaching . She missed the stairway and fell, landing on her stomach, not knowing knowi ng that it injured her
he r
baby. They called
cal led on President Emil Dunn to assist Iohan
lohanii in giving the baby a blessing and a name
because his
hi s naval kept on bleeding also. The name given was Charles, after
after lohani's father.
Iohani 's father.

It happened to TAIANA Salome Fo'ou, bom born Dec. 14, 1938, the fourth child ofof lohani
Iohani and
Salote Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm. My parents told me that my mother had a very hard time having me because 1I
was a big girl. I weighed 11
II pounds and four ounces. I was also very fortunate to be named after my
grandmother, Salome Fo'ou who was my paternal grandmother. My Aunty Helene later named me
Taiana because she thought the name goes better with my little round face and rosy cheeks, and I also
had the ccutest smile.
utest sm il e. My skin was also very fair. My father said I looked just like my lovely
love ly
grandmother Salome.

It happened to TISINA , the 55'hth child. When Salote was carrying me, her favOlite
favorite food was
boiled green bananas with any kind of sea food salad. That consists of of coconut milk,
milk , onions, hot
peppers, lemon juice and sea food.
food . She was very healthy. At the ninth month she finally
finall y started her
labor pains on a Tuesday night and on Wednesday moming morning I finally arrived-June
arrived--June 14,14, 1940 at
Ha'alaufuli. She had me at home. My great Aunt Ana Tuifeleuga Langi was the midwife and my
father was by her side to ass
assist them.
ist them.
188

When IJ first arrived I looked so red

red because my mother would love to eat hot peppers every
day and caused my skin to peel and my sk skin
in tumed
turned red. My dad's cousin named Ta Ta'ofi Sanft came and
'ofi Sanft
took me across the street to a store to see
see how much I weighed-it
weighed--it was
was nine pounds ssix ix ounces. The
same day my mothers cousin
cous in Uikelotu
UikelolU Alusa was was at our village and
and dad
dad gave her the privilege
pri vilege of
of
naming me. She called me me Tisina Leni (D(Disneyland) and my dad gave me his
isneyland) and hi s middle name Me Melila.
lila.
That hot pepper that my mother ate when she was was pregnant must be real hot stuff. My My eyes
had even tumed
turned red too
too and my used to
my mother used to use
use milk drops
drops from
from her
her breast to
to heal
heal the
the redness in in
my eyes until I was
was three years oold my skin was
ld and my was cclear
lear and the color of my eyes too.
too.

It happened to SAMUELA Vainga Fakatou Wolfgramm bom born January 5,1942,

S, 1942 , at Ha'akame,
Ha 'akame,
Tongatapu,
Tongatapu , Tonga, the sixth child in our family.
fami ly. We were serving a mission
mi ssion in Fo'ui and before the
baby was bom
born we went to Mapelu moe Lau to have her baby at the home ofof her Uncle Samuel
Unc le S Fakatou
amue l Fak atou
and Aunty Helene. They named the baby after my uncle who who was
was a very skill
skilled
ed carpenter and had
and had
been to coll
college
ege in New and had a lovely famil
New Zealand, and family.
y.

It happened to NAPOLEONE Finau Wolfgramm born born August 9, 9,1943,

1943, in in Ko
Kolonga, Tongatapu,
longa, Tongatapu,
the seventh child in the fami family.
ly. The
The family was was on their mission and and during the confusion
confusion of World
War II.
D. Poverty and and hunger was shared evenly among the whole kkingdom. ingdom .
Samuela Veh Vehikite and lohani walked from Fo'ui to Kologa (a town about 22 miles away).
ikite and
They had left early
earl y in the moming.
morning. Salote went to KologaKo loga to visit Lusiane Makahele. She went to help
make tapa cloth. Tevita, Makehele, and Luseane were there on a mission too. Tevita needed help wi withth
his kitchen roof, so Samuela and lohani decided to put the final touches on the roof. While sitti sitting
ng on
top ofthe
of the roof, it coll
collapsed,
apsed, everything falling
fa lling upon the ground. Iohanilohani just saidsaid,, "We will finish our
missionary work and then be back, back , and rebuild it." This
Thi s they did.
did .
evening,
That even ing, while
whi le Samuela, lohani, and and Tevi
Tevita went to
ta went to begin their streetstreet meeting,
meeting, thethe lad
ladies
ies
were in the bush gathering hiapo for tapa. Salote, being with child, child , started in labor. They hurried as
quickly
qu ickly as they coucouldld to try and
and reach Tevita's home. Salote was was unable to walk any any farther than the the
second house from the bush. bush . They called for a midwife. When she arrived she asked where lohan lohanii
was. She
She advised
adv ised them that the the baby was
was tootoo large. Salote waswas so so small-boned that the birth of ofthe
the
child
chi ld might kill Salote if they waited any longer. There wasn't any doctor doctor or or nurse avai
available. Finally
lable. Finally
they located lohani.
lohani . He told the midwife to go go to the front of Salote
Salote andand catch
catch the
the baby.
baby. HeHe pu putt his
his
arms around and and under her arms and and she sat upon his hi s lap.
lap . He lifted
lifted Salote up high and dropped her her
with a jerk, sti
still
ll holding herher arms.
arms. This shook the the baby frofrom her. He
m her. He hadhad told thethe midwife to to catch
the baby. Emma Fatani missed catch catching
ing the infant. He landed with his hi s little mouth on the tapa cl cloth.
oth .
It was fortunate that the lhe floor was soft. Another lady came to help with the birth. (She (She was
was the same
one who helped Salote's great-grandmother deliver Salote's mother.) The great grandmother died afte afterr
the birth of her daughter. There was difficulty in removing the after
was difficulty after birth.
birth . lohani
Iohani was
was blessed in
knowing how how to apply his his four fingers high on Salote's abdomen, twising twis ing first to the left,
left, then to thethe
right. With the ri right
ght pressure in the correct places, the
correct pl aces, the afterbirth was removed.
was removed. By By keeping cool, and
coo l, and
 189

using
using his
hi s head,
head, lohani
Iohani saved
saved his
hi s wife's
wife's life
lifethat
that day.
day. The
The boy
boy weighed
weighed almost
almosl1313 pounds. The midwife
and
and friend
friend then
then took
took over
over and
and cleaned
cl eaned the
the mother
mother and
and child,
ch il d. lohani
Iohan i proceeded
proceeded to
to finish
fini sh the
the street
street
meeting.
meeting.

ItIt happened
happened to to LEILANI
LEILANI Etina Eti na Wolfgramm
Wo lfgramm bom born onon 20
20 October
October 1946
1946 onon aa beautiful
beautifu l Sunday
moming
morning in in a little
little Tongan
Tongan huthut made
made ofof coconut
coconut leaves
leaves and bamboo
bamboo stocks. It was was surrounded
surrounded withwith
beautiful
beautiful flowers
flowers and a Tongan
Tongan garden of o f banana,
banana, taro
la r o and
and mei. ThisThis special
spec ial place
place isis right
right in
in the
the
middle ofthe
of the woods
woods on thethe Island
Is land of
of Tongatapu
Tongatapu called Makeke.
Makeke. My My Aunt Ofa Vaitai
Vaita i was the midwife.
The next
nex t day my Aunt Helene named
Helene named me. me. I am the ninth
the ninth child in
in our family of 17
our family of 17 children.
chi ldren . I was bom
born
to
to good parents; my father's
father's name is lohani
is Iohani and my mother's
my mother's name is
is Salote. My weight
was only
only five
five pounds
pounds and I was very tiny.

It happened to FOLOLENI
FOLOLENI born March March 23,1948
23, 1948 in a little village called Ha'alaufuli
Ha'alaufuli in Vava'u
when my dear mother
mother Salote Lasini felt these
thcse nagging labor pains for for the 10lh
10th time. She did not really
reall y
expect
ex pect them, but the pains were getting worse and worse and she called lohani Iohani to please get things
ready because she felt like
li ke she was about to have the baby. Father hurriedly boiled boi led some water and
stuck the scissors in and sterili
sterilized
zed a few things that were needed for the delivery.
deli very.
The
T he ordeal was very long and difficult.
difficult. The baby seemed to get stuck. Then T hen aunty Waterlili
Waterli li
Wolfgramm (Makanesi's wife) was called to come and catch the baby while whi le my father
father helped push
the baby out. Lili was only onl y about 18 years old and never came close to knowing anything anythi ng about
delivering
deli vering a baby, but she gathered allall her strength and
and went into the room.
room. My father held my mother
by the waistline
waistl ine and gave her one or two shrugs, whilewhi le Lili was trying
!lying to catch the baby and at the same
time praying as loudly as can be and shakily caught the baby. She was so shook up that she became
hysterical,
hysterical , laughing
laugh ing and cryi
crying
ng at the same time.

It happened to LeGrand RICHARDS Wolfgramm bom born December 10,1953 was born
10, 1953 I was bom outside
outside
Ha'alaufuli,, Vava'u, Tonga. Soon after I was bom
the village of Ha'alaufuli born my family moved to Tongatapu.
These are the memories of Fololeni (Florence).
During thi thiss time our parents were invited to the Liahona dedication, but Salote was expecting
to de
deliver 14th chi
li ver her 14'" child Id very soon. Iohani
lohani only stayed until the dedicatory prayer was finished then left
to rush back to to Vava
Vava'u ' u on
on aa sail
sail boat to
to be with
with Salote. II would
would stay
stay up
up at
at night and
and worry that mother
would have some kind of complication and father wouldn wouldn't' t be there on
on time to save her or administer
to her.
to her. All the older ch ildren were at school at Liahona in Tongatapu-Malina, Ana, Sale, Taiana,
children Taiana,
Tisina, and Sam. Sam. Only the younger chi ldren Napole,
children Napole, Ma ikeli, Leilani,
Maikeli, Leilani, Fololen
Fololenii and the younger
children were left to help Salote with the new To ng~n hut.
Tongan hut.
Mother was trying to bui ld this
build this little thatched hut of coconut leaves in in wh ich to
which to have the baby,
baby,
because we we lilived
ved in aa big, long wooden house with with wooden push-out windows
windows.. Mother decided the
wooden house wou ldn't be too
wouldn't too cozy for her and and the
the new baby,
baby, but II sure
sure loved that big long house.
house.
190

It was fun to play in. We would help mother with her little green house, gathering dried coconut leaves
and breaking them up into small pieces to make a soft
soft floor for the baby and my mother. Mother was
in a lot of pain and purely exhausted from working
work ing so hard on her little hut, but we finally completed
it. The floor
floor must have been about three feet high and very springy. We were so happy when it was
done. Now her pains were getting closer and closer, and I was more and more worried. I cannot
remember waiting and looking forward for someone like I did those few days. I think I even prayed
for my father to come home qu quickly.
ickly.

It happened to TILA Uei Wolfgramm bom born July 14, 1955. My mother went to the Vai
14,1955. Vaiola
ola
th
hospital
hospita l in Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu to have her number 15 child.
15'" chi ld . Four hours later number 16 was also
bom.
born. It was a total surprise to my mother that she was carrying
carryi ng twins.
twins . I was the first one bom,
born, then
luni my younger twin.twin . The nurses and my mother really had a hard time telling the difference between
us, we were identical. They looked and looked and fina finally
lly spotted the crooked eyebrow of luni. Iuni. That
was the ononly difference between us.
I y difference
My mother always made matching dresses for us to wear. When we started going to school we
still looked so much alike that the teachers cou
could
ld not even tell us apart so they kept us in the same
cclass.
lass.

It happened to LOSE Wolfgramm bom born 12 Jul 1959. My parents were Lily and Makanes Makanesii
Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (my father's
father 's brother) From what I hear, Lili was too ill to take care of me and the babies
in the same hospital
hospital were all ill too.
too . The doctor told my parents that they should find someone to take
care of me or else I1 would
would getget sick
sick like
like the
the rest
rest of
of the
the babies.
babies. They
They decided
decided to
to ask
ask [ohani
lohani and
and Salote
Salote
if they cou
couldld take care of me since Salote had just lost a baby nine days earlier. Salote was really real ly
thrilled to take care of me since her baby had passed away at birth. They told me how excited the rest
of the children at home were to see that they had brought home a baby from the hospital.

ELlSl TELLS IT LIKE IT IS

ELISI
13th child horn
Elsie is the 13'" born to lohani and Salote.
Salote .

Ever since I grew up in the islands I never did really know my father like I do now. When
moming
morning breaks my father would wake up early and get ready and go to work. I never saw him until
nine or ten oo'clock
'clock that night. The only day he was ever home was on Sunday. Transportation was
always a problem. Sometimes he went on his hi s bike or by horse, and then the rest of the way by boat
if working at another island.
is land.
I remember one time I stepped on a wire and my foot got infected. My fatherfather took me down
town every day for three days to get a shot. He took me on his bicycle and never said one word to me.
I guess he was too busy thinking of something else.
 19
1911

I still remember one day I went inside one of the bgates oates where we kept the pios
keptthe pigsb
forgot
and foroot
b
to
shut it when I came out. My father came back in the afternoon aftemoon to feed the pigs and the biggest pig pi g had
run away. My father knew that it was me that had opened the gate. He came back in the house and told
me that I had to go with him to find the pig and if I didn didn't,
' t, then I couldn
couldn't' t go with them the next nex t day
on a picnic. I went with him and looked everywhere but couldn't co uldn 't find that pig. My fatherfat her told me to
wait at the gate while he looked on the other side of the yard. I waited for what seemed a long time,
so I decided to go look for it myself. I went first first to look for my father but coul couldn't find
dn't fi nd him.
him . I walked
down a little farther and saw something by the bushes. I thought it was the pig. But no, I found my
father kneeling down by the bushes bu shes saying a prayer. I didn't
didn' t want to disturb him, him , so I listened
li stened to what
he was saying. He asked the Lord to please lead him to where the pig was. A few minutes m inutes later I saw
the pig running strai
straight
ght to the gate and go inside. Then my fath father
er knelt down agaagainin and said thanks
to the Lord for leading
leadi ng the pig back to hishi s sty. That's the kind of a person my fat father
her is.
My brother Napole was my favorite brother. He always took us places on the weekends. Two
days before he died, he talked to me and told me to always do the right thing. Don't Don ' t worry what other
people think about you. He told me to always love my parents and do what they to toldld me no matter
how right or wrong I[ mightmi ght think they ar"!
are because they would never lead me astray. He told me to
always look at the past and learn something from it, and try not to make the same mistake mi stake twice. 1I
miss
mi ss him very much. -
I want to say that I really do love my mother and father and all my brothers and sisters. I1want want
to ask you all to forgive me for all the many trials that I have put you through through..
In the year 1964
J964 good news came. My parents sa saidid we were going to America. We were so
excited. We went and told all our friends. We used to stay up late and my older sisters would tell us
all about America. Everything they said was true. true. The ononly ly part I hated about it was when my father
said we had to fast every Saturday. On Saturday morning we had to walk to town. It was seven miles
away. We had to have our physical phys ical exam and fix all our papers to come to America. By the time we
got home I was starving to death.
Our parents didn't
didn ' t want us to go to school that semester, so we stayed home. My mother and
I went to town and I got my first pair of shoes. shoes. When we got home I took them off off and showed my
shoes to all my friends. I even wore them to bed. That was the first time I had shoes on. My mother
sewed each one of us a new dress to wear when we arrived in America. America . The day before we left my
little brother and I carved our names in our favorite tree. We used to climb up and sit there and ssing ing
all afternoon.
all aftemoon.
When the time to go to America was near, my parents told us that we had to start talking
English. I was too ashamed to talk in English, espec
especially
ially in front of my parents. Then my parents got
us some knives and forks and told us that we must leamlearn to use them. Then my mother taught us some
Polynesian
Po lynes ian dances. She said when we get to America
AmeIica we're
we' re going to do some Polynes
Polynesian
ian shows.
That's
That 's when I started to leam how to play the ukulele and guitar.
When it was almost time for us to go, we had a big feast with all our friends and neighbors to
say goodbye. I didn't
didn ' t cry because I was so excited to come. I was seasick all the way to Samoa, our
next stop.
192

We came by plane from Samoa to San Francisco. I loved coming on the plane but was afraid afraid
that the plane might fall out of the sky. When we got to San Francisco, Franci sco, friends and relatives were
waiting
wai ting for our arri arrival.
val. When I got offoff the plane it was like li ke being in another world or another planet.
I was so surprised. I had never seen an elevator or escalator before. There were lilights, different
ghts, of different
colors
co lors and shapes. My eyes went so big and my mouth hung open open.. There were so many people and
so many cars, so many streets, houses and tall buildings. bui ldings. I never dreamed of anything like this. My
cousin took us over to their house and made us some food. I didn't like turkey, potatoes, chips ch ips and
all the food they had prepared for us. It was strange food for us. All Al III ate was ice cream and an apple.
That's
That all II liked.
' s all liked.
Then we had to start driving to Salt Lake City that same night. My sister Ana and Tisina had
come to America a long time ago and were both married. They brought their cars and my Uncle
Walter and my cousin Lami brought their cars. It took fo fourur cars to bring us to Salt Lake. I slept that th at
night and was tired of sleeping. I woke up and we were still on the road. I asked Tisina if we were
there yet, but she told me to go back to sleep as we weren't we ren' t even half
half way yet. I told my sister I di didn't
dn 't
know that America was that big.
We arrived
arri ved in Salt Lake City
C ity the last week of September 1965. 1965. We had to go to school right
away. I went io to Lincoln Junior High. They put me back in seventh grade because I didn't understand
English
Engli sh very well. My first day in school I fe feltlt so differen!.
different. Nobody talked to me because they thought
I didn
didn't' t know how to speak in Engli Englishsh at all. So I sat there pretending I didn didn't' t know one word of
English.
Engli sh.
Two months later we moved to our own house as the other part of of the family
family had arri arrived
ved from
the islands.
island s. We had our first Ctlri Christmas
stmas there. That's when my brother-in-lawbrothcr-in-Iaw Roy came over and
showed us how to make a snow man.
Then my parents bought a home on the east side of town and we had to move again. I went
to Evergreen Junior High. The kids there seemed to dress up nicer and they were cleaner. That's when
1[ started
started to to wear
wear makeup
makeup because
because the
the other
other girls
girls were
were weari
wearing makeup.
ng make up. II always
always tried
tried to
to wear
wear nice
nice
clothes. At that time I was dancing with my sisters at the Hawaiian Restaurant, so my money all went
to buy clothes.
My mom was working at the L.D.S. L.D .S. hospital as a housekeeper and my dad was a maintenance
worker at the church office office building.
bui lding. They didndidn't' t make enough money to pay our bills bill s and take care
of us, so they took another part time job in the evening even in g cleaning two floors at the Kennecott building. build ing.
My parents were gone from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays were the only time
really
we rea them.. When they weren'
lly got to see them weren'tt home we did whatever we wanted. My older sister kind
of looked out fo forr us, but we didn't listen to her.
My parents were hard working people. They told us that we could come and help them with
their part time job. So every day after after school if if we weren't
weren ' t busy with our entertainment
entertainment shows, we
would ride the bus bu s down town to help my parents clean, vacuum, vacu um , dust and clean toilets. It took us at
least two hours evelY every night to work. My dad always made sure that we did a good job and told us never
to take anything---<:andy
anything-candy or anything-from
anything-from anyone's office. He was very upset when he found ou
anyone 's office. outt we
had taken some can drinks, so he put some money by the drink machine to pay for our drinks. After
work we walkedwa lked to the bus stop and retumed
returned home.
 193

Sometimes when we got home there was dinner ready, but my dad loved to eat bread and hot
chocolate. TThat
hat was his
hi s main dinner every even
evening.
ing. After
After dinner we had family prayer and then to
bed. If
If the house was dirty, dad always stayed up and cleaned it-then
it- then fell
fe ll asleep on the couch. In the
morning he would be up before anyone else.
Growing
Growi ng up as a teenager with my parents was fun because they let us do what we wanted to.
They didn't force or neglect us, but I[remember
remember them telling us that they had taught
tauoht us the right
rioht things
thinos
to do, and it's
it 's up to us to make our choices. They trusted us and supported us "
with right
ri ght "
choices " that
we made.
Growing
Grow ing up in the late sixties was exciting for me because everyone was fight fighting
ing for peace.
Two of of my brothers were in Vietnam in the army. My parents prayed for their safety every day.
I[ was very close to my younger sisters so we formed fOlmed a singing group and named it the
Wolfgramm Sisters
Sisters.. We performed everywhere everyw here in Salt Lake. People liked our ou r singing. My parents
supported us by telling everyone they met about us. We sang in the 1.O.S. L.D.S. hospital for fo r President
Kimball and his hi s wife. They blessed us with their love and it was an experience that 1 will
[ wi always
ll always
remember. We went on T.V. T.V . and sang on the TalentTalen! Showcase. Our parents came with us and were
so thrilled to see how they taped the show live on T.V. After work my parents told everyone at work
to watch and vote for us. We won that weeks' talent award but lost on the Ted Mack Show.
My sister Ana and her husband took us to Canada where we put on shows all over. We did Our bu r
Polynesian dances first, first, then sang afterwards. We did a lot a missionary work there for the Indian
Reservation. The missionaries
mi ssionaries. would gather all the non-members on the reservation and we would wou ld
put on a show
show,, then my mom would talk to them about their experiences during their missions. mi ss ion s. The
people really enjoy it and some of them were baptized. Father was not with us. He had to stay home
and work.
Being free and making my own choices was the best thing that [I cou could have. II always wanted
ld have. wanted
to experience things thi ngs in my own way. Run Running
ning away was the fi first
rst thing on my list.
li st. I ran away from
home with just the clothes on my back and whatever little li ttle money I had I spent on food. I walked and
walked.
walked . I dondon't' t know how many miles I walked that night. I was so cold and tired. tired . I came to a gas
station and it was closed closed.. I looked for a place to sleep that night. I saw an old broken down truck. I
opened the door and got in. in . I lay down and went to sleep. I woke up because I was cold and it was
about 7:00 a.m. I got off off the truck and looked around to see if anyone saw me, but I saw no one.
I wanted to go home so badly, but I was too scared. Then I rode the bus back down town. I
wanted to go down to Temple Square because I knew I'd be safe there and I cou couldld always sleep inside
one ofof the buildings.
bu ildings. When I got there I went straight to the ladies' room and washed up. up. From there
1I went
wentto
toaadrugstore
drugstore by bythe
thecorner
comerand andgotgotme
mesome
somechips
chipsand andcandy.
candy. Then
ThenIIwent
wenttotothe theTabernacle,
Tabemacle,
but it was stistillll closed so I sat outside and ate. I waited until some tourists came out, then I went in.
It was almost noon. I slept for maybe two hours upstairs on those long benches, then 1 [ woke up
because I heard the noise of the janitor vacuuming the carpet. I sneaked outside and went wen t downtown.
A few hours later I came back to to the Tabernacle
Tabemacle andand went in in to
to look for a place
place to
to sleep
sleep that
that night,
night, then
then
I came
came back outside
outside and and went
went in allall of
of the buildings
buildings just toto kill time.
time. When
When it was
was almost
almost closing
closing time,
II went
went inside
inside the Tabemaclee and
the Tabernacl and slept
slept on
on one
one of
of the
the long benches. It
long benches. It was so scary
was so scary inside.
inside. It It was
was so
so
big and
big and II was
was the only
the on one in
ly one in it.
it. II said
said aa prayer.
prayer. Then
Then II went
went to sleep. II was
to sleep. was crying
crying in in the
the middle
middle ofof
194
the night
ni ght because I missed
mi ssed my parents and everybody. When morning came, I waited till the building
was open, then when the tourists
touri sts came inside I sneaked down and stood together with them, leaving
with them when they left. They went one way and I went the other way.
I met some friends and they helped me. One week later I was caught and went back home. I
thought my parents would punish me, but my father welcomed me by hugging me and telling me he
loved me and had been worried about me. I found out later that my father had been fasting and
praying for me and my mom had written my name on the temple roll.
went through a lot of challenges throughout my teenage years. The thing I remember is that
I weill
my parents would always love me no matter what because they told us that we don't don ' t belong to them
but to Heavenly Father. They're only here to support us through life and teach us about the gospel of
Jesus Christ and how to retum return to be with Heavenly Father. I am so thankful
thankful to be brought up by my
parents because I was able to understand and make my own decisions. They were good teachers and
taught us not only in words, but by their actions.
actions . Ever since they were married,
married , their goal was to come
to Utah because this
thi s is the place called
called Zion and
and they did accomplish
accomplish that goal. We went went through a
lot
lot with
with mymy parents
parents toto reach
reach the
the goal,
goal , but
but we
we did
did it. That means
it. That means aa lot
lot to
to me
me because
because II know
know that
that
without God's help
without God's help wewe would
would never
never have accomplished it.
have accomplished it.
I grew up and got married to my first husband. We met in Canada. He was lead guitar for
another Polynesian group. We were married for one month. Things didn't didn ' t work out so I left him and
went to Hawaii where I met my second husband. husband. He was aa Methodist and and he
he hated Mormons
Mormons.. II fou
found
nd
out later that he had been baptized by a fliend friend of his who was a missionaiy
missionary in Tongs two years prior
this.. He though he was doing his friend
to this friend a favor. Anyway, he was a very strong Methodist and 1I
went along with him to his hi s Church. That was my choice. We went to the Methodist church for eight
years. By this thi s time we had three children.children . Our oldest son David was going to be eight years old. uk!.
When
When he he was
was three
three months
months old old II had taken him
had taken him toto my dad and
my dad and he he blessed
blessed him at his
him at his ward.
ward. II wanted
wanted
my son to
my son to be
be baptized
baptized in in the
the L.D.S.
L.D.S. Church.
Church. II started
started going
going toto the Mormon Church
the Mormon Church with
with our children.
our children.
My husband was mad at me, but I told him I didn ' t believe in their Church and I'm doing what II know
My husband was mad at me, but I told him I didn't believe in their Church and I'm doing what know
is
is the
the right
ri ght thing for me
thing for me and
and mymy children.
children. He said,, O.K.
He said O.K. you
you go go to
to your
your church and I'll
church and I'll go
go to
to mine.
mi ne .
But he ended up coming with us to the
But he ended up coming with us to the L.D.S. Church. L.D.S. Church.
My dad frequently called me and talked to me about coming back to the Church before it was
too late. I remember every time we went to their house my dad and mom would talk about the last
days in the book of Isaiah. Isa iah. We weren't ready to change our li lives
ves and habits so we had ears but not
ready to listen.
li sten. We didn't want to hear it so would usually usuall y leave early so we wouldn't hear any more
Bible talk
talk..
In 1985 we moved to Minnesota just for a change. My brother Mike was there and wanted us
to come for a visit. Now we had six ch children-two
ildren-two boys and 4 girls. We told our parents we were
moving to Minnesota. They didn't think it was a smart move, but told us not to stay too long and to
remember our goals and why we came to Utah. Utah . We stayed in Minnesota for three years. years . My brother
treated us very well but I really missed my parents and my sisters. I wrote home every week to find
out about everything. Winter came and I hated it. It was so cold, with the wind chill it was minus 60
degrees F. My husband was working and I was home with the kids and pregnant. I miscarried miscanied the
child. We rented the upstairs of a couple's home. I called my dad and told him. He wanted to give
me
me aa blessing
blessing over over the
the phone
phone butbut II told
told him
him that
that we
we were coming home
were coming for Christmas
home for Christmas in
in two
two weeks,
weeks,
and he coucould ld bless me then, and he agreed.
 195

I wanted to go through the temple and get my endowment that Christmas holiday hoi iday and so I got
a recommend from my bi bishop.
shop. My husband stayed and worked in Minnesota when I went went toto Salt
Salt Lake
Lake
City with
w ith my children on the bus. We arrived in Salt Lake and stayed at my sister sister's
's house. I[asked
asked my
dad if he would
wou ld give me a blessing that night, ni ght, but my father
father said that we both needed to fast fast and pray
first and he would give me the blessing blessi ng the next day. At 7:00 p.m.
p.m . the next day I went to my father's
father's
home. My father sat me down and read and scriptures from the Bible Bihle about fa faith.
ith. We talked and
asked, "Do you believe that after I bless you, God will heal you?"
I told him
him,, "Yes."
"Yes."
Then he said, "You say a prayer first first and then I'll say a prayer. After After that I will bless you."
I1 remembered
remembered inin my my bless
blessing that he
ing that hetold
told me
methat
that Heavenly
Heavenly Father
Fatherhad hadforgiven
forgiven allall my
mysins
sinsand
and IIwas
was
healed from all the ailments in my body. He also cast out all the evi evill spirits inside my body and gave
me a personal blessing. It was a special day for me. The next morning my bleeding had stopped. I
had planned to go to the temple that day with my parents and some of my sisters, being my first time
in the temple. I felt so good that day, so peaceful and and humble. I was ready to meet my Savior that day.
I didn
didn't' t want to go back to Minnesota, but we had to to.. We didndidn't' t like the idea of spending
another winter in Minnesota so we moved to Florida where my younger brother Richard lived. Iived. It was
great there going to the beach every week and teaching my little family how to do Polynesian shows.
My parents wouldwou ld talk to us on tapes and mail them to us.
Our oldest son got in trouble with a gang, so we decided to move to New Zealand. It was nice
over there but I really missed my family.
my' fami ly. We stayed with my husband's family. Things did not work
out for us. We couldn't co uldn 't work because we needed a work permit and my kids couldn't go to school
because they needed a school permit, so we stayed in New Zealand for one year then had to return to
America. It was so nice to come back to the land of freedom. freedom.
We got back and stayed at my parent's house. hOllse. I remember my my father asking us us that ni
night,
ght, "You
guys have been gone for six years now. Did you get your diploma yet?"
We laughed and said, "Yes, grandpa, we've leamed learned our lesson. There is no place like home."
My parents sa saidid we could stay as long as we wanted and save some money to buy a home. home . While
staying there,
there , my parents both retired. Now mom and dad would wake up early, go to the temple,
come home around 10:00 or 11:00 II :00 a.m. Dad wouldn't
wouldn ' t change his hi s clothes, but put his overall olltside outside
his Sunday suit. When asked why he did that, he said he wanted to be ready at all times for
emergencies such as people that needed blessings, and he would cany carry consecrated ooilil in his hi s pocket
at all times. Living at the home of my parents was a blessing bless ing for our famifamily ly because we witnessed
many people that were healed by the power of God through my father administrations. That has
strengthened our family' family'ss faith in God, and changed my husband'shusband 's feeling about the L.D.S. Church.
One moming
momina a man came to our house. He was on crutches, looking very sick with no color
in his
hi s face and was as " white as dead
dead.. He said he had cancer and there's there ' s nothing else that the doctors
could do for him. Someone had mentioned my father father's's name and that's why he came. They read the
scriptures and later my father gave this man a blessing. blessing. My father's voice was so strong you could feel feel
the power of the Holy Spirit guiding every word that came from his mouth.
196

After
After the blessing,
bless ing, my parents told him some of their experiences
the ir ex duringg their
periences durin the ir mission.
mi ssion. The
man left the house two hours later. He was so happy. One week later father received rece ived a phone ca callll
from someone offering offering him some money because he had been healed. father said, "No, it
heal ed. My father it's
's not
my power, it's it 's the power of God that healed yo you."
u."
Another week went by and there was a knock at the door. This Thi s man came with a big bi g basket
full of grapefruit,
grapefruit, other fruit frui t and nuts. He said said,, "This
"Thi s is for M Mr.r. and Mrs. Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm." ."
We took the basket and put it on our dining room table. My parents invited in vited him in. The man
asked,
asked , ""Do
Do you remember me?" We didn didn't' t recognize
recogni ze him. "I'm
him . ''I' m the one you blessed two weeks ago."
My father
father still didndidn't' t recognize
recogni ze him.
him . Then he sa said,
id , "Remember the crutches?" My parents were we re
surprised. He said that he had gone back to the doctor and was told to ld that he had no more cancer. He
told his doctor that he was healed by God God.. They talked a little and the man left. left.
I asked my mother what his name was. was. Mother said said,, "I forgot to write down his hi s name. It' It'ss
funny, because everyone that comes for help, I always write wri te their name and address in my book, but
forgot
I fo rgot this time."
We enjoyed eating the fru fruitit in the basket. The onl onlyy thing left was the grapefruit. No one in
our house liked grapefruit, so the fruit sat on our ddining ining room table fo forr one week. My youngest
daughter T Tina
ina wanted an orange, so she took one of the grapefruit grapefruit and tri tried
ed to peel it. I told her not
to eat it because it was too sour, but she kept on biting bitin g on it, then ran over to me and said, "Mom, 1I
dollar
found a doll orange." TThe
ar in the orange." he dodollar
ll ar was rolled up up like aa skskinny
inn y cigarette and was stuck inside the
middle
midd le of the grapefruit. I unrolled it and fo found
und it was a $100 $100.00
.00 bill. We all ran to the basket and
opened each grapefrui
grapefruitt and found
fo und six hundred dollars
doll ars that were hidden inside. We handed the money
to dad. He was happy and said he knew that God would woul d help us that Christmas
Chri stm as because he was broke. brokc.
We were unable
un able to find out the name of this
th is man. My father didn't
father didn ' t remember his
hi s name either.
e ither.
During the short time we stayed with my parents, my testimony grew stronger and stronger.
My parents would woul d flyfl y all over the United States to bless people. T Their
heir fare would be paid by those
wanting them to come for the blessing. bless ing. People also called long distance from from other countries to ask
my dad to bless them over the telephone.
Two months after the blessing of
month s after ofthe
the man with cancer, one of my aunties came from Australia
to visit her daughter in Provo and heard about Iohan lohani.i. So they came over to our house one night and
asked if my dad would bless her daughter over the phone. Her daughter had been bedridden for six
years.
years . My dad call called
ed Australia
Austra lia and blessed this lady and told her that th at in the moming
morning she would wo uld be up
on her feet. Three days later she retumed returned the call and told my father that she was up and out of bed.
The next
nex t day she wanted to go shopping. She was so happy. Two years later she came from Australia
and met with my father father and now lives li ves here in Utah.
There were so many miracles performed perfOimed by my father father that I have witnessed with my own eyes.
I know that the power of God is real and it works through faith. I' I'm
m so honored to be his earthly
daughter. I also know that my father father couldn'
couldn'tt have made it where he was without my mother's help.
Mother is the one who read out loud to my father and father was the one who ex explained
plained the meaning
of the scri
scripture.
pture. Father was very smart and had a sharp memory. Their whole life is the gospel of of
Jesus Chri
Christ.
st. They not onl onlyy preached it, but they also lived li ved it.
 197
197

lohani started
lohani started LOtoget
getsick
sick with
with prostate
prostatecancer.
cancer. Before
Before he
hedied
died we
wewere
werearound
around hishisdeath
death bed.
bed.
Hegave
He gaveeach
each and
andeveryone
everyoneof of us
ushihis lastblessi
s last blessing.
ng. ItItwas
wassososad
sadtotosee
seehim
himsuffer
suffer lilike that, but
ke that, but IIknew
knew
that he
that he was
was needed
needed on onthetheother
other side.
side. He
Hecouldn'
couldn'tt speak
speak above
above aawhisper,
whisper, but
but gave
gave me meaablessing
blessing and
and
told me
told me that
that Heavenly
Heavenly Father
Father loves
loves meme and
and was
was soso proud
proud ofof me.
me, and
and to
to continued
continued to to keep
keep the
the
commandments and
commandments and God.
God. ThenThen II wou
would be blessed
ld be blessed with
with more
more bless
blessings than JI would
ings than would know
know what
what to
to
do with. He said I was one of his favorite daughters and I know he loved me. I will
do with. He said I was one of hi s favorite daughters and I know he loved me. l will always remember always remember
his
hi loving
s lov and caring
ing and caring face.
face.
198
 CHAPTER VIII

HEALINGS, VISIONS
VISIONS,

PROPHECIES
 20
2011

A
A PATIENT
PATIENT AT
AT ST.MARKS
ST.MARKS HOSPITAL
HOSPITAL
By
Bv Taiall{l
Taiana Wo({gral1ll11
Wolfgramm Broll'l/
Brown

I •had
had been on on leave
leave from
from my my job for about about aa month
month in in 1998
1998 becau
because se of thethe wedding of of my
i: -daughter
daughter and aa family family funera
funerall inin California.
Califomia, and and didn't return retura toto my
my jobjob until
until aa month
month later.
later.
I1amamaatrained
trainednurse nurseandandworkworkatatdifferent
different hospitals
hospitalsininSaltSaltLakeLakeCity.
City. I1was wasthinking
thinkingofofchan changing
ging jobsjobs
because liliftingft ing patients was too much for me to to handle
handle..
JJust
ust about a week ago, ago, an
an older gentlem
gentleman an was brought into into the hospital with pneumonia. The
head nurse ass assigned
igned me to to care for thi thiss particular patient that afternoon.
aftemoon. She sa said,
id, ""II like youyourr work
work,,
Taiana,
Ta iana, because you keep all all your assigned patients very happy and clean." clean."
I thanked her for the the compliment
compliment and and went
went toto thi
thiss gentleman's
gentleman's room. room. Immediately
Immediately IIknew knew fromfrom
the odor that I needed to change hi hiss clothes and bedding. I al also
so noticed hi hiss hands had been tied to the
bed railing, but the restraints restra ints were loose enough for the patient to still lift both hands up, but not able
to pull out the IV in hi hiss arm. After I changed all hi hiss clothes and bedding, he fe feltlt so much better. I
smiled
sm iled at him and put all all the soiled bedding in the hamper and came back into the room. room.
I saw a m middle
idd le aged man who was trying to untie the restraints from my patient's hands. 1I
smiled
smi led at him and said, "Who are you, and what are you doing to my patient?" He looked up at me
and told me hi hiss name, saying that it was his hi s father and he was here to release him.
I asked what number he was in the family and he said, ""I'm [' m the middle son." son."
I sa
said,
id, "That's good, my husband and I have 12 [2 sons and two daughters."
He said, "Really!" .
As we were talking he stood a little distance di stance from us. us. His eyes kept looking look ing almost constantl
constantlyy
at his father's
hi s father ' s eyes, and the father's
father 's eyes kept looking at his son's.
hi s son 's. As I1 looked
looked atatthe the father
father andand bewknew
he was about ready to expire. I felt his pulse. He took a long breath. I quickly spoke to his hi s son.
"Please, your father is dying. I don't don ' t think he's going to last very long. Go quickly and get the nurse."
The son left left the room immediately.
immed iatel y. He went to tell the nurse and soon retumed returned to his hi s father's room.
As I tumed
turned to the sink, sink , the father pulled himself himse lf up with his hi s one hand trying to reach the side s ide table,
but
but he he couldn't
couldn 't make make itit soso put
put his
his head
head over
over thethe bed
bed rail.
rai l.
When I saw this th is I] said to his son, "Don't"Don't think we are hurting huning your father father by tying his hi s hands
to the bed rail, rail , it's just
just protecting
protecting him so he won't won't pull out his IV." IV ."
As we were talking talkin g the father
fath er again
agai n took a short breath. breath. I[said said to hishi s son, "Come closer and
hold your father father or give him a hug." His son came and stood right righ t by hishi s bed but didn't
didn ' t touch him or
even
even givegive himhim aa kiss.
ki ss. I] thought
thought thatthat was
was very
very unusual.
unusual.
This
T his man said to me, "I " ] was here yesterday, today, today, and I'll I' ll be here again tomorrow."
tomorrow ."
I] said, "Your father father was probably a good father."
His
His son said, said , "Yes, he he was a very very good father
father to all of of us."
us."
I tumed
turned and said, said , "I"] know your father father doesn't have much much time left, left, in fact
fac t he might leave us us
real
real soon." The son nodded nodded yes with with his
hi s head
head and didn't
didn' t say anything
anything else.else.
In mymy mindmi nd II thought,
thought, "Why
"Why can't can't hehe give hishis father
father a hug hug or or kiss.
kiss. D If he allowed
all owed me, I would
hug
hug and kiss kiss himhim goodbye."
goodbye." The The father
father then
then tried
tried to get
get up,
up, put
put hishi s head
head on the the bed
bed rail
rai l and
and tried
tried to
to
reach
reach outout to to the
the drawer,
drawer, and and his
hi s life
life came
came to to an
an end.
end. No No fuss
fu ss oror pain.
pain. He He died
died peacefully.
peacefu ll y.
202
I sent the son out to the nurse nurse's ' s station to tell the charge nurse and she came. I laid his hi s head
back down softly on the pillow and straightened up his bedding. As I looked around his hi s son left the
room. The family was cal called.
led. When they came to the hospital, the wife was concerned as to why the
hospital hadn't
hadn ' t called her. The nurse said, "A member of of your family was here, your son. We thought
he would be calling the family family."."
The wife sa said,
id , "What son?"
The nurse answered, ""Your Your middle son."
The wife asked, "Can you describe what he looked like?"
The nurse said, "He was a nice looking young man in his late thirties, about 38 or 39 years old,
ta ll , with naturally curly hair. His pants were a khaki color with a shirt to match
tall, match."."
family started to weep and began to hug and kiss each other. The nurse sa
The family id, "I'm sorry,
said,
did I say something wrong?"
The mother said, "No, but the middle son you were describing died seven years ago. ago."" The
fami ly wanted to thank the nurse and express their love for me in being there to care for their father
family
up to the minute before he was called to the other side. They didn't think his hi s pneumonia was very
serious and thought he would only be in the hospital a few days and come home again.
But as far
fa r as I1 knew,
knew, ofof all
all the
the nurses,
nurses, doctors
doctors and
and aids
aids that
that were
were there
there that
that day,
day, the
the nurse
nurse inin
charge and I were the only ones that had seen and talked to the deceased son, who had come to escort
his father
fat her to the other side of the veil. We were both L.D.S. members and temple worthy. As I think
back what happened that day, I still can't believe that I spoke to an angel, and now I know why he
didn't kiss or hug his father, father, but stayed just a little way from him at the side of the room until just
before he died, when he came and stood right by his hi s bed,
bed. but didn't
didn ' t touch anything, and his eyes were
focused constantly
foc used constan tly on his father's eyes up to the time of his hi s death. Then he left ami and said he would be
back tomorrow. If If I had known that I would have shaken his hands, but I'm sure it was meant to be
that way.
This was a testimony for me to know that we are not too far away from all our fami family ly and loved
ones. The veil is so close to us. We know of our Heavenly Father's plan, to know Christ's Chri st's love and
his atonement for us, the promise prom ise that he wi willll never leave us here alone, he will guide us in our daily
affairs.
affai rs. And when we are faithful faithful and have the pure love of Christ for them that we serve here on this th is
earth,
ea rth, we will be blessed in the very short time before our Redeemer comes again.

BLESSING TO GLENDALE RELIEF SOCIETY PRESIDENT

S ister Gooch was president of the Relief

Relief Society in the Cannon Ninth ward where my
daughter, Taiana Brown lived. In 1976 the president became ill, ill , and was told she had
cancer of the stomach. After a long fast and prayer, she asked if I would please fast and pray for her,
that this
th is cancer would be taken away immediately, so that she would be able to continue with her
church calling.
ch urch ca lli ng . She was caring for a ten or eleven year old niece, who had come to live with her. The
girl was handicapped and unable to walk or stand up, and needed constant care. The woman came
to me and asked if and my familfamilyy would hold a special
special fast and prayer with members of her ward, on
behalf
behal f of her niece and her. The next day they operated on this little
Iittle girl. We fasted again two or three
times duri
duringng that month of May.
 203
203
This
This past
past April
April General
General Conference
Conference they
they called
called and
and thanked
thanked us.
us. The
The little
little girl
girl isis now
now running
running
around
around andand playing.
playing. The
The cancer
cancer disappeared
di sappeared from
from the
the Relief
Relief Society
Society President's
President's stomach.
stomach. The The doctor
doctor
just
just couldn't
couldn't understand
understand how
how this
thi s could
could happen,
happen, and
and questioned
questi oned her
her about
about it.
it. She
She answered
answered him him saying,
saying,
"Yes,
"Yes, itit was
was through
through aa long
long fast
fast and
and prayer
prayer of
of my
my ward
ward members
members and and friends,
friend s, and
and mymy faith
fait h in
in my
my
Heavenly
Heaven ly Father's
Father's power
power of of healing."
healing."

A MOTHER IN BOUNTIFUL
A MOTHER

T;mislay inwoman was in a car accident in Bountiful and she was badly hurt. For six months she
This woman was in a car accident in Bountifu l and she was bad ly hu rt. For six month s she
a coma in the hospital. She was a professional ballet dancer and a beautiful mother.
lay 111 a coma 111 the hospItal. She was a professional ballet dancer and a beautifu l mother.
Her
Her son
son was
was getting
getting everything
everything ready
ready to leave
leave on his
hi s mission, but
but after
after seeing
seein g the way his
hi s mother
mother
looked
looked he wished his hi s mother
mother could know
know of of his mission
mi ssion call to Italy.
Ital y. He and his father
father asked their
the ir
bishop if the
the ward members
members and their families
famili es would join inin a special fast and prayer
prayer for
for his
hi s mother.
I was asked to come and administer
admini ster to her, and did as they asked. A week later I received a ca call
ll
from her husband saying that his hi s wife started to move her hands for the first
first time by herself. Next
Nex t she
began to regain her speech,
speech, then little by little her memory came back. She was able to attend her
son's farewell.
farewel l.
When we have the opportunity to attend the Ogden Temple, we enjoy visiting with her husband
weenjoy
who is a temple worker there.

BLESSING OF NORMA'S BABY

y daughter Norma with her husband Brent Dean came to my home and asked for a
M[blessing. The day was near for the birth of her baby and she was very uncomfortable.
M bl ess ing. The day was near for the birth of her baby and she was very uncomfortable.
She fefeltlt the baby had dropped lower, and with all the pain she was having, she was fearful fealful for her
baby's life. She felt strongly the need for me to bless her and the baby. Her younger brother Richard
assisted
ass isted me with the anointing. I sealed the anointing and gave the blessing.
I blessed the baby on March 10'h, 10th, 1977 and stated that he wou wouldld be able to go out into the world
to preach the gospel as a missionaiy.
missionary. His blessings would be one of the most high hi gh and very choice.
This chchild
il d was chosen ofthe
of the Lord even before his birth
bil1h that he should come in these days. He will
last days.
go out into the world and do many marvelous and wonderfu wonderfull things while serving on hi hiss mi
mission.
ss ion. He
will teach and preach the Gospel. He will be blessed with an an obed
obedient
ient spirit. He will be able to do
a marvelous work, and there will will be many people see see and
and hear him
him tell
tell that which wouldwould frighten them.them.
thiss time the young man will
At thi will be filled with the spirit of our Heavenly Father. Hi Hiss life will be well
well
protected. He wi will
ll also become aa record keeper for the Church. Nom1a, Norma, hi hiss mother was one of
Heavenly
Heaven spirits, and was chosen to
ly Father's choice spirits, to have thi
thiss son,
son, long before hi hiss birth. The boy wi willll
alive
stay al ive un until
ti l he is able to
to witness the Second Com Coming Savior. He wi
ing of the Savior. willII be able to teltelll of many
miracles and wonderful things. The Lord wi will
ll use him andand ass
assist him to
ist him to do
do hi
hiss work,
work, most of wh which
ich
will be in
will in the
the last days
days.. He
He will
will tell
tell of many different signs of the Second Coming. Coming. I continued wi with
th
blessing, sealing it in
the blessing, in the name
name of Jesus Christ.
Christ.
204
The baby's father,
father, not understanding the Tongan language, immediately
immediatel y opened his hi s eyes at the
end and asked what was said. Both Norma and Brent understood me blessing bless ing the baby as a boy. The
doctor had done an ultra sound on the baby and also al so checked the heartbeat, and it was supposed to be
a little girl. JI said
littl e girl. said,, "As I laid my hands on Norma's head head,, I immediately felt that this
thi s child was going
to be a boy." Every time I tried tri ed to say she, I fe
feltlt that
th at someone was beside me saying, "It's going to be
boy." W
a boy." When
hen this baby came two days later, it was a boy. boy. Strangely, he was bom with a full grown
front
front tooth.
tooth . The
T he doctor later pulled it. They named him Travis Travi s Kaufusi
Kaufusi Dean, giving him the middle
name after
after Sa
Salote's father.
lote's father.

IOHANI SOUGHT FROM A DREAM

'tt was the first

first Sunday of November 1979 and I was getting ready for an 8:00 a.m. priesthood
Ii;
-meeting.
meeti ng. I heard a knock at the door so came to answer it and found a woman at the door
that I had never before met. She said, "I'm looking for lohani Iohani Wolfgramm who is living livin g at this
thi s
address." I noticed she had been crying.
I said, "I'm Brother Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm,, what can I do for you?" you?"
"I've come because my brother, Mr. Smith, died di ed at the Cottonwood hospital hospital last Friday and
we have asked the doctor if he would bear with us and just leave him there in the room because becau se we
have a feeling
feel ing that his life will retum.
return. This
Thi s Sunday moming his wife
hi s w ife went home to Bountiful
Bountiful to feed
the children and get them ready for Church, while his hi s sister and other family members are at his hi s room,
keeping their eyes on Brother Smith. T Thehe reason I came: In a dream my husband saw Brother Smith Smi th
come to him and ask if he would woul d look for
fur a man by the name of Iuhani lohani Wulfgramm
Wolfgramm and gave hi him this
m th is
address, and said, 'Go and ask Brother Wolfgramm Wolfgramm to come and call my spirit so it can eenter nter my body
again.'.' That's
again That 's why
why II came
came this
this moming.
morni ng. Will
Will you
you come
come and and give him aa priesthood
give him priesthood blessing?"
blessing?"
I1said,
said,"I"Iwould
would lilike
ke totohelp
helpyou
youbutbutIIcan'
can't. Mybibishop
t. My shop and andstake
stakepres
president
ident wonwon't allow
' t all ow me meout
out
of the jurisdiction
jurisdiction of my stake or ward to exercise my priesthood."
The woman said, "May JI please go and see your bishop bi shop and give him the information
information that my
husband received?" So she went and spoke to the bishop. After After she told the bishop the story, she was
sent to the stake president.
pres ident. After
After the stake president
presi dent heard the story, he gave his permission and said,
"If
" If this brother needs his help, he may go." go ."
So the woman retumed to my house and took me in her car to the hospital. When we entered
the room I noticed all the family fami ly sitting around. His sister told me her brother had died on Friday. I
met the brother-in-law who had the dream and asked if he would ass
ifhe assist
ist me in the admini
administration.
stration . The
brother-in-law
brother-in- law told me to anoint the oil oi l and he would give the blessing. I said, "Thank you." you. " and we
went ahead and gave Brother Smith his blessing. After After we said amen everyone sat down. They waited
wai ted
for about 15 minutes,
minutes, nothing
nothing happened.
happened. They
They waited
waited for for another
another 30 30 minutes,
minutes, nothing
nothing happened.
happened. TThis his
went for an hour and st still
ill nothing. The sister began to cry again and called
call ed me aside and said, "My
husband doesn't have enough faith when he prays, that's why my brother came in that dream and
wanted
wanted you you to give him
to give him the
the blessing
blessing because
because of of the
the fafaith
ith that
that you
you have.
have. Would
Would it it be too much
be too much if if we
we
could all unite in faith and prayer and ask the Lord to bless my brother, and through
could all unite in fa ith and prayer and ask the Lord to bless my brother, and through your faith you can your faith you can
raise
rai se him from the dead?"
 205
The brother-in-law retumed returned onlonlyy this
thi s time 1 offered the
I offered theprayer.
prayer. InInmy
myprayer
prayerIIsaidsaid, "OurFather
, "Our Father
in heaven,
heaven , we are here together with the rest ooff Brother Smith's family fam ily to offer special
offer a spec ial prayer on his
behalf. We know that he has been dead since Friday, but his hi s spirit has come and asked if I cou could
ld give
him a blessing
bless ing and ca callll for his spirit to return to his hi s body. We pray for his hi s health to retum
retu rn to normal.
We pray that his hi s heart will
wi ll start to function, his
fun ction, hi s lungs and circulation
circul ation start to work and each and every
one of his
hi s veins
vei ns and arteries will begin to function. function . Through the power of the priesthood and in the
name of the holyhol y Savior Jes Jesusus Christ, I command you, Brother Smith, Smith, for your sp spirit to now enter your
irit to
body. And when you revive rev ive from your death bed you yo u will know that it was through the power of of
Christ
Chri st that your spirit has retumed returned to your body. And you will wi ll stand as a witness to God that this thi s is
His gospel
gospel and thi thiss is one of the miracles that He performed among the people before His Hi s second
coming. I pray for you that everything will fu function
nction normally
normall y as we come to the end of our blessin blessingg
and say this
thi s to you in the name of Jesus Christ Chri st and in the power of the holy Melchizedek Melchi zedek priesthood
which we bear."
Right after Brother Smith heard my voice, he slowly got up. up. When his hi s sister saw her brother
get up she started to cry ciy loudly and ran up to him, and the rest of ofthe
the family
fami ly came running and hugged
and kissed him. At that moment the phone rang ran g and it was his hi s wife. She asked her ssister-in-law
ister-in-law how
her husband
hu sband was doing doing.. She asked if she would like to talk to him and handed Brother Smith the
phone. They sat there and talked on the phone as if nothing had happened. happened . They gave me a big hug
and I was finally brought home.
Brother Smith knew he had to come back to fini finish
sh his work on earth earth,, and it was only onl y through
the priesthood blessing that thi this,could
s.could be accomplished. He told the family that fo forr three days he had
been there wanting to retum return to hishi s body, but didndidn't't know how. He saw his body laying there but no
one could hear what he was saying. That's why his hi s spirit went to his brother-in-law to ffind ind someone
that had great faith and was given Iohani' lohani'ss name and address.
I received a call call from the stake president after I returned
stake retumed home home wanting
wanting to to know
know what what happened
happened
to the man. I[told
told him the Lord had heard my prayer and his
hi s life was revived.
revived . The stake president told
pres ident
me that he would
wou ld take away my restrictions, and I would be free to go anywhere that the Lord wanted
me to go to bless the people.

HEALING A GUNSHOT WOUND

'yy daughter Tila

Tila's
's husband Kim cameto
came to OlL
ourr door one evening around 11:30
II :30 p.m. He
M:
M -said, "lohani,, can you please come wLth
said, "lohani with me very quickly
qULckly to the hospital.
hospLtal. My cousm cousin
went hunting
humin" o with some friends near
friend s Tooele, Utah. There was an accident. Someone fired a shot
in his back and there is a big bi g hole. He is losing a lot of blood. We don't know if he wi willll live
li ve or
not."
1I remember Kim sayi ng, "Do you remember Bob (Frandsen) and his gunshot wound? That
saying,
was all in my mind when they told me about my cous in. That's why I came to you.
cousin. yo u. We do have
fa ith, and so does he. When you administer to him,
faith, him , he knows he will get better." I picked up my
consecrated
consecrated oil oil and
and we
we drove
drove strai ght to the
straight the hospital. Kim
Kim helped me by anointing
anointing the oil,
oil, and
and I
was able to admini ster to his
administer hi s cousin.
206

A week later, we went to Kim

Kim's
's ward for the blessing of his son. A young man came over
to me and sa
said,
id, ""Brother
Brother Wolfgramm, do you remember me? I was the one who had the gun gunshot
shot
wound and was in the hospital. I'm all better now. I thank you again and I thank the Lord for
restoring my life
li fe once more."

STORY OF MANU MAT ANGA

MATANGA

'anu
anu Matanga
Matanaa was the father of Susana and the son of of Timote. Grandfather
Grandfather Manu
M
M; -Matanga
Malanga w:swas very ill and finally died one afternoon. They stayed by him all night
singing hymns and paying
payi ng tribute to him from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a. a.m.
m. the next moming.
morning. They sang
more hymns and asked one ofthe of the missionaries to come and pray for him, with
him , w ith more singing following.
Suddenly they heard Manu's
Manu 's voice speaking to them. He slowly opened his hi s eyes, sat up, and
said, "I heard some beautiful music and I want to tell you that I just came back from paradi paradise.
se. I tried
to see where the music came from and was brought back to life. When I was in paradise paradi se there were
a lot of people there and said to me, you have come Manu Matanga, but it seems to me they were very
busy. The women were pounding the tapa cloth. Some were layering the tapa with the tapioca paste.
The men were busy making kafa kala ropes from coconut fibers
fibers and kept saying to me, Manu you have
come. They were so busy and continued on with no time for me, but when I heard the music and the
prayer that was given by the missionary,
mi ss ionary, I was sent back here again.
again.""
I think his mission
mi ssion in life was not over yet at Fu
Fu'amotu.
'amolU. Manu gave hi hiss home for mi
missionaries
ss ionaries
to open up the church there. In 1955 the ch church
urch moved fro
from hiss home to their own building.
m hi
Salote and I heard thi
thiss story during our mission in 1980.

LIAHONA TAUFA TONGA FIFlTA

FIFITA

iahona is the second daughter of Sione Taufa Tongi of Ha'ateiho who married Ngalu Maile
L;'of Nukunuku and had suffered from sugar diabetes and stomach cancer for a long time.
L iahona is the second daughter ofS ione Taufa Tongi of Ha ' ateiho who married Ngalu Maile
of Nukunuku and had suffered from sugar diabetes and stomach cancer for a long time.
It runs on her mother's side of her family. Liahona's
Liahona 's older sister Water Lily Taufa Tongi married my
younger brother Makanesi Wolfgramm.
Wolfgramm.
Liahona had been in and out of the hospital fo forr her treatment. Sometimes it helped her and
sometimes it got worse, so it got to the point where she just hung in there wondering how much longer
she had to suffer. The family decided to take her back to the hospital
hosp ital and see if the doctor could tell
them how much longer she had left. At the hospital the doctor gave her more tests and some X-rays
were taken. The result came in the next few days. The doctor called the family together and a~d told them
the results of Liahona's exams and tests. Eighty percent of her body was infected with cancer. She
had only
on ly a very few days left to live. The doctor told the family her sugar count was dangerously high
and he had little hope for her recovery, but to take her home so she can be with her family when she
passes away.
 207

Liahona's brother Feleni was contacted and all her close relatives. relatives . They all flew
new to Salt Lake
City from California
Californi a and other areas. Liahona was unable to gel get up and even try to walk. She was
very weak and losing weight constantly. After they took her home, the family tried to keep her alive
waiting
wa iting for her time to go. They wanted to make the arrangements for her funeral. funeral.
One of her nieces named Teseleti (Deseret) Wolfgramm Leo came to visit her Aunt Liahona,
and didn
didn't' t want to see her dying like that. Teseleti telephoned
te lephoned my home and asked if she could bring
me to give Liahona a Priesthood blessing. 1I said said,, "I'
"I'llll be more than happy to come with you and give
your aunt a blessing."
Teseleti drove me to her aunt and uncle's home where all the family were there with Liahona.
Sione Tea Fifita and her husband came to meet us when we first first arrived,
arri ved, then Teseleti
Teseleti told her uncle,
uncl e,
"When I saw Liahona's suffering, suffering, I decided to call on my dad's dad' s brother. He has a lot of faith
faith.. He is,
to me, a holy
hol y man of God. God . When he prays, God hears him and gives blessings bless ings to those whom he
blesses. I've witnessed many man y miracles in my days. I know that there is no doubt in my mind, Chri Christst
can hear our prayers through our faith and by his hi s love for his hi s children will heal every sickness from
our bodies." Teseleti asked her uncle to see if Liahona would let Iohani lohani give her a Priesthood
blessing.
When Sione Tea Fifita came to see her, Liahona spoke up and said, "I thought you already gave
me a Priesthood blessing."
bless ing."
Deseret was sayi saying
ng to her aunt, "I don't want to be rude or interfere with your sickness,
Liahona, but I know if you let lohani I?hani give you another blessing including what Sione Tea gave you, you ,
the Lord will
wi ll continue to bless you and heal you from all your sickness." Sione Tea also al so agreed to let
me offer
offer a prayer and a priesthood blessing in her behalf. A beautiful blessing was given and many
promises were given Liahona that through her faith, faith , the Lord would performpelfonn miracles in these last !ast
days, so people will know that Jesus Chri Christ
st can heal them from their sickness. Others seeing and
hearing what happened to her will have a desire in their hearts heans to repent from their sins and come unto
Christ, they will be healed and remember their God and thank him.
Liahona sti still11 has a lot of her work that has not yet been completed. She needs to go to the
House of the Lord, take the names of her family, and perform pelfOlm their temple ordinances so they can all al l
be redeemed from death. Her blessing was so wonderful. Everything that she desired in her heart
seemed to be a part of that blessing.
bless ing.
Right
R ight after the blessing, Liahona got up from her bed, walked over and sat down in a chair and
said, "This is so strange to me, but I'm so hungry. Can you get me some food so JI can eat?" Oh! Oh! Yes,
they got her some food. Liahona ate alm almost
ost everything on her plate. Afterward
Afterward she said, "Man!
"Man! I can't
believe I'm feeling so much better right ri ght now."
now ."
She thanked Deseret and me for coming and some of the family went home. Some were so
excited that Liahona's
Liahona 's health had improved. The same evening she got worse. They agai againn rushed her
back to the hospital. The doctor told them that she had pneumonia. T They
hey gave her IV's. After
After a little
littl e
while
whi Ie the lab technician came to take some blood samples. What a big surpri surprise.
se. Her blood was
normal. They couldn't find any more sugar in her blood. They X-rayed her stomach that had been fu fullll
of cancer
of cancer and and it was normal.
it was normal. Her
Her pneumonia
pneumonia was was gone.
gone.
208

The doctors couldn't believe what had happened to Liahona! So the doctor called her famil familyy
together
tooether
.:::0 and
. said,, "I have eogood
said Good news foforr you and I also have bad news for us too. The good news for
you is Liahona's
Liahona 's illness seemed to disappear
di sappear during the night and we can't figure out how it happened
so fast, and every test is back to normal. But the sad news for us, we were ready for her operatioperation
on in
the moming
morning and we have canceled that operation. T The
he family started to laugh and sad tears tumed
turned to
happy ones as Liahona was released to go home right after that. Through prayers and faith the Lord
had healed her completely.
around,, eat, go to the Ward Social functions,
Liahona now could walk around functi ons, dances and weddings,
wedd ings,
Church and Ward Temple days. Faith is given to us so we will be able to lift ourselves up one step
higher
hi gher so someday we can be with God the Father and his Christ
hi s son Jesus Ch ri st in our life to come.

SlONE
SIONE OLIVE

ione Olive had severe sugar diabetes and went to check on his leg that had been injured and
S was badly infected. After the X-rays the doctor told Sione that the only on ly thing that they
could do was to amputate his hi s leg because the infection was so seri serious.
ous. It looked like his feet didn didn't' t
have the strength to walk on any more.
Sione told the doctor he didn't want to loose his hi s leg but before that he wanted to call on a
friend for a special priesthood blessing. I held aa fast and prayer with all those in in the fam
family might
il y who mi ght
like to participate. A beautiful priesthood blessing was given to Sione that through his faith in the
Lord Jesus Chri
Christ
st and the power of the priesthood given to men to heal the sick, make makc thc the lame to
walk, open the eyes of those who were blind, blind , cleanse the leper, and heal the wounded,wounded , he wouldwou ld be
healed. Sione had that kind of faith faith,, a faith of a child like he knew without a doubt in his hi s mind that
the Lord would heal hishi s sugar diabetes. So, through his hi s faith,
fa ith , and fasting with his family,, the blessing
hi s family
was given to Sione, that the doctors wouldn't
wouldn ' t even come close to amputating his
hi s leg. Through Sione'
Sione'ss
faith he was made whole.
Soon Sione was released from the hospital. He came home and was able to recover qui quickly
ckly
and walk again. Most of you don't know, Sione was a very husky hu sky man weighing about 300 pounds.
He ate lots of healthy Polynesian food,, and was a good lov
po lynes ian food loving
ing husband and father and a good
missionary also for the Church. One distinct distinctive feature
ive feat ure of Sione was that he had six toes on each foot.
He was an active member of his hi s ward and raised
rai sed a beautiful fam family
ily with his wife, and a church
pioneer from Houma village of Tongatapu when our family were out serving at Houma.
Sione Olive came from a pioneer family fami ly from Lapaha, Mu'a, Tongatapu. Hi Hiss family served
in the Church at Mu'a also as labor missionaries building bui lding up Liahona H High
igh School and other chapels
Tongatapu , Vava'u
in Tongatapu, Vava ' u and Ha ' apai.
Ha'apai.
Sione Olive was a cousin of mine. He had married Ika, Jka, a daughter of FonFonua ua and Mele from
Sione'ss famil
Houma. Sione' familyy used to live
li ve at Mu'a,
Mu' a, but they came from the same genealogy line of Afu
Ha'alaufuli
Ha 'alaufuli and Afu Kaipouli
Kaipouli.. Afu Kaipouli is the one who left Vava'u and decided to live in Ha'apai. Ha' apai.
 209

HEALING OF PIUELA FONUA TONGA

W
O'memeofthe
O r
daughters of Fonua and Mele of Houma who was living in Califomia, called
ne of the daughters of Fonua and Mele of Houma who was li vi ng in Califo rni a, called
up and asked if 1 could come on the earliest flight and give her a priesthood
me up and asked If I could come on the earliest fli ght and give her a priesthood
blessing, because with the faith that Piuela had
had in
in the Lord Jesus,
Jes us, she knew she
she would be made
well
we ll again.
"I need someone who has a lot of fa
who has ith , who
faith, who hashas the
the gift
gift of
of healing
healing among
among thethe Tongans
Tongans inin
America, to come and and lay hi
hiss hands on my head and
and I will recover." were her words to me as
as
Piuela continued, "The doctor told me that I have cancer so so bad, andand my sugar count is out of
control,
control , that this
thi s Friday they are going amputate
go ing to amp utate my leg. lohani, I don
Iohani, don't't want that to happen to
me. Please, lohani,
lohani , I'm very worried and and can't
can 't rest or01' sleep. Can you you come? Don't Don ' t worry, your
ticket is ready for you. Choose which day you can get off work to come to help me, but in the the
meantime
meantime,, all all my family are are fasting
fasting andand praying for me."
I said, "Pi ue la, Salote and
"Piuela, and I will join you you inin fasting and and praying fo forr you
you too. "
too."
Soon I arranged with my work to leave. Salote got my cclothes lothes and
and scri ptures and oil
scriptures oi l ready.
I left for California
Califomia right ri ght soon and
and when I1 arri ved atatthe
arrived theairport
airport atatmidni ght, Piuela
midnight, 's husband
Piuela's husband Peni
Peni
Tonga was was there waiting for my arrival. arri val.
qu ickly left the airport for the hospital. Peni
We quickly Pen i Tonga anointed the oil then I gave Piue la a
Piuela
blessing. In that blessing
bless ing Piuela was was given a promise through her faith, and famil y's fasting and
and her family's
prayer and
and by the power of the the. holy Melchi zedek priesthood vested in
Melchizedek in us and
and in the name of Jes us
Jesus
Chri st, that the operating knife of the doctors will never touch her legs that Friday. As the doctors
Christ,
come andand try to find any cancer or sugar that is inside your body, body. Piucla, thcy will not find any.
Piuela, they
Jesus Christ has listened
li stened to our prayers and and through our faith and bless ing given you,
and the blessing you , and
and
through youryo ur faith the Lord has healed you completely."
Remember,
Remember, this thi s blessing
bless ing was
was given to Piuela somewhere between 2:00 a. m. or 3:00 a.m.
a.m.
morning a gurney was
The next moming was sent down for P iuela to go up for
Piuela fo r her last X-ray before amputating
her leg. To the surpri surprise se of the doctors and and nurses, they looked and looked, took a blood test, but but
could find nothing wrong with Piuela any any more,
more, nono cancer,
cancer, nor nor sugar.
sugar.
So they finally asked what happened. Pi uela told her doctor and he was
Piuela was amazed and they
released her from the hospital. It's It ' s almost 15 years now now andand Piuela is still living,
li ving, walking, andand also
dancing. When faith is great and and the Lord gives answers to your prayers, sickness is usuall
usuallyy
blessed and healed.

HOME REPAIRS AT THE GERBER'S

GERBER'S
By Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber

efore my parents left home for their last mission to Tonga in June of 1979, Roy and and I had
had
B;
B 1
aa leaky
leaky roof
roof on
onour
family if they could come after
ourhome
home IIIin Holladay,
Holladay, Utah
after work and give Roy
Utah.. ItIthad
hadaaflat
flat roof,
Roy some help repairing
roof, so
sowe
weasked
asked some
repa iring the roof. Iohani,
some of
of my
my
lohani, Sale, and
Samuela (my two brothers) often came to help us and it was so so accommodatin
accommodatingg of them, but most of
2 10
210

the time Roy and lohani would be out there fixing the house up. up. After
After checking upstairs, they dec decided
ided
not to fix
fix the flat tar roof, but put up some trusses and have a pointed roof roof so the water and snow
wouldn't
wouldn' t remain on the roof and cause a cave in.
Some one from the area had called and reported that some crazy Tongans are on the top of of their
house trying to do some house remodeling without a permit. penni!. My husband didn didn't't know at the time that
you have to apply app ly for a permit to remodel your own home. To those who called, I want to say how
badly we all felt. My father was a great carpenter at home and so were my brothers, but we didn't know
at that time that it was the law here in Utah that before you fix your own roof roof or whatever we needed
to obtain
obta in a permit. In Tonga, when a home had been built and needed some repair at any time, the
vill age wou
whole village wouldld be there to help and give a hand.
Soon a rumor went out that we wanted our home to be the biggest house in the neighborhood.
That was false information.
infonnation. We had never said anything to our neighbors about what we were doing.
Roy and I never wanted to be the greatest of any group who live in any area so we could be better than th an
anyone else. No! No! We are the poorest and so grateful grateful for our home.
immed iately applied for a pennit,
We immediately permit, received it and continued with our roof. roof. A few days later
Roy had a ward father fathe r and son's outing. They had taken all the roof roof off
off our house.
hou se. Roy had taken
Dav id and Dan to the campout. My brothers were at work. Iohani
David lohani was at his home just back from the
Temple. Out of nowhere I heard loud thunder and lightening. li ghtening. I said to myself, "Oh! No! No! Don't
Don 't tell
me we're going to have a rain stann." storm." And in that moment, another huge thunder thunde r was rumbling, and
I1 saw
saw the
the lightning.
lightning. Soon
Soon II saw
saw the
the great
great dark
dark clouds
clouds just above
above our
our house
house and
and felt
felt the
the summer
summer rai rainn
pouring upon the top of our house. Water was coming so fast that it ruined all our bedding, carpets,
furniture and clothing.
1I didn't
didn't know
know what
what totodo,
do,sosoIIcrept
crept inin my
my bedroom
bedroom and and started
started toto sweep
sweep off off all
all the
the water
water ththatat
fa ll en and flooded our whole upstairs. Our
had fallen Ou r daughters were trying to help me move some of our
be longings to a safe area, especially
belongings espec ially our genealogy material and the computer, pictures and clothi clothing.ng.
But the rain kept on coming like crazy. More thunder and lightning hit and more rain was still sti ll
coming. A quick thought came to my mind, mind , drop youryou r broom, Tisina, run and ask your father to come
and help you while Roy and the boys are away.
I quickly dropped my broom, broom , drove over to my father's home and asked for help. He jumped
in the car and came to my rescue. Arriving at home, I1agai againn picked
picked upupmymybroom
broom and andstarted
started sweeping
sweeping
down stairs and gave my father the other broom to see if he could get the water off off up stairs. I kept on
sweeping and sweeping but the water kept on coming down from up stairs. I was so afraid that if more
rain kept coming, our whole house would cave in for sure.
An hour later 1 I thought,
thought,thithis strange,IIhaven't
s isisstrange, haven'theard
heardanyanysound
soundof ofsweeping
sweepingup upstairs.
stairs. IIasked
asked
where lohani was, but thought we couldn couldn't ' t hear him because of the heavy stann.
storm. HalfHalf an hour later
I sent one of my daughters upstairs to look for him. She came down disappointed and said said,, "I can't
find grandpa anywhere."
anywhere. " We looked everywhere, inside and out, but couldn't couldn 't find him. We looked
at the clock. It had been raining for almost an hour and forty-five forty-five minutes without stopping. Suddenly
I thought we should go back upstairs and check out every comer corner to see where grandpa had
disappeared
disappeared.. As we were about to climb the sta irs, we saw lohani
stairs, Iohani coming down the stairway with the
greatest happy smil e, with a pure and beautiful light surrounding his
smile, hi s face.
face.
 211
211

With
W ith very soft spoken words to us he said, "Do not worry any more Tisina, I went up stairs to
my private comer
corner and there I raised my hands to the heavens and asked the Lord to bless this thi s home,
home ,
with the holy power ofthe of the Melchizedek priesthood which I1hold hold and
andasked
asked the
theLord
Lord totoplease
pleasehelp
helpus
us
and stop the rain ra in because we can't sweep it off off fast enough. When Roy and his hi s two sons return
tomorrow, please
p lease give Roy a few days or weeks to complete the area which needs to be fixed first,
because they onlyon ly have a small budget for the repairs. Please Lord protect this thi s house and those who
live in it so they can fu fulfill
lfill the mission for which they came here, and in the name of Jesus Christ I
thanked the Lord for all our blessings
bless ings including the thunder, lightning and the beautiful
beaut ifu l rain, and only
asked to have it cease for a while."whil e."
The Lord heard lohani's
lohan i's voice and when he came down stairs we went outside and see if we
were still going to have more rain. Sure enough as we looked at our neighbor Don and Betty Easton's
home,
home , the rain was still coming down down.. We stood by Don and Jeannine Worensky's house and it was
the same. More rain was com coming,
in g, and as we were back on our lawn we didn't feel any rain drops on
our bodies or clothing, not even on our hair. We put our hands out, still no rain was coming and yet
all my neighbors were having havi ng rain everywhere. The rain stopped fall falling
ing around our home only on ly and
we were so grateful.
grateful.
Just then my father said to take a good look at the heavens. We looked and just j ust above our
house we all saw and witnessed a big beautiful double rainbow. lohani reminded us of the covenant
between God and Noah, and hope that we will wi ll repent each day from our short com comings
ings and do what
the Lord expects of us.
We just couldn't
couldn 't believe what had happened to us that day. I quickly ran inside the house,
grabbed my small camera and took a good picture of of that rainbow.
I know without a doubt in my mind that God lives and through our faith faith,, prayers and power
of the priesthood our lives and problems can be resolved when we ask God. He helped us when Iohani lohani
called
call ed upon him for the rain to cease and it did. The rain stopped and obeyed the power of God upon
this earth.. Our roof
th is earth roof was later completed and we are grateful for four priesthood holders plus our very
kind and carin
caringg visiting teacher Bro. Lewis Rollings
Rollings,, the only
on ly one who came out to help us.

STORY OF SISTER ADAMS

o:
O
me
ne day the grandchildren were playing in our front yard in November 1979, when they
a car drive by llke
like they were looking for an address
they saw
saw
address.. The car pulled up between the houses
and they saw a man and a woman get out from the car. She looked like she was going to faint and the
man was helping
helpino her,
"' her, but she died right
noht there. I saw their car and came outside and looked for the
"'
grandchildren
grandchi ldren and Toni pointed out to me that there was a dead lady laying on the curb,
curb. lohani came
running. The
runn ing. T he first thing the man said was, "Can you tell us where Brother Wolfgramm lives?"li ves?"
lohani answered,
Iohani answered , "1"I am Brother Wolfgramm."
Wolfgramm ."
"We have come to seek a blessing for my wife. She has been ill for quite some time, but now
look at her, she is dead already. Do you think you can give her a blessing?"
212

1I said,
said, "Certainly,
"Certainly, waitwait here
here byby the
the car
car and
and II wi
will go in
ll go in the
the house
house andand get
get the
the oil."
oil." II turned
tumed
around to look at the body. The spirit told me to get the oil and adm administer
ini ster to the woman,
woman , Sister
Adams. The man put his hi s hand down and laid his wife's wife' s head on his arm to carry cany her back to the car.
The spirit spoke to me and said. said, "You have enough faith that you can speak to her with the power of of
the priesthood,
priesthood , and she she can
can be raised up from from the dead."
dead."
After that we both canied carried the woman inside the car. I got the oil and brought it back to the car
and both the husband and I laid our hands on her head. We gave her a beautiful blessing and promi promisedsed
her that through the power of the priesthood that the Lord would wou ld make her whole through our faith. faith.
Wee blessed every part of her body-her circulation that it would
W start to function
wou ld st3l1 function,, and veins will start
to open up, her heart to be able to function and her lungs, lungs , her muscles and nerves to function as they
did before and, ""with with the power of the priesthood that I bear, I say to you, Sister Adams, get up and
walk
walk at at this moment."
this moment."
Right
Ri ght after I said that, the woman slowly got up from the reclining position that she was in and
sat up.
up. The spirit spoke to my heart and told me to remind them that the Lord had healed them so they
could be an eye witness that God lives, that he is the creator and in these last days he will w ill perform
many miracles unto the children of men, men , and she was one of them, them , and may the Lord continue to bless
her and her family.
Only a week after that Salote and I were asked by a ward in Bountiful Bountiful to come and share some
of oour
ur missionary
mi ss ionary experiences in Tonga. We hadn't hadn ' t been to that ward before and had no idea that this
was the ward where the Adams f3lnily family lived. When they began to talk about Tonga, brother Adam Adam's 's
sister
si ster raised her hand and asked the relief relief society president if she could share a beautiful experience
beautiful experi ence
with the
th e ward that
th at happened to her brother and his wife. So the three of us bore our testimony as to
what had happened. They were amazed at what they heard that day and grateful for the power of the
priesthood to fulfill the Lord's Lord 's blessing.
bless ing.
After
After that Salore
Salote and I left on our mission
mi ss ion to Tonga and were residing at the village of Te'ekiu.
vi llage ofTe 'ekiu.
The
T he stake mission
mi ssion president Pita Hopoate, arrived from Nuku Nuku'alofa
' alofa and said "I have come with a
message for you. There T here is an urgent call from the States that you need to answer." answer. " So he took us back
to Nuku'alofa
Nuku' alofa and I retumedreturned the call. It was the Adams family family..
sorry, but Sister
"So sony, Si ster Adams is very sick again,"
siek again ," her husband pleaded, ""She She needs a blessing
blessi ng
fro
from m you."
I answered
answered,, ""She She is 6,000 miles away and I cannot be there for your blessing, but if you have
enough faith,
faith. combine it with my faith in behalf of your wife, and I1 will will ask
ask the
the Lord
Lord ifif he
he will
will all
allow
ow
me to bless
bl ess her from Tonga over the telephone."
te lephone." I began to to pray and gave her a beautiful bless blessing
ing over
the phone. After After the blessing the family
famil y was very grateful.
gratefu l. As they hung up the phone, his wife had
peace
peace andand waswas very calm
very ca lm and
and went
went right
right to sleep. The
to sleep. The Lord
Lord gave
gave her strength back
her strength back and
and sheshe was
was back
back
to normal.
When Salote and I retumed
returned to SalSaltt Lake City in 1980, the coupl
couplee drove up to our house and
welcomed us back with a large fru
fruitit basket. His
Hi s wife had been completely healed.
healed .
 213

THE WOMAN FROM CALIFORNIA

CALIFORNIA

^ J hortly after retuming from our mission in 1981, a woman came from Califomia to see us.
hortly after returning from our mission in 1981, a woman came from Cali fornia [0 see us.
S
O Through an examination and x-rays of her head, her family doctor had discovered many
Through an exam in ation and x-rays of her head , her famil y doctor had di scovered many
tumors. She was told there was no hope for her recovery. She felt she must come to Utah to see
lohani to receive a blessing
Iohani bless ing before the operation. That accomp accomplished,
li shed , she went back to California.
Califomia.
Doctors x-rayed her head and could find no trace of cancer. She had been made well.
The same lady decided tofly lohani for the bless
fly to Utah and thank Iohani blessing. visited
ing. She vis ited with Salote
lohani and told them that her family had a beauti
and Tohani beautiful on the beach in
fu l home on in California, and
and each day
they would go down water skiing, surfing, fishing,fi shing, etc. While talking she asked about the scriptures
referring to the dangers of the water in the last days. days .
"I feel very strongly that your house is not in a safe area at this thi s time." lohani
[ohani said, " It might
be well to sell your home and move to an area that is safer. There will wi ll be tidal waves and water willwil l
come above the edges of everything. Cliffs Cliffs will be washed away and bury many homes in the area.
Your home will surely be one of them if you are not very careful. Even the chi children,
ldren, will not be safe
sw imming. When the Lord sends the des~ruction
swimming. destruction it will be to the wicked and will take some of their
lives."
The woman sa said,
id , "I just read about thisthis in saiah 33:13
in iIsaiah 33:13.. The Lord talks of destroying with
water and fire, and especially those that are disobedient.
di sobedient. I will
wi ll go home and pray about it and talk to
my husband and see what we c'.lI1 can do about it."
Her husband thought they should sell their home, and that his should
hi s wife shou ld move ahead
first. They found a home in Utah and bought it and sold their home in California to another couple.
Three weeks after they sold theirthe ir home and moved to Utah a big tidal wave hit Califomia Cal ifornia and took
look
their former home. The little baby of the couple in the home was lost to the flood. flood.
The woman bore her testimony to my father saying that it was good news for them, but bad
news for those that moved into their home.

ELDER BROWN'S EXPERIENCES AND TESTIMONY TESTIMONY

By Emili Brown, as TOld
told to
fa Tisina Gerber
Gerher

"mill
mili Palauni (Brown), son of Tevita Ala Puku Palauni
PalaUI:i and Ana Nafe Talaialusa, a cous
cousin
in
E 'of
of my mother Salote, was named after my COcousin Emil Wolfgramm who served a mission
USIll Em!l mi ssion
in Tonga, son ofof Charles A. Wolfgramm and Hena Langi.
Langi .
Emili Palauni wanted so much to follow in the footstep
footstepss of his
hi s parents and grandfather. His
father and brother both served on a labor mission
mi ssion in Tonga and Hawaii.
Hawaii . His grandfather
grandfather Nafetalai
Alusa
A lusa was converted before 1920 and served as a missionary and branch president in many places.
He also served as dorm parent and agriculture director at Liahona. He is a master builder of traditional
Tongan houses. He also built the Queen's house at the Polynesian C Cultural
ultural Center in 1963.
1963. He was
also
also aa respected matapule.
respected n1a/apuie.
214

In 1982 at the age of of 16 years, Emi

Emilili grad
graduated
uated from Taylorsville, Utah high schoo schooll and hishi s
long time goal was to leave on a mission. That was impossible here in America, as 19 is the age before
you can serve a mission.
Em il' s uncle Kakolosi Tuione came from Tonga and heard how much Emi
Emil's Emill wanted to serve
a mission and didn '
didn't t want to wait for three more years. Kakolosi
years. Kakolosi asked if he would like to go back to
Tonga. Arrangements cou couldld be made and they might let him serve his mission in his homeland. He
had toto see his bishop and stake president and have his parents aITange arrange with the mission president in in
Tonga which was Pita Foliaki Foli aki Hopoate at the time.
lL
It didn't take long for Emil's
Emi l's dreams to come true. He left
left for Tonga, lilived
ved in the family home
at Matangiake, just across from the Tonga temple and waited for an answer while go ing to
going to the
Matangiake Ward.
turned in and in a few months was accepted. He described to
His papers were tumed to me the joy and
happiness that filled his soul. Some things made him grow up and act as a more responsible person.
He was aware of his need to teach his own people the gospel gospel of Jesus Christ, and spent most of hi s
of his
time reading and studying the scriptures. Each day made him vow to ggive ive himself
himse lf to serv ing wherever
serving
he would be needed and he did so. so. Attending seminary in America and help from his seminary
teachers helped him a lot, along with teaching at home. It was an eye opener for him to see what he
cou ld do to help others by serving on that mission.
could
Good news finally came. Emili was called on a two year mission. He was so grateful. The
first year Elder Emili Brown was serv
first ing mostly in Tongatapu. For the second year he had a new
serving
missionary companion named Elder Taipaleti Moala and they were transferred
missionaiy transferred to the northern
northem islands
of Vava'u
Vava' u to serve at Hunga Island.
At this time Elder Emili Brown had just tumed turned 17 years
years old.
old. The
The island
island of
of Hunga
Hunga is is one
one of the
ofthe
difficult areas to get transportation to and from Neiafu. The only vessel for the whole community
most difficult
was avai lable to use but it was owned by a nonmember. There was a very uncomfortable
available uncomfortable feel ing and
feeling
a sense of dislike when missionaries asked for tickets for a missionary meeting at Neiafu Neiafu..
The day when the two elders arrived they could feel this treatment given to them and other LDS
mi ssionaries-rude and disrespectful. Local residents taught their chi
missionaries-rude ldren the same bad habits and
children
made bad jokes in front ofthe of the others, but the Elders were taught not to worry, but ignore it. It was the
best way to resolve
reso lve the problem, even though it hurt.
One Sunday, there was an invitation sent to Hunga for the two elders to join in a missionary
meeting at Neiafu. The time was set, but getting there was so difficult. Prayers were said before the
missionaries went out to see if they could cou ld have passage for Neiafu that Sunday aftemoon.
afternoon. When they
met the owner of the vessel they felt a very strange waming warning that the captain didn't like them. Even
hi s chi
his ldren disliked the two missionaries who were there for passage.
children
The vessel began to load up. up. They had all the students returning back to school. Some ill
patients were retuming
returning to the hospital to see the doctor at Neiafu. They kept on loading and loading
and the missionaries
miss ionaries were the lastto
last to go on board, but the captain ofthe
of the vessel had an evil thought after
Hunga . It would take two to three hours, depending on the weather, before they would arri
they left Hunga. ve
arrive
at Neiafu. They had been out an hour or so when the captain announced that they had to get rid rid of
of
some ofthe
of the weight the vessel was carrying or otherwise the motor wouldn't get them to Neiafu Neiafu..
 215

The captain looked around. There was no island close by, onl onlyy the deep blue water. Lots of of
gray sharks and whales are often often fo found
und in this captainn called
thi s area. The captai call ed out, "Hey. Where are the two
Monnon missionaries?"
Mormon mi ss ionari es?" People pointed them out. He said, "Our "Ou r boat is overloaded. We need you yo u
and you to jump off off my vessel right now. now."" What a shock for them them.. They weren
weren't afraid,
't afrai d. but they both
got up, took their Tongan baskets containing their journals and scriptures. They had no idea whether
to try to sw swimim their
the ir way back to Hunga or try to sw swim im out to sea with the hope that a small canoe
might
mi ght see them and rescue resc ue them.
The missionaries
mi ss ionaries didn't give up. up. In Emi Emili's
li 's mind he was th thinking,
inking, "What have we done
wrong? Why onl onlyy usliS that the capta
captain in ordered offoff his
hi s vessel? Am I ready to die?" His Hi s longing
longi ng for his
hi s
familyy kept com
famil cominging to his
hi s mind, but he kept on encouraging his hi s companion to hang in there. They both
prayed in their
the ir hearts asking the Lord in faith fa ith to see to it that they would be protected from the fish of of
the sea, and for their safe arrival in Neiafu Neiafu for the meeting.
When both their arm armss and legs became exhausted, a thought came to their thei r mind,
mind , to take the
Tongan kato kalo (basket) they carried and use them as life jackets. So they immediately immediate ly used them as
flotation
flotat devices
ion dev ices and that's what kept the two missionaries from drowning. drown ing. After
After an hour or more
passed, their legs and arms fe feltlt like they c')u
couldn't
ldn 't swim any more, but they didn didn't't give up praying. It
was like
li ke they were in a daze. daze. Their minds were at ease when they heard and saw three older men lilift ft
both of them out of of the water, hold their heads head s back, and take them away. As Elder Em Emilil Brown and
Elder Taipaleti Moala looked up the three men had on white robes. robes . After helping them to the wharf
Neiafu they soon left. A few.minutes
at Neiafu few minutes later their memories fully retumed returned as they sat there in their
wet clothing,
clothing, trying to remember who who those
those three men were who rescued them after they were left to
die
die at sea. They had been there for almost an
at sea. They had been there for almost an hour
hour when
when they saw the
they saw the vessel from Hunga
vessel from arrive. As
Hunga arrive. As
the captain looked over the people who made fun of the two missionaries,
the captain looked over the people who made fun of the two missionaries, they were shocked and felt they were shocked and felt
so ashamed.
so ashamed. They They wanted
wanted to to know
know howhow these
these two finally rnade
two finally made itit to Neiafu.
to Neiafu.
This
Th is miracle caused the captain to come and apologize to the elders, and most of of thern
them on his
hi s
vessel. The captain asked the elders not to let others know what he did to them, fearing that he would
be thrown in jail for hi hiss conduct. The elders forgave the captain and two years later they heard he had
joined
joi ned the church, also two others who were on his vessel that Sunday.
I asked Elder Emili Brown if he had any idea who the three men were who helped them? He
immediately said to me, "Without a doubt in my mind, 1I know know that
that they
they were
were the
the three
three Nephites
Nephites who
who
came to save us." The three Nephites are still here on earth to help missionaries and others who need
their assistance. This is the testimony of these two missionaries.

ANA'S FRIEND IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA

"tt was
was in
in 1976my
1976 my daughter Ana and
and her entertainment group
group had been working in
in Florida for
for
Ii:
almost a year. Ana had met some very nice
-almost IlIce Italtan
Italian frIends
friends.. They were very kind
ktnd and
generous, giving the group food every week.
2 16
216

Ana noticed one o ne wealthy girl seemed very unhappy. She acted very strange at times and
desired
desi red to sit alone with
alo ne wi th the lights out. Ana felt she may have been troubled by the presence of of an evil
spirit.
spi rit. Gary, Ana's young son. son, had been staying in this thi s same house and was bothered in the same
manner. He became ill and so overwrought overwroug ht that th at Ana decided to call me to see if I could come and
chase this
thi s bad spirit away. When Ana's friend heard about abo ut my coming, she said said,, ''I'm
"I'm awfully
awfully ssickick too.
Look at my face, face , and mym y back is so crooked I can hardly walk strai straight
ght any more." T This
hi s rich Italian
lady offered
offered to pay my fare to Florida if 1I would would butbut come
come andand rid
rid them
them ofof this
this evil
evil spirit.
spirit.
When Ana called fo forr the second time fo forr me to come, she was crying ciying on the phone, and begged
me to help
he lp her. The lady who paid my airline ticket was a million millionaire
aire who had never married.
marri ed. She
owned fancy restaurants, expensive properties properti es and businesses, yet she wanted to live a simple life li fe in
a comfo
comfortable
rtable modest home. home. She was a very kind, humbl humble, down-to-earth person
e, and down-to-eaJth person..
My family
fam ily was concerned about abo ut my flying
flyin g alone and perhaps getting lost between flights tli ghts to
Florida, as I don't speak English Engli sh very well. M Myy daughter talked with the airlines and asked their help.
after, my famil
Soon after, familyy took me to the ai airport.
rport. Everyone was so kind and helpful. I wore a badge on
my coat saying I was going go ing to Orlando,
O rlando, Florida, and spoke very little littl e English.
Engli sh. The flight
T he fli ght was smooth
until about an hour ho ur oout
ut of Florida. SuddenlSuddenlyy the plane dropped, and it seemed as if we were sucked
into a huge vacuum.
vacuum . Everyone began to scream as we fell onto the fl floor ofthe
oor of the plane. P Plastic
lastic cups and
food hurled above our heads, and women panicked.
I knew there wouldn't
wou ldn' t be m much
uch titime
me until
un til we would all be killed. Som Something
ethin g had to be done
immediately. I held up my hands and cried out o ut to my Father in Heaven by the power of the
Melchizedek
Melch izedek priesthood
pJiesthood and in the name of Jesus Chri Christst I commanded the pplane lane to cease falling and
to regain it's
it 's normal
nonnal flight
fl ight and take us safely to Orlando. Orl ando. ThcTh e plane
pl ane was soon back to normal. nOim al.
Upon our ani arrival
val at the airport, we were met by m myy daughter Ana and the rich woman's
bodyguard. They drove me around, show showinging me many pplaces laces owned by this thi s woman. We were served
lunch at one of her restaurants. I was surprised at the wealth she possessed possessed..
Finally in the aftemoon
afternoon we went to her home. She was sitting oonn a chair with aa hi high back. She
gh back. She
asked us to forgive her, but she wished to visit with her father who was there with her fo forr just a fe feww
minutes.
We were informed
infonned that the father had died a long time ago. We waited for half half an hour
ho ur while
wh ile
she talked, even though the room was empty. Then the woman wom an was introduced to me by the
bodyguard. She said to me, "I'm ''I'm not a member of your church, but please help me. I have been
bothered by this thi s strong spirit and I feel strange, as if if!I am going crazy. I don't know what's getting into
me lately."
asked , "Who were you talking with? It can't be your father." I co
I asked, couldn't
uldn't find anyone else to
assist me,
assisl me. so I started to pour the oil on the lady's head. head . When I started to cast the evil spirit oout Ul from
her body, she started to move away from my hands sl sliding
idi ng down offoff the chair. I started twice again
to cast the ev evilil spirit away from her.
started to say, "Malo, Malo, Malo, Malo, Malo, Malo" and to shake her head violently.
She struted
I commanded the evi evill spirit once again to leave her body immediately, and by the power of the
Melchizedek priesthood which I hold, and in the name of Jes Jesus Christ."
us C hri st. " She fofought
ught and struggled with
this evil spirit, and it finally
finall y left, right after I said, "Amen".
ri ght after
 217

The woman's body relaxed,

relaxed , for the first
first time in five
fi ve months. She fin
finally
all y opened her eyes
eyes,, and
stood up.
up. Her face and eyes were back to normal,
normal , and her back was no longer crooked. My daughter
asked the Italian bodyguard who was present during thisthi s time,
lime, what the woman was say saying
ing as she kept
repeating the word " Malo". "No, No, No," he answered. Perh Perhaps
aps the ev
evilil sprit didn't want to leave
the body of the woman
woman..
We then drove over where my grandson Gary was staying. I could tell right ri ght away that he had
been frightened again by the same evil influence
influence which
whi ch had bothered him in Salt Lake City before
moving
mov ing to Florida. This spiritt came to him and told him that
Thi s same evil spiri th at on the 16th day of that month
he was going to take his
hi s own life. I annointed the consecrated oil on his hi s head, an
andd as I adm
administered
ini stered
to him, I[ could almost feel the great force that the ev
evilil spi
spirit
rit had on my grandson. AfterAfter I cast him out
Gaiy's body, the boy felt relaxed and comfortable too.
from Gary's
My daughter Ana told us thethe next morning
moming that after they went to bed the the ni
night
ght before, that they
heard a lot of doors squeak, and doors were opened and slammedslammed.. Tin cans were heard rattling aro around
und
the floor.
floor. They got up and had a prayer and then tried to lie down and go back to sleep.
That same weekend I came home and my Grandson came back with me for a few weeks. He
and the Italian lady felt much better and had h3d no fU
further
I1her trouble.

UNEXPECTED HELP

'very
very moming
morning lohani
Iohani and I would
wo uld wake up, usually
usuall y by 3:00 a. a.m.,
m. , have our famil
familyy prayer,
E 'fix
fix our lunch and wait outside for the bus to ta takeke us lo the first
to Ihe session
fi rs t sess ion of the Salt Lake
Temple. Thi Thiss has been our routine every week, week , month,
month , and year since we emigrated to the United
States in 1964.
After
After our Temple sess session
ion I would
wou ld leave on another bus to the L.D.S. L. D.S . hospital
hospital fo forr my
housekeeping job, and Iohanlohanii to his
hi s job at the maintenance department for the L.D.S. Church. Chu rch. After
working from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. I would get a third th ird bus and aga
againin meet lohani
Iohani after
after his day-time
job. We would go to the temple and do baptisms for the dead or any temple ordinances as needed, needed , and
each Wednesday evening we organized a few of our friends and and fa
family
mil y members to do sea sealings.
li ngs. Each
week, to this day, we are still doing sealings with other Tongans and what a blessing.
By 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
p.m . we finall
finallyy retum
return home to be with the rest of our family. famil y. Through
this
thi s experience at the Temple, we are drawn closer to each other. Our love has grown deeper for fo r each
other and closer to our loved ones who have passed away too. The more we do baptisms bapti sms for the dead
the closer we feel to Chri
Christ's
st's spirit. His
Hi s peace is given to those who seek him. him . His
Hi s love he gives to
those who give up their time to serve Him and serve others. He is full of mercy, kindness, kin dness, and charity.
He is our Savior and he loves us so much.
In January
JanuaIY 1974 we had a long winter. It ddidn't idn't do much for fo r the heating of our home. Most
all ou
ourr chi
children
ldren had married and left
left home, but during that time ti me we received an estim estimated
ated gas bill over
twice
tw ice the amount we usually
usuall y paid. So our daughter Leil Leilani
ani checked to see if we could qualify quali fy fo forr a
service for older adults during winter months. They said no, but bu t maybe in the futu future.
re. However,
lohani and I prayed about it, and we decided to go down and pay what we had.
2 18
218

When
When we we arrived
arrived at at the
the Mountain
Mountai n Fuel Fuel Supply
Supply Company
Company lohani 10han i slowly
slow ly reached
reached down down in in his
his
pocket
pocket andand pulled
pull ed out
out his
hi s wallet.
wa llet. He He opened
opened itit up,up, took
took allall his
his change
change out,out, andand putput itit on
on the
the left
left side
side
ofthe
of the counter.
counter. HeHe then
then began
began to to count
co unt the
the money
money in in his
his right
right hand
hand to to the
the cashier.
cashier. Altogether
Altogether itit onlyon ly
came to $50.00 dollars but the bill was for $350.00. He asked the cashier if
came to $50.00 do ll ars but the bill was fo r $350.00. He asked the cashier if they could come back laterthey could come back later
and
and pay
pay the
the rest.
rest. She
She said
sa id that
that would
wou ld be be all right.
right. lohani
10hani thanked
thanked her.
her. II was
was sitting
sitting onon a chair
chair looking
looking
at them
them as as they
they were
were talking
ta lking toto each
each other.
lohani
Iohani slowly
s lowly tumed
turned to to his
hi s left
left to
to close
c lose the
the empty
empty wallet
wa ll et and putput itit inside
ins ide his
hi s pants
pants pocket.
He
He immediately
immediately felt fe lt some bulk
bul k as he he was lifting
liftin g up his
hi s wallet.
wall et. He stopped
stopped and and looked
looked at at the
the cashier,
cashier,
then
then at me.me. He He quickly
quickly opened
opened his his wallet
wall et and inside
inside there was something
something rolled ro ll ed up-not
up--not one or or two,
two,
but
but three
th ree one-hundred
one-hundred dollar doll ar bills.
bills. HeHe asked the the cashier
cash ier and me me ifif we hadhad put
put any money
money inside
ins ide his
his
wallet
wa ll et and we bothboth said
sai d no. lohani
Ioh ani said,
said, "Wait, I'll be be back."
back. " He He left
left them as he remembers.
remembers. Before
we had leftleft our home,
home. we had had knelt in prayer
prayer and told the Lord of of our
our shortfall
short fa ll of of money
money thatthat day
day and
needed
needed his help.
lohani
Iohani went to to another
another area and knelt knelt down
down and thanked
thanked the Lord (where no one was around), around).
for
for this
thi s special angel
angel who came to their assistance.assistance. Right
Ri ght after
after that he went back back to the officeoffice and gave
the cashier
cashier the $300.00 to add to his $50.00 and our ou r gas bill
bi ll was taken care of, of, for
for that long winter
month of of Januar}'
January 1974.
Sometimes
Someti mes we never know how many of of us are beingbe ing helped and assisted ass isted by very special
angels and hope that some day we can be sent sen t out to help others and do what these angels did for fo r us
in that
thaI time of of need.

A RETURN MISSIONARY FROM ZION VISITS IOHANI

t this
th is time lohani
Iohani was involved
in volved in search
searching
ing for some of his fam
family
il y names at the Family
A;
A -History
Hi story Library. One night
ni ght I, Tisina,
Ti sina, came over to his home fo
forr more oral history
Famil y
hi story and as
I began to record Iohani
lohani's's words that evening he started to tell me how the Lord had reall reallyy blessed
week.. This is what I heard from my father as I was sitt
Salote and him that week sitting
ing at the table in his
hi s front
room as he continued telling
te lling me these experiences.

ITEM I: Visit
I: Vi sit from Former Missionary
Miss ionary abt 1974
abl
JI had been fas fasting praying
ting and pray asking
ing and ask ing the Lord to please help me open the door so I cou could
ld
find my relati
relatives'
ves' names that needed their temple work done, done, espec
especially
ially the royal line which was my
grandmother's side fro from Talafo'ou and Niuatoputapu. That same aftern
m Ha'ateiho, Mata'ika, Talafo'ou aftemoon
oon a
knock came to to my door and an an older man stood there with books in hi hiss hand and said
said,, "You probably
don't' t remember me, but in Tonga they used to call me Mi
don Misi
si Telepa (Delbert DrapeDraper)."
r)."
greeted hi
I greeted him with open arms
m with arms and
and said,
said, "Please
"Please come in.
in."
"
"I found
fo und your name in the phone book so so I decided to
to brin
bring genealogy books to
o some of my oenealooy
0 0 0
you. II used to do a lot of research to
you. to make connections between all all royal lilines David,
nes back to King David,
and the Isrealites. Th
and This included
is incl Tongan royal line
uded your Tongan line and
and South American lines, lines, and Briti
British
sh lines
all the
all the way back to Adam."
back Adam."
 219

smiled
I smi and said,
led and said, "Thank
"Thank you
you so
so much
much for coming,
coming, youyou seem
seem to
to know exactly
exactly what II need
need at
time."
this time. and gave him aa bio
" I shook Elder Draper's hand and bigo Tonoan
Tongan
0
greeting
oreetino
b b
(hug
(huo
0
and kisses on
and on both
cheeks).
cheeks).
Elder Draper had been a missionary to to Tonga
Tonga when
when II was
was only
only aa youth,
youth, but
but my
my mother
mother Salome
Salome
and I showed aa great interest in genealogy work and research
research,, in fact he was the mi missionary
ss ionary who
helped me fill out my first pedigree and family group sheets for my family. Elder Draper stayed and
different lines, mark correct lines,
taught me how to read different lines, and
and continue on seasearching recognizing
rching and recogni z ing
ddifferent
ifferent Royal
Roya l lines back to King David and
and back to Adam.
Adam.
I was soso grateful and
and very excited for Elder Draper's help, but also
also grateful for the answer I had had
received through fasting and prayer. I had asked the Lord if some of my family fami ly records were buried
underground to please let them come forth fonh so I could
cou ld continue my work for them. And if some of
these records were hidden in some dusty areas, areas, please let them be known to to me, or maybe some
records have been been stuffed
stuffed away
away on
on some
some shelf
shelf or
or some
some private place,
place, to
to please let these
these come
come forth soso
I can do the work for them in in the temple.
temple.
I also prayed that if some of my kindred families who who had
had been gone for so long needed the their
ir
work to be done, please let these people CO'lle come fonh
forth and show themselves to me so I could recognize
their faces and I promise to redeem them and their families so they can have the temple blessing of
sealing
sea ling their children to them and become eternal families families..
After
After Elder Draper spent two hours with me we hugged each other and he gave me these books
to ld me, "You can call me o~
and told on the phone any time and if you ever need my help he lp I'll
I' ll be glad to talk
or come to help he lp you." I thanked him.
him . Elder Draper had come to Tonga as a young missionary from
Canada. I didn't know he was now living in Salt Lake City, Utah so this came as a super surpri surprise
se for
me. Only a few months month s later we heard that he had passed away. I was gratefu
gratefull that he was such an
angell to help
ange he lp me out with my genealogy
genealogy..

ITEM B:11: Needed Temple Work Done

That same week I also asked the Lord to please send some of my relatives to recite to me their
names, so I could connect their lines for temple ordinances. Later that week I went with Salote to the
Salt Lake temple. We were sitting in the World room and saw a Tongan man stand by me with a very
sad looking face. I looked closer to see if if I knew this man and finally recognized him. He was
Filimone Tavake from Ha'alaufuli,
Ha 'alaufuli , one of my cousins. He had died but had been married to Pepe,
a non-member. I knew the man needed his temple work done. done. Filimone asked me,
me, his closest relative,
relative,
if
if I would
wou ld do the temple work for him.

ITEM IB:ill: German

Gelman Man in the Temple
A third experience happened to me that same week. While sitting in the second room at the
Salt
Sa lt Lake Temple one of of the witnesses got up to help out with his part and his seat was empty. I
immediately saw a man dressed in white come in and sit down on the empty seat. His eyes kept on
looking at me with a big smile
sm ile on his face. He reached out his hand and patted me on the back. As I
tried to hug him,
him , he left
left the room and was gone in just a few seconds.
220

I thought I'd better check the name tag and see if the name I was representing was a German
relative or a Gemlan
German name that I had received, because the one who showed himself himself to me looked
grandfather
just like my grandfather Frederick Gustav Ludwig Wolfgramm.
Wolfgram m. Sure enough, this
enough , th is man had a German
name and could have been one of my relatives from Germ Germany.
any.

ITEM IV IV:: Help from Bevond

Beyond the VeilVei l
The last experience I will relate
re late was at that same time after
after being at the temple and receiving
receivmg
all these temple blessings. That T hat evening when I got home I decided to go down stai rs alone and have
stairs
a secret prayer and thank God for all the wonderfu wonderfull help throughout this week. As I opened my eyes
after the prayer, the other side of the veil was opened so I could see. I saw Luisa, L ui sa, my grandfather
grandfather
Havea Tuli Tuli's
's sister. She sat by my side and I saw a line of people with no end. Many relatives came
by Luisa.
Lui sa. As they passed she was able to introduce them to me, by name, and how they were related.
These were non-member relatives from the lineofmy line of my grandfather
grandfather Havea Tuli of Mata'ika.
ofMata Luisa
' ika. Lui sa used
to baby sit me when I was a baby. She was buried at Vaofiji at Ha'alaufuli. Ha'alaufuli.
I was down stairs for at least a couple of hours and was able to memorize the names of my
relatives.
re lati ves . I had aa mind
mind like
like aacomputer
computer and and cou
could recite the
ld recite the names
names of
of most
most of
of my
my relatives
relatives by
by memory.
memoiy.
I1 know
know IIwaswas blessed
blessed that
that way
wayso soIIcou
could accomplish
ld accompli my mission
sh my mission on
onthis
thisearth.
earth.

BLESSING OF TWINS

'nn the year 1974 I was working for the Maintenance Dept. of the Church as the new
Ii;-Church Office Building in Salt Lake City was being completed. Many times when
Church Office Building in Salt Lake City was being completed. Many times when
workers in different departments became sick they would
different depanments wou ld call for me to administer to them.
During thi
thiss time the Missionaiy
Mi ss ionary Training Center in Salt Lake City was at North Temple and State
Street across from the Church Office
Office Building. I was often called call ed to administer
adm ini ster to missionaries
who were ill. Even if some of the people taken sick had fainted, fainted , I would be called for a blessing.
One day the wife of one of my co-workers from Ogden, Utah had just been admitted to the
hospital
hospital in Ogden. My phone rang at 12:00 12 :00 a.m.
a.m . and this friend said that his
thi s friend hi s wife had just given
birth to twins,
twin s, but one was dying because he had too much blood, and the other one didn't have
enough. *'" He asked me if I could possibly
poss ibl y drive to Ogden as fast as possible to admini administer
ster to the
twins. My son-in-law
son-in-l aw Weldon Sillito drove me to Ogden.
As soon as we arri arrived
ved at the hospital I put one hand on each twin at the same time, even
though the doctors were watching. They didn didn't't know what to do do.. I started to offer
offer a prayer and
said: "Father in Heaven, you are the one that gave life to these twins twi ns and you have given them
bodies
bod ies for their spirits, and have given them the opportunity for them to come to this earth. You
have promised them to come in these last days because of their faithfulness
the ir fa ithfulness so they wiwillll bear
testimony that Jesus is the Chri
Christst and God the Father. I ask Thee by the power of of the Priesthood to
balance
ba lance the blood between the twin twinss so they can both survive.
survive."" I told them that through the power
of the priesthood and their faith.
faith, that the ononly
ly one who could balance their blood was the Father
himself,
hi mself, because he was the one that created them them..
 221
221
Through that faith-the
faith--the one that was dying stalled
started to breathe and the other one who was
blue became a healthy pink. The babies settled down and all was well when the doctor checked
them. A few weeks later the parents brought the twin
twinss to my home to show them off. That was a
testimony that God lives and through the Melch
Melchizedek
izedek priesthood that their lives
li ves were preserved.
preserved.

*Note:
':'Note: This is a documented medical
med ical condition in which twins in the womb share one
placenta and it is usually fatal to both babies.

HEALING POLIO

F
P or a long time I worked for the maintenance department.
department, for the L.D.S. Church. One
summer I was asked to work at the B.Y.U. Extension Division at the McCune School,
located near the Utah State Capitol. My supervisor was a wonderful wondelful man. One day we were
discussing
discuss ing incidents of the power of the priesthood being used to heal the sick. I shared my
testimony with him, him , and told of miracles performed
perfomled in our behalf as a family.
fami ly. He told me ooff his hi s ten
year old grandson who had polio. He asked if at some time I could give him a blessing. bless in g. A Tongan
friend,
friend , Inoke, who came to attend October conference accompanied accompan ied me, and my son-son-in-law
in-law Roy
Gerber drove us US to the boy's home in Bountiful
Bountiful,, as the grandfather had requested.
The mother met us at the front door, crying. We entered the home where the complete
family was waiting. The grandfather
grandfather turned to me and asked, "What are we going to do now?"
I1 then
then looked at at the
the ten
ten year
year old
old boy, hi
hiss one
one leg
leg and
and hand
hand were
were crooked
crooked and
and hihiss eyes
eyes were
were
crossed. I sa said
id to my supervisor, "Do you have enough faith, and also believe be lieve that when we
administer
admini ster to your grandson
grandson,, that he will get better?"
answered,, "We do, here's my whole fami
He answered family.
ly. We have been fasting and praying to the
Lord that we might have enough faith today, that we might see our ten year old polio victim walk
again.""
again.
tumed to the young boy and asked if he understood what we were going to do that
I then turned
day, and if he had enough faith in his Heavenly Father?
He saidsaid,, "Yes,
"Yes, of course, that's what we all believe."
I then said, "Do you have enough faith that the Lord will hear our prayers today, and
through your faith faith,, you are going to be alright--including
alright-including your hands, your legs, and even your
eyes?""
eyes?
The ten year old answered, "Of course I do. do, and I want to get ':Jetter.
better.""
My son-in-law, Roy.Roy, the grandfather, and the boy's uncles who held he ld the Melchizedek
priesthood
pliesthood assisted in the anointing. The boy was promised that day that his eyes would correct
and be normal again
again,, that his hand would
wou ld no longer be useless, that he wouwouldld be able to do all
kinds of work with his hi s hands.
hands . His legs would be straight and he would be able to walk and run.
He was promised th that
at he would use his legs to walk to school, and the Lord wou would
ld be of a great
help
he lp to him in the days to come. Included in the blessing
blessi ng were these words:
words: We do promise you
this
th is by the power ofof the Melchizedek Priesthood which we hold, hold , and in the name of Jesus Chri
Christ,
st,
we say to you
yo u today, stand up, straighten your legs out, and also move your arms out and your eyes
will
will be back to
be back to their
their normal
normal place,
place, in
in the name of
the name of Jesus
Jesus Christ, Amen.
Christ, Amen.
222

Right after
after the blessing,
bless ing, this ten ye!u'
year old boy got up from his chair and started to move hishi s
hands and his two legs, and his hi s eyes came back to their normal focus All his family started to cry
with happiness. We were so thankful for the power of the Holy Priesthood of God here on the
earth.. We ate
earth with
ale w ith the family and then left for home.
T he
The next morning I had a phone call from this boy's grandfather. He aid, "Brother
moming
Wolfgramm, 1I thought maybe you would like to know that for the first first time in his
hi s life my
grandson is outside trying to ride a bicycle. Three months later, my supervi sor brought his
supervisor hi s
grandson to my home. They were very appreciative of the blessing of the Lord to this thi s young boy.

MY FRIEND INOKE

ome of of my very best friends from Tonga had come for the 1974 October General
S Conference held in Salt Lake Ci
Conference City,
ty, Utah. A very dear friend, Tu'iketei Pule who was a
Stake Patriarch,
Patriarch , had brought his wife Sulia and a very good missionary friend of mine, Dioke Inoke Mataele
and his wife TufuTufuii from Matahau. I was so happy when I heard their the ir voices. Inoke spoke to me and
invited me to come over to the home of my wife's uncle, Samuela Fakatou that afternoon aftemoon where he was
staying.
When 1I arrived they wanted to visi visitt with me. 1I knew Inoke couldn't use one of his hi s eyes as he
was blinded when five years old. old . When I left
left Tonga in 19651965 he had also lost the sight in his
hi s other eye.
Hiss wife and ch
Hi children
ildren had to take him around at all times. Inoke said to me while whil e we were enj enjoying
oying
visiting
visitin g with each other, "1 "I just can't believe this,
thi s, I have now been blind for nearly
nearl y 68 years."
years. " He
seemed very happy to be with me.
He then said to me, "Iohani "lohani,, I would like to know if you and patriarch T Tu'iketei
u'iketei Pule could
cou ld
administer to me?"
I said, "S
"Sure,
ure, Inoke, if that's what you want me to do, do, I'll be more than happy to."
The patriarch tumed turned around and said to me, "I think, if it will be alright, we could take Dioke Inoke
upstairs and admini
administer
ster to him there."
there. "
After
After Tu'iketei anointed the oil Inoke asked me if it would be alright that when I admini administered
stered
to him,
him , to bless him that he wou would ld have his eyesight restored so he would be able to see Zion Zion,, or the
promised land,land , with his
hi s own eyes.
1[ stopped
stopped forfor aa while
while and
and said
said to
to Inoke,
Inoke, "Do"Do you
you have
have faith
faith that
that you
you will
will be
be able
able toto see?
see? ""
Inoke said, "Yes, I know that you both have the priesthood and also have enough faith. If If
you promise
prom ise me this day that I can see again, I do know for sure that will wi ll be done because I know that
my Redeemer lives, that my Father in Heaven lives and He knows what's in my heart today. Before
I leave for Tonga nex nextt week, I know that my eyesight will be restored with the prayers and faith that
I have in my heart today.today.""
I felt
felt very humble and happy that day, for thisth is special brother and the strong faith
fa ith that we all
had for him. I asked our Father in Heaven to help Inoke,Dioke, that through the power of the Melchi
Melchizedek
zedek
priesthood that we hold, and in the name of Jesus Christ, Inoke's eyesight would be fully restored
before he left fo
forr the islands of the sea. I asked that Inoke might see Salt Lake City
City,, according to our
 223
faith and prayers, and sealed the blessing in the name of Jesus Chri Christ.
st. T This
hi s occurred on a Friday
moming,
morning, just before the fi first
rst session of General Conference began. We listened li stened to conference
conference all day
Friday and again through Saturday's sessions.
Inoke expressed his desire to go over to the tabemacle,
Sunday, lnoke tabernacle, so he might sit up close in the
front and hear the voices of the Chu Church
rch leaders. I took him very early and we found two seats. We
were so thrilled that we didn't come home during the sessions, but stayed until both sess sessions over.
ions were over.
About four o'clock Monday moming, morning, the telephone
te lephone rang. The voice was a very happy one.
"Iohani
"lohani?"?"
"Yes," I answered
answered..
"This is Inoke, do you hear me?" he was so excited and said, "J haven 't told anybody but you,
"I haven't
lohani. [fin
[ohani. I finally
ally can see once again. Oh, it's beautiful.
beautifu l. I now can see a light.
li ght. P Please,
lease, I'm too excited
to wait until moming.
mornin g. Can you come down with your wife and daughter and take me out for a ride?"
I was so happy, and said, "Of co course,
urse, we'll be right down." When we arrived. arrived, [noke
Inoke came out
of my Uncle's home without his hi s cane or help from anyone.
We kissed him and his hi s wife. We were so happy and grateful to our Heavenly Heaven ly Father. As we
drove along, he kept saying, "Oh, I can see a red light, green light, and a yellow yell ow light. It was 5:00 a.m a.m..
as we drove him all over downtown Salt Lake City. After seeing Temple Square he wanted to see the
vaults where the L.D.S
L.D.S.. records were kept in the canyon. The next day we took him to Provo to see
the Brigham Young University. He saw Great Salt Lake and also the sk skii areas in the canyon.
Everything was beautiful to him, and he was so happy and and gratefu
gratefull to
to our Heaven
Heavenly restoring
ly Father for restoring
his
hi s sight once more.
Inoke used to live in Califomia
California with some of his children. He seldom missed a general
conference in Salt Lake City. He loved music and enjoyed being a very active member of the L.D.S. L.D.S .
Church,, but has now gone to his
Church hi s reward. It was a humbling experience.

HEALING OF SlUETI
SIUETI VEA

'received
received an urgent phone call to see if [could I could come and give a blessing to Siueti Siueti.. Yea,
Vea,
Ii;
-daughter
daughter of Mis Misitana
it ana Vea
Yea and Mele Seini who now lives in Sa Saltlt Lake City. That day she had
been to the doctor and was told that her stomach was full of cancer and she needed an immediate
operation. She very soon got in touch with me when she got home, as she didn't want to have an
operation.
We discussed what was to be done. [laid I laid my hands on her head, h ~ad, gave her a blessing, and
promi sed that everything would be well. She was promised that through the power of
promised the Melchizedec
ofthe Melchizedec
priesthood and
priesthood and in the name of Jesus Christ, that a surgeon would never open her stomach. Then
in the name of Jesus Christ, that a surgeon wou ld never open her stomach. Then she
she
went home.
The
The next
next day
day she
she got
got aa call
call from the doctor
from the doctor who who wanted
wanted herher to
to retum
return toto the
the hospital.
hospital. She was
She was
given
given anan IV
IV all night with
all night with aa sleep
sleep agent
agent inin it, but sh~
it, but she could
could still
still feel
feel everything.
everything. AfterAfter 45
45 minutes
minutes
nothing happened.
nothing happened. The doctor sent her to the X-ray room to check her stomach again. Upon seeing
The doctor sent her to the X-ray room to check her stomach again. Upon seeing
the X-rays, the doctors could find nothing wrong--they couldn't even find a trace
the X-rays, the doctors could find nothing wrong-they couldn't even find a trace ofthe cancer and sent of the cancer and sent
her home. She felt it was through the priesthood that the Lord had healed her.
her home. She felt it was through the priesthood that the Lord had healed her. That is her testimony That is her testimony
that the power
that the power of of the priesthood is
the priesthood is true
true and the Church
and the Church is is true.
true.
224

MY SON LISIA
LISIATE TE (RICHARD)
By Sa/Ole
Salote FakalOll
Fakatou Wo/fgramm
Wolfgramm

o;
O
on my lap.
me
ne day as I was at home caring for my son Richard when he was a baby in 1954,
he stru"ledjerking
1954,1I noticed
started jerking occasionally. He had a high fever. I quickly picked him up and held him
lap. His eyes started to cross, and then the black pupil pupi l disappeared completely. We were on
the upper floor of our home in Ha Ha'alaufuli.
' alaufu li.
I became frightened and stal1ed
started to cry. I was all alone and the baby was sick. From the top
floor of our home I screamed, "My son Richard has passed out. I need a kettle of hot water. Someone
please come and help me, I need hot water, please." I called so loudly that my neighbor lady Toa Toa'ila
' ila
Vaiangina heard me. She came running with wi th a kettle filled with hot water. At this thi s time the older
children
chi ldren were at school, and my husband Iohani lohani was on his way to the Branch president's home,
seeking for Pita Pauni to help him administer to Richard.
I asked Toa'ila to please get me a big tub and fill it with quite hot water, and then get a bucket
of cold water with a towel, and to please hurry. I was on the top floor of
of of the house and was afraid to
leave Richard alone. Toa'ila
Toa ' ila did exactly as I asked her. Together we placed Richard inside this tub
and applied a cold towel to his head. We did this several times and then suddenly Richard began to
scream, as he gained consciousness. He broke out in a heavy sweat and the fever broke. How I
appreciated
apprec iated the help my sweet neighbor gave to me at this time.
Shortly my husband arrived with Pita Pauni, Pauni , and they administered to our son. The doctor, who
arrived later, insisted we take Richard to the hospital and check him out. Upon our arrival they
checked Richard and informed us he was was alri
alright.
ght. They kept him there and released him two days later. later.
This is another witness to the power of God and the priesthood. Richard has filled a mission mi ssion
in New Mexico and is blessed with good health. Nothing can be compared with the power of the
priesthood here on earth. It came from God to Jesus Christ, then to Peter, James and John and to
Joseph Smith, and continued to be given to those ordained in these the last days. The blind have been
made to see, the lepers have been cleansed, the dead have been raised, raised , and many other such miracles
have occurred
oCCUlTed through the power of the priesthood.

TISINA AND THE COINS

By Tisina WolfgramI!'
Wolfgramm Gerber

Miry-I was
M father used to work very hard to get a little bit of money to buy kerosene for our lamps.
y father used to work very hard to get a little bit of money to buy kerosene for our lamps.
given 2/-(shillings) and asked to go to the store for a bottle of kerosene. Oh, I was
I was given 2/-(shillings) and asked to go to the store for a bottle of kerosene. Oh , I was
so happy. It was in the evening about 6:00 p.m. I staJ1ed
started singing some songs as I walked along the
street tossing
toss ing the coins into the air, and catching them as they fell. I was about half-way down the
street when I failed to catch the coins. I knew if I retumed
returned home without the kerosene and the few
pence change, I would be in trouble for the rest of the eveni
eveningng because of my carelessness. I hunted
and hunted and then began to cry when I couldn't find the two shillings anywhere.
 225
A thought finally came to my mind from a lesson taught to me at Primary, "Remember your
baptism day when you were baptized and received the Holy Ghost. He will wi ll guide you in righteousness,
and a promise was made by Heavenly Heaven ly Father that he would
wou ld hear your prayers when you needed his
help."
he lp ."
I saw no one as I1 looked
looked about
about me,
me, so
so I1went
wentdown
downupon
uponmy myknees
kneesand andasked
askedmy myFather
Fatherinin
Heaven to please
pl ease help me find my dad'sdad 's two shillings, so I could
cou ld get the family
fami ly some kerosene. I
knew it was getting late and I must hurry home. I thanked our Heavenly Father and closed my prayer.
I finally opened up my eyes. I silently looked to the left side of the road and even tumed turned around and
started to hunt to the right.
ri ght. But I didn't find them. I then looked straight ahead on the green grass and
there, lying in front of me, with a little ray of sun shining
sh ining upon them were my two lost sh shillings.
illings . I was
so happy, and again
agai n I1 was
wasdown
down on
on my
my knees
knees thanking
thanking mymyFather
Father inin Heaven.
Heaven.

SAMUELA'S EYE, AT VAVA

VAVA'U
'U

alote
ote wanted to weave some Tongan mats for the floor of our hut. Mats wore out after after
S al
about fiv fivee or six months, especially
especiall y if there were many children in the home. Salote took
her children
ch ildren to the bush to get some geen leaves of louakau (pandan leaves). The little li ttle boys, Sale,
Samuela,
Sam uela, and Napole, were playing around behind where Salote was working.
Salote was usingusi ng a big, long Tongan knife to cut the leaves offoff the Lauakau tree. As Sa Salote
lote
swung
sw ung the knife behind her, Samuela came running up to her and she accidently hit her son in one of of
his
hi s eyes. Salote rushed back to town with him, him , and put a cold towel around the cut eye. Later she
dropped some fresh fresh breast milk into hi hiss injured eye. She thought he would be alrialright,
ght, but thc next
moming
morning the eye was as red as the hibiscus around our fence.
Salote used some medicine that the Tongans use for injured eyes. The eye felt better, but the
pupil on his eye turned
tumed white. Salote became very upset and took Samuela home and asked me to
administer
admini ster to him.
hi m . On this
th is same day, my Uncle Rudy came back to Vava'u for a visit on a furloughfurlough
from the United States Army. AllllY. He was able to assist me that day. He annointed
an nointed the oil right into
Samuela's eyes, and I administered
admini stered to my son and blessed him. The next day Samuela's eye was all al l
better and hihiss pupil became black once more.

LEPROSY

"have Kalolani.i. When she was about nine years of age, she became very sick. She
have a sister Kalolan
Ii;-was diagnosed with leprosy. There wasn't anything that the doctor could do to help those
was diagnosed with leprosy. There wasn't anything that the doctor cou ld do to he lp those
who had this disease.
di sease. It was veiy
very hard for me to see my yo
younger
unger sister suffer. It was a law in Tonga
during
du ring this
thi s time that if anyone in the village
vill age had leprosy, and had been checked by the doctor, they
were to be separated from their family. The family was to build a separate house hou se in the bush, away
from everyone. The person was to stay out there alone until they died. It was very difficult
difficu lt and really
sad for us to see our sister being taken away to live in the bush by herself until her death. I watched
and saw how lonesome she was for us and the rest of the family.fami ly. We prayed for her every nightni ght and
day, that some day our Father in Heaven would help her get better and once again join us.
226

One day II sneaked out to her little hut in the bush and sa said
id to her, "Don't worry Kalolani,
Kalolani ,
tomorrow I'm bringingbring ing someone with wi th me to visit you, and if you fast with me today and ask our Father
in Heaven to help he lp you get better and have faith fa ith in your heart, I'm sure the th e Lord will
wi ll make you well
again."
again,'"
Kalolani started to sm smile ile again and nodded her head and sa id, "Yes, I'll do just that."
said,
morning I1went
The next moming wentup uptotomy
mybranch
branchpresi dent and
president andsaid,
said,"President
"PresidentClark,
Clark,could
couldyouyouspare
spare
a lilittle
ttle time for me and my little sister today?"
I told him what was on my mind, and he said, "I'lI "I'll be more than happy to go."go." President C lark
Clark
and I1 walked
walked outout totothe
the bush
bush wherewhereKalolani
Kalolani was
was.. We
Wetalked
talked about
about the
themany
manywonderfu
wonderfull ex peri ences
experiences
of the Savior, and how he had helped a lot of people, and through their faith, faith , were made whole and
well aga again.
in.
We anointed the oil on Kalolani's head, and laid our hands upon her head, and gave her a
blessing. ThroughThrough the power of the Melchizedek priesthood, and in the name of Jesus Christ, and
through our fa
through ith, Kalolan
faith, Kalolanii was healed. There wasn't a mark on her sk in. We deeply felt the Spi
skin. rit
Spirit
there withwi th us. On that day her body was cleansed from leprosy.
We brought her home and when the doctor found out he was very angry with us. He came and
examined her from head to toe to see if her body was really cleansed from the disease. di sease. He couldn't
find a mark. He stuck her with a pin, and she jumped, saying, "Ouch".
The Doctor cou ld no longer find a trace of that disease on any part of my sister's body. He said,
could
"1
"1 still
still can't
can't beli
believe this.. ItIt isis like
eve this like aa miracle.
miracle. What
What have
have youyou done
done toto her?"
her?"
II spoke up and said, "Through Kalolani's faith and ours, the Lord has given her this thi s blessing.
Now she can come back baek and live li ve with us once more."
Kalolani
Kalolani:: born 28 lJun un 191 4, died Dec
1914, Dee 1936, (age 22)

COINCIDENTAL CAR CRASHES

TWO COINCIDENTAL
By Tisina Wolfgramm Gerbe

B 1
efore
'
drove
we left for Tonga on our mission in August 1992, my sister Taiana Brown and I
downtotopIck
drove down pick up
upsome
somenew
newclothes
clothes111inSpanIsh
SpanishFork,
Fork,Utah
Utah.. Everyth1l1g
Everythinglooked
lookedgood,
good,
but as we started heading back baek to Salt Lake CCity,
ity, we ran into a lot of rain. Soon we saw snow begin
to fall. We began to panic because we ddidn't idn't have any snow tires, the road was very slick, and the
snow was falling
fall in g quite heavily
heav il y on the freeway. We heard a lot of thunder and lightening. wasn'tt
li ghtening. I wasn'
scared, but II was worried about my sister Taiana.
She said, "I think we'd better tum turn around and go back to Provo and wait there until the road
is cleared.
cleared, then we'll
we' ll call eeither
ither your husband or mine to come and pick pi ck us up."
II sa
said,
id, "Don't worry, II think the dev devilil knows that we are about to leave on our mission,
mi ssion, and
thinks he can stop us from getting ready."
after II said that to my sister I saw a huge sem
Soon after semii truck on our left
left coming from the south
from Provo to Salt Lake City, and another one on our right was going in the same direction.
direction . Our small
car was right in the middle
midd le of these two long semi trucks. As these two trucks passed us the hail and
 227

rain had been coming down and the water combi combinedned with the wind fo force
rce picked up oour ur little
li tt le car with
great fo force
rce as they were passing, and threw us like fallen
li ke a fa leaf off the freeway overpass by the Lehi
llen leaf
exit.
ex it. As we were thrown over I said a prayer in my heart, "Oh please, Heavenl Heavenlyy Father, we are about
to die, please help me and Ta Taiana.
iana . We don't want to die yet, but help us land sasafely."
fe ly."
In that moment, I heard the spirit say to me, "Do not worry, you wi will
ll not get hurt." I1 fe felt so
lt so
many hands, even angels, holding up oour ur vehicle and slow slowlyly I felt
fe lt like
li ke we had been flyingfly ing on air
instead of inside our green Dodge. We landed safely and I bowed my head in grati gratitude
tu de foforr His
protecti
protective ve care.
I slo
slowly
wly opened m myy eyes and looked over to see if Taiana was alright. She was so frightened frightened
he lips and face were white like li ke a sheep. She said to me, "Please let's leave the car here and just walk
back to Salt Lake."Lake ."
I sa
said, "That's a long way
id, 'That's way."." We oonly
nl y had oour
ur sandals on. Our feet might freeze in the snow.
I calmed her down then we again prayed and thanked oour ur Heavenly Father for his protection. We both
feltlt very strongly the presence of oour
fe ur brother Napole there to protect us. Soon a highway patrol patro l car
arrived at the scene and checked to see if we were hurt. To his surprise we were OK, then he left. left.
When we got home we wanted to tell our parents what happened to us. At the moment of our
lohani and Salote were at the Salt Lake Temple. When couples were called to come up fo
accident Iohani forr
the prayer circ circle,
le, the spirit spoke to Iohan
lohanii to get up,
up, take Salote and join the others because some of
his fa family
mi ly needed their prayers.
prayers. So lohani
Iohani got up and Salote joined him, never knowing who were
involved.
At the exexact
act time oour
ur younger sister Fololeni Drabner, now Borg, was also in a car acc accident.
ident.
Another car hit her wi with
th her chchildren
ildren inside. The car kept on hitting her cm car three times, but to her
amazement, no oone ne was hurt.
hu rt. They all came out without a scratch although the car was almost totaled,
but I'm sure angels were there to protect them. I'm so grateful for the gift of the th e Holy G Ghost
host and the
the righteousness
ri ghteousness of oour ur parents for the way they live to to serve others, help us grow, and develop a deep
understandingg of
love and understandin ofthe
the gospel and our mission on this earth.

ESCAPE FROM A RAPIST

By Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber
By Tisilla

"was
was working at the L.D
L.D.S. clerk.. Many nurses had been raped and one
.S. Hospital as a ward clerk
Ii;-murdered and there was quite a concem at the hospital for the hospital personnel. So they
murdered and there was quite a concern at the hospital for the hospital personnel. So they
were asked by the police department if we could make time available for a female officer to teach us
fema le officer
how to defend ourselves.
ourselves . While at the meeting the officer
officer told us that we didn't really
reall y need guns, but
use oour
ur name tags or a pen or any sharp instrument at hand to hit them right in the eye and can also
finger
use our finGer
0>
nails and take our shoes off off and hit them.. Be real
hi t them rea l careful going out in the dark. It is
usefull to carry a small flashlight.
usefu fl ash light. It is good for women to carry a mace spray in their purse.
228

I was schedu
scheduledled from 7:00 a. a.m.
m. to 3:00 p.m. to work that day. It was just a normal day. day. 1I
went home and fixed dinner and decided to go down for a little Chri Christmas
stmas shopping at J.c.Penney's.
J.C.Penney's.
1I changed
changed my my clothes
clothes andand put
put on
on my
my muumuu.
muumuu. ItIt would
would be be easier
easier for me me toto get
get inin and
and out
out ofof the
the car.
car.
1[ wore
wore my my heavy
heavy wooden
wooden clogsclogs that
that were
were trendy
trendy atat that
that time.
As I approached the first first parking level I noticed a security man sitting there. He was wearing
a lilight
ght camel colored jacket with a tag on the left side. side. He was waving at me and smiling and I
returned the wave. As I got to the second level level,, I1 thought
thought they
they were
were twins
twins,, there
there waswas aamanman with
with the
the
uniform on. He waved and smiled again and I waved back. I co
same unifom1 couldn't
uldn ' t find a parking place so I1
went to the third level and found a parking place on the third row on my left. As I opened the car
door and got out, the man was standing right by my car. I thought he was there to see if everything
was alright.
Right there he grabbed me between the legs. legs. I1 was
was shocked.
shocked. IIjumpedjumped and andsaid
said,, "Don
"Don't
't
touch me, what are you doing?"
He didn't
didn ' t say a word, but grabbed my right hand and started to drag me away from the car,
and saidsaid,, ""Shut
Shut up and fo follow
ll ow me". This was about 7:00 p.m. p.m .
[I knew I was in trouble and started to pray. A little sports car drove by that was red and
black. The driver stopped and asked if he could help me?
The man said, "Don "Don't' t worry, my wife is just acting silly."
The man was with his girl friend and said, "Are you alright?"
[1 said,
said, "I
"I don
don't even know
' t even know whowho this
this man
man is,is, and
and he
he touched
touched me me in in the
the wrong
wrong area."
area."
I1 began
began to pray really hard as they drove away. As clearly as I know, someone spoke
to pray really hard as they drove away. As clearly as I know , someone spoke to to me
me
in my heart instructing me, "Tisina, take off off your heavy shoes and hit him as hard as you can in the
front of his leg"
I[ did just that. I1guess
guessIIhithit him
himso sohard
hard hehedropped
dropped mymyarmarm andandstarted
started totorun
run,, hanging
hangingonto onto
his
hi s leg, it hurt him so bad. He was heading to the third floor elevator and ran down the escalator. I
called
ca lled a sales lady for help. She came up and we couldn't find him anywhere.
She asked if she should report to the police, but it didn't get through my head that it was an
attempted rape at that time. 1 told the
I told the lady
ladytoto never
never mind.
mind. He He hadn
hadn't hurt me
' t hurt me yet,
yet, but
but all
all IInoticed
noticed
were his features-a
feature s-a pointed nose and nice looking wavy hair in the back.
After I retumed
returned home 1 tumed on
I turned onthe
theTVTV andand there
there was
was his
his picture
picture on on thethe televis
television.
ion. IfIf
anybody sees him or hears about him to report to the police. It was Ted Bundy.

SAMUELA AND WALTER SERVE IN VIETNAM

By Norma
Norma Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm Hafoka
Hafoka Mee
Mee

Iti;
't was only a year after our family emigrated to Utah in 1960 my four brothers were drafted,
drafted,
-but
but unfortunately
unfortunately Samuela and Walter were the on only
ly two who could speak English well
enough to be drafted into the U.S.Affi1Y
U.S.Army at that time. When my brothers were being drafted,
drafted, we had
to go to the library to search fo
forr Vietnam
Vi etnam on a map.
 229

Napole and Mike could only speak a little bit of Engli English sh so they couldn't go. Sale.Sale, the oldest,
was living
li ving in Ca
Califomia
lifornia working at a factory where he helped build caskets, hoping to make a little lillie
money for a down payment on a family home in Utah. By Chri Christmas
stmas he was able to save $$1,000.00
1,000.00
and sent it for down payment on a house for our family. family.
Richard was too young yet to be drafted,
drafted, but Walter was 18 years old. Salote was worried so
much about Samuela. Walter was fresh out of high school and very scared and didn didn't' t want to be a part
of killing anyone. After
After long fasting and prayer, lohani ca called
ll ed them for an interview and then they
father's
asked for a father 's blessing. lohani layed his hands on their heads for a father's blessingbless ing and through
the power of the priesthood he asked the Lord to let his guiding angels watch over and to protect
Samuela and Walter and a promise was given them. If they obeyed their leaders leade rs and commanding
officers, he promised them that they would retura return home safely to us, with the help of our Father in
Heaven.
Heaven .
Samuela was always a good fighter and a good warrior, as Salote used to tell us. Samuela can
handle all the dangerous situation
situationss that will come his way. He can escape the mine explosions also
with the faith of his
hi s mother helping him during his hard times.
Samuela felt a strong attraction to hisili s new country and didn't mind joining with his hi s brother to
defend it. Samuela was a newlywed to Judith Ann Firmage of Provo and was young and romantic.
He had never heard of Vietnam before but wanted to see the Far East. Samuela was a former student
at B.Y.U. Hawaii and met Judith Ann Firmage when she came to teach at Liahona High School in
Tonga. As soon as they arrived in Utah they were married at Uncle Rudy and Aunt Edna
Wolfgramm's home with the bri'de's
Wolfgramm's bride's parents Mary and Raddon Firmage and her grandparents Elder
Hugh B. R. Brown and his wife and other family members in attendance.
Samuela landed in Vietnam in 1961. countiy he found was certain
1961. The country certainly
ly different
rlifferent than any
he had seen. As he had hoped, he found the land one of exotic beauty and mystery. He also found
frustration,, hardship and death. Hundreds of thousands American so
frustration soldiers
ldiers served in Vietnam and
57,939 ofof them lost their lives.
One small incident that Samuela told us about about:: One time U.S.U.S. Troops were facing North
Vietcong. They had been chasing each other across the valley for nearly a month. They took turn turnss
ambushing each other, the encounters ranging in size from sq squads
uads to battalions. More often than not
the encounters were short and bloody as each side took tums turns ambushing the other.
We were walking along at the center of ofthe
the battalion and started getting fire all of a sudden sudden..
Fire was corning
coming from everywhere, the ground, the trees. Suddenly everyone around me was getting
hit and dying. I could hear screams all over the place. We fought for what seemed like hours. We
started crawling away under very intense fire. We crawled 250 yards and then started running. I had
never run so fast before. We had to leave most of the wounded people behind, beh ind , but we tried to help
some of them by crawcrawling
ling with them.
The ones we left behind were screaming in pain and fear. Someone shouted out, "Don't leave
me!" A lieutenant called out, "Please shoot me me!' Please shoot me! me! I don't want them to get me!" me !"
There is not a manrnan that enjoys being away from home and his family especial especially ly fighting
fightin g in111
a place where it is hot
hot,, muggy and humid and at times quite nerve wracking. wracking.
230

One day Samuela's group was trapped under the edge of a deep jungle va valley.
ll ey. They covered
themselves with jungle leaves, hiding from the Vietcong, si since
nce the Vietcong planned to attack the U U.S.
.S.
Troops. For twelve days they lay there pretending they were dead, under the Vietcong operation which
was one of the Vietcong strongholds situated in this area.
What an awful
awfu l place to lay down, still on your stomach for 12 days. No food food,, no water, rats
running
runn in g all over your
you r body, poisonous
poi sonous scorpions and bats and booby traps and snakes.
The enemy opened fire on us with automatic automati c weapons. Some kept on firing. Many got hit hi t and
were killed,
ki lled, but I was so scared and kept on praying and remembering my father's prayer and the
promise
promi se given to me and my brother. That kept me going. I continued to pray that whole 12 days.
Earlyy that moming
Earl morning the Vietcong resumed the attack. I thanked the the Lord for my safety and and most of our
troops.
troops . The guerrillas
gue rrill as opened fire,tire, machine guns and rifle fire ripped through the Americans from
every sside. This
ide. Th is was what had been ringing in my ears after after the Vietcong left. left.
A few days later we received a telegram that we must retum return to Utah, our brother Napoleone
had been killed in an a industri
industrialal accident. We both felt so so bad for
for our favorite brother Napole Napole's death,,
's death
but we knew he had another mission mi ss ion to fulfill. As I was watching how my brother acted, I coul couldn't
dn ' t
help but see a great change in our brothers' lives. li ves. Samuela still didn't
didn ' t want to talktaLk much about the
war. I1could
could tell
tell ititaffected
affected him
him and
and he
he was
wasemotionally
emotionally scarred.
scarred. I'm I'm sure
sure itit had
had aa lot
lot totododo with
with his
his
marriage problems. After After he got home I remember he he didn
didn't to attend any funeral
' t want to funerals. s. Even to to hear
a gun shot, most of the time he had nightmares.
My heart goes out to you Samuela and Walter and for those who gave up their lives li ves for our
peace and freedom in this country. Many lost their sons and daughters at war. Many more came carne back
wounded, emotionall
emotionallyy or physically scarred. None who served retumed returned unaffected. Samuela returned retumed
on a U.S. army plane and was there to serve the rest of his time and later retumed returned to the States.
To retum Walter's
return to Walter 's story.
Walter was just hopinghopi ng that he wouldn't
wou ldn ' t have to be a part in fi fighting
ghting the enemy face to face
in combat. So when he received a letter from him, him , he was very pleased
pl eased that they put him in the area
where they kept all their supplies by the shores ofDaNang, of DaNang, and he was very happy where they ass assigned
igned
him .
him.
After Napoleone's funeral the soldiers had to retum return to the army. Samuela'a
Sam uela' a U.S. airpl airplane
ane took
him back to Vietnam,
Vietnam , Walter was scheduled on another flight. flight. When they got to the Salt Lake Airport,
everyone embarked except Walter. Iohani lohani had a very strong feeling that Walter shouldn shouldn't' t go back on
that fli
flight.
ght. So again lohani asked Walter to come and he would give him a priesthood blessing, bless ing, and
it caused Walter to missed his hi s flight back to Vietnam. The next day we heard on the news that the
airplane which Walter missed had crashed and everyone including the pilots were all killed by a bomb
from their enemies.
enem ies. The laterflight flight that Walter took arrived
aITived safely.
safely. We all knelt down on our knees
to thank our Father in Heaven for saving Walter's life.
 231
231
OSCAR'S NEWSLETTER
NEWSLETTER FROM FLORIDA

Dear Family,
I~ant expr~ss my love to you in this letter to thank you for your prayers and your concern
i;
"want to express
-about
about Koloti's surgery here
Kolotl s sUlgelY hele in111 Florida.
Flond a. I know that most of you have fasted and prayed on
concem

his behalf
behalf and wewe're
' re anxious to hear from the nurses and the doctors what will wi ll be the next
nex t treatment
for Koloti's illness.
I want to tell you a little bit about his surgery. After they opened hi hiss stomach up they found
three tumors inside
in side his
hi s abdomen. One was quite large shaped like li ke a football and was sticking out his hi s
left side and the other two were inside. ins ide. They started operating on the left side of Koloti up to his hi s ribs
and they found out that one of his kidneys had been removed and one of his ribs. Koloti never knew
about it. He finally found out for the first time that they had probably done that in hi hiss first
first surgery in
Salt Lake City. From his hi s ribs, they cut up to his breast bone and then from there to his hi s right side.
Seven days later, after Koloti started to cough and the nurse told him that he should cough twice for
her. The second time he coughed coughed,, he felt something open up. up. Suddenly the stitches came open and
everything in hishi s abdomen fell out. Then he grabbed it with his hi s hands and called the nurse, "Help "Help,, 1I
need help."
help ." The nurse came running and quickly <]uickly called the doctor and told him what happened.
By 3:00 p.m. the Doctor finally alTived amved and took him back to surgery for the second time. As
they operated they found a lot of pus underneath his hi s lungs. They poked in the left side and more pus
came out. They were amazed at all the infection. Koloti didn't react like most people and make a big
fuss, but he took all the pain and Osika compared his hi s trials
trial s to those of Job.
It was a big operation. Many of ofthe
the family have come to visit Koloti including a cousin cousin Viliami
Viliami
Netane, Elisi and her famil family.y. Next friday
friday the doctor told them they would X-ray Koloti and be su sure
re
everything would be alri alright.
ght. They cut a little hole and put a tube in in hi
hiss stomach to to allow the infection
infection
to drain out. The water had a very foul odor and Koloti was there for just a short time when it heal healed.
ed.
He regained hishi s health and everything went well for Koloti and he was finally discharged. di scharged. Before his hi s
surgery they were really worried
won'ied about losing
los ing him and felt that Father in Heaven had given him health
and strength.
I also want to mention that Netane Jr., brother of Wiliami and Fi Filimone,
limone, son of Isilele and
Ma'ata Fiefia came to visit him and many palangi pa/angi members from their Ward.
If yo
If youu need to get in touch with us here is the phone number of Lami 11-407-35 -407-351 -4195.
1-4195.
Respectfully
Respectfull y yours, Osika.

Note by lohani:
Iohani: I had just retumed
returned from the Temple at the time they were draining Koloti's
incision. I was restless and couldn't
couldn ' t sleep, walking up and down the hall. I felt the
spirit
sp irit of Koloti was in need
:leed of help at that time. Salote and I went to the bedroom and
prayed for Koloti for quite some time. Afterwards, Salote went to sleep but I1couldn'tcouldn't
sleep at all. An hour later I came back, awoke Salote, and said we should again pray
for Koloti. About 3:30 that moming morning I prayed alone and asked the Lord if Koloti's
mission had been fulfilled
fulfilled,, and if his life could be spared to give him more time to
accomplish his mission.
hi s mi ssion. Later I felt the comfort of the Holy spirit and felt thtat Koloti
would be alright. I thanked the Lord and the next day received this letter from my
brother Osika.
232
232
CHAPTER IX

FAREWELL
 235

lOHANI'S FAREWELL
IOHANI'S FAREWELL
By Tisina
TisillG Wolfgramm Gerber
WolIgramm Gerher

I"ohani passed away September 16, 1997, but I feel his spirit each day. He is always by me
IOhani passed away September 16, 1997 , but I fee l hi s spirit each day. He is always by me
and helping our families each day. Especially my mother. Even though he left us, 1 know
and he lpmg our familIes each day. EspecIally my mother. Even though he left us, I know
that he is not too far away for me to reach him. Just as our Heavenly Father promised promi sed us, that when
we need him,him , we can cal calll an him , and through prayer he can hear us.
on him,
Just
Ju st before lohani died he call called
ed all of his
hi s children and grandchildren to come. He laid la id his
hands on some of his grandchildren and blessed them, especially those who weren't as
hi s children and grandchildren
strong as others, and gave them special blessings. He said said,, ''I'm
"I'm very old now, now , and I will
wi II soon retum
return
to our maker. Some of you, including my own children ch ildren and grandchildren,
grandch ildren, I'm very sad to say, this thi s
might be my last time to see you or be with you. Some of you will wi ll make it to the celesti
celestialal kingdom
by making right choices, and some of you we will never see each other again because of some wrong
choices that you have already made. made."" Iohani
lohani began to prophesy and taught the things of God even as
it was in the beginning, and said to us, "Listen to the words of Chri Christ st our Redeemer. He came into
the world not to call the righteous
ri ghteous but sinners to repentance." lohani called all of of us to repent. Most
of his
of grandchildren
hi s children and grandchi ldren didn't care for his
hi s words, ononly of lohani's
ly a few. Some ofIohani 's children and
grandchildren are corrupt before God God.. GGrandchildren
randchildren fill their lives
li ves with violence. Iohani lohani con
continued,
tinued,
"Even this
thi s earth is fill
filled
ed with violence."
lohani went on saying, "The Lord is not happy with
Iohani wi th you because most of you have waxed hard
in your hearts and your ears are ddull ~1I of hearing, and your eyes cannot see afar off,
ofhearing, off, and the Lord is angry
with you. Some of of you have gone astray, and have den denied
ied the Lord, have sought your own council councilss
in the dark. Some of you have not kept the Lord's comman commandments."
dments." lohani con continued,
tinued, "The Lord
which spake with me, the same God of Heaven, Heaven , hath made known unto me that all men, men , including
inc luding all
of us, must repent, be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. If we receive that gift, asking
all things in Jesus' name and whatsoever ye shall ask, ask , it shall be given you. you.""
lohani continued on,
Iohani on , "We must be prepared for the great day ofthe of the Lord that is nigh at hand hand,,
for the day cometh that the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, heavens shall shake, earth shall
tremble,
tremb le, and the trump of God shall sound both long and loud, loud , and shall say to the sleeping nations,
'Ye arise
' Ye saints, ari se and lilive,
ve, ye ssinners,
inners, stay and sleep until Il shall come again. again.'"
'"
lohani asked some questions. "How
Iohani " How many of you will choose the Lord's Lord ' s side?" Most of ofthe
the
younger ones raised
rai sed their hands and maybe 65 percent of the adu adultslts did. lohani said, can't
Iohani said , "I can 't force
anyone of you to be good, it's your own free will and you make your own choices. But fo forr those of of
you who fear God, I'm very happy for you. I do fear God and we all should repent every day. The
Lord has given us a promise. If you keep all his commandments and endure to the end you shall have
eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God God." ."
lohani continued to say, "The Lord promised us, he that
Iohani th at hath eternal life is rich.rich . If you spend
all your time laboring for money, you shall perish. So I urge all of you to seek not for fo r riches of the
earth, but for wisdom in leaminglearning and in studyi
studying
ng the scriptures and works of God God.. The Lord will wi ll then
unfold unto you his hi s mysteries and then shall you be made rich rich.. Be meek and lowly in heart and teach
your children in their youth to love the Lord and keep all his commandments. We must teach them
to
to have faith in
have faith in the Lord."
the Lord ."
236

lohani paraphrases the words of of Lehi and adds his hi s own in order to teach his own family.
"I hope and pray that when I am gone to my grave, that you will gather together often for
fasting and mighty prayer, ask asking
ing God to forgive your sins. The only on ly road by which you can enter His
presence is repentance, baptism bapti sm by water, and then receive a remission of your sins by fire and by the
remi ss ion of
Holy
Hol y Ghost. ThenT hen you will wi ll be in the straight and narrow path which whi ch leads to eternal life if ye have
done according to the commandments
com mandments of God the Father and the Son and received the Holy Ghost."
lohani
lohan i continued
contin ued urging
urgin g us to, "Press forward
fo rward and be steadfast in Christ, having hope, love, and charity
to all men. The only on ly way to find true happiness is to be united that all of us will retum return to our Father
and ou
ourr loved ones."
Before lohani
lohan i died he called his hi s son Samuel and said to him, him , "I know some of you don don't' t
believe
bel ieve the things that I have seen and heard. Some Tongans mock me when I testify of their
wickedness,
wicked ness, but before I go into my grave I want to testify testify to you that all the things which II have seen
and heard and were manifested to me by the Holy Spirit were true."
And to his
hi s son Walter, he is the one to whom was given all the keys, keys , inasmuch as he shall keep
the commandments, he shall prosper. "I bless you with fa faith,
ith , to be humble and kind in your heart.
I bless you with all power from fat father son."" Iohani
her to son. lohani pra
praised
ised the Lord for his hi s soul did rejoice and his
hi s
whole heart was filledfilled,, because ofthe
of the things which
wh ich he had seen, yea, which the Lord had shown unto
him.
him . He declared.
declared, "Great and marvelous are God's work. Oh, Lord God, Almighty! Almi ghty! Thy throne is
high in the heavens, and thy power and goodness and mercy are over all the inhabitants of of the earth,
and because thou art merciful,
mercifu l, thou wilt
wi lt not suffer
suffer those who come unto Thee that they shall peri perish."
sh."
lohani had recorded things which he saw in visions and in dreams and he also recorded many
things which
whi ch he prophesied and spake unto his hi s children.
After
After the Lord had shown so many marvelous things unto my my father concerni
conceming destruction
ng the destruction
of
of old Jerusalem, the building ofthe
of the New Jerusalem, the destruction that will come upon the children
of men, Chri
of Christ's
st's Second coming,
comi ng, the things he saw and heard, he was commanded to cry repentance
unto his
hi s own people and those he will wi ll meet, even to his own household. lohani Iohani went forth among
amon g the
Tongan people and began to pprophecy rophecy and to declare unto them the things which he had both seen and
heard. Tongans mocked him and it made them very angry, especially those who were not living the
way that they should. He was told that if he fa failed
iled to cry repentance, the two angels who stood by his
side would
wou ld destroy him, him , and for him not to fear,fear, for when lohani
Iohani speaks to them it won't be his hi s words
but the word of of God. Go forth and fear not, for lohani's Iohani 's faith was to have fear in the Lord and he had
been given power to exercise his hi s faith in obeying what the Lord commanded him to do.

KSL TV COVERAGE
KSL TV COVERAGE OF
OFFUNERAL
FUNERAL

S 10 1997.
eptember 101 997. On this day a funera
funerall is getting under way at Taylorsvi
Taylorsville.
lle.
The man is considered a pioneer among his Tongan people of Utah and a patriarch
palliarch to a
large family. He was among one of the early Tongan immigrants to Utah. He helped counsel
numerous
numerou s Tongans who followed.
followed.
 237

He was a hard working

work ing missionaiy
missionary for his
hi s L.D.S. religion,
religion , honest contractor, and a very fine
fine
and dedicated carpenter. Hi Hiss life centered on hi
hiss L.D.S. faith
faith,. Iohan
lohanii can be described as one ooff a kind,
gentle
gentl e and a visionary man.
vi sionary man . Many people came to him for special blessings,
special counsel,l, genea
blessings. counse genealogy,
logy,
hi stories and stories.
scripture study, histories
Religion specialist,
Reli gion speciali st, Duane Cardall tells te ll s us more about Mr. Wo Wolfgramm
lfgra mm and why peoplepeop le are
comin
comingg from allover
all over the world to honor him.
lohani Otto Melila Wolfgramm didn
Iohani didn't' t have much in terms of possessions or world worldly wealth..
ly wealth
Consider
Cons ider that he did have 17 children
chi ldren all with the same mother, two foster fo ster children, 172 grand and
great grandchildren. Combine that posterity with hi hiss Tongan culture, no wonder a funeral celebrati
celebrationon
is under way. Questi
Questions
ons asked by Duane Carda Cardallll were answered by Ti Tisina
sina Gerber and Iuniluni Sill
Sillito.
ito .
When our Tongan familiefamiliess celebrate a wedding, we also have a very special way of honorin honoringg
our departed loved ones by familifamilies es on both sides
sides.. On the fifirst
rst evening is a viewing fo forr those in the
family who would like to speak, sing or be a part of the family evening program. Tongan fami families
lies
usuallyy wait until all families were notified and try their best to be present together as a family
usuall fa mil y to say
goodbye and also a time for fo r each family
fam il y to know of their responsibility at a Tongan fun funeral
eral and what
a special time it would be fo forr us.
flown in from the South Pacific. An old time casket holder or platform
Flowers were flown platfOlm was builtbui lt
to hand carry Ioh
lohani Wolfgramm to and from the chapel and to his graveside called aafata
ani Wolfgramm fata.. A Tongan
hut was built by a cousin William SUlunga Sulunga where the viewi viewing
ng will be held.
held .
Music was sung by some of his grandch grandchildren grandchildren belonging
ildren and great grandchildren belongin g to the famou
famouss
Jets.. The
group The Jets Their I'll Build YOII
ir favorite song, l'1I you a Rainbow, alongalong with three other
other mus
musical numbers
ical numbers
were composed and sling sung by a granddaughter Teui Teuila Lavea. The fifirst
la Gerber Lavea. Grandfather
rst number was Grandfcuher
lohani,
lohani , second And you Heard His Call Call,, and third Till Resurrection Rises Thee.
lohani
Iohani Otto Melila Wolfgramm died September 16, 16,1997
1997 in Salt Lake City at the age of 86 and
tonight marks
mark s the beginning of a funeral
funeral that will last three days.
From all of us at KSL Eye Witness news, Have a good night. night.
From Bruce Lindsay, Dick Nourse, No urse, and DDuane
uane Cardall
238
238

TILL
TILL THE RESURRECTION
RESURRECTION RISES THEE

Grandfather,
Grandfather, we come to say goodbye
Saved by the hands stretched beneath the sky
Loving man, and holy patriarch
Through the veil,
veil , your soul must now depart.
depan.

Led by faith, you came across the sea

Heard the call and shirked your poverty
poveny
Gentle man of faith
fa ith and hope and love
Send thy spirit to the heavens above.
above .

Now we stand...at
stand ... at the veil
vei l
Father calls
call s you home
In our hearts
heans and in our minds
You'll
You ' ll never be alone.

0O,, lohani, may we vow thisthi s day

To remember how you lived li ved and prayed
Take our love and go unto thy peace
Till
T ill the resurrection rises
ri ses thee.

Lyrics: Teuila
Teui la Gerber Lavea Music: Kurt Bestor
 239

GRANDPA IOHANI
GRANDPAIOHANI

In every family,
fami ly, an angel is sent from above
To lift up the helpless and mend broken hearts with his
hi s love.
I know that Heaven
Heavenlyly Father surely cares for
fo r me
He sent an angel,
angel , Grandpa Iohani
lohani....

He lived
li ved his
hi s life simply, for riches he never did seek
But laid up hishi s treasures in heaven, where cometh
cometh the meek
few , if anyone could be
So selfless was he, few,
He was an angel, Grandpa lohani.[ohani .

I'll
I' ll praise the Lord for every day he was here
For all his laughter, stories, and tears.
tears .
His example call out to me, "Here's
"Here 's the way!"
"The Lord's way!"

All those who've gone before shall surely welcome thee

Our family's angel, Grandpa lohani
[ohani
Oh how I love you, Grandpa Iohani.
lohani.

Lyrics: Teui
Teuila
la Gerber Lavea Music:
M usic: Richard Marx
240

AND YOU HEARD HIS CALL

When 1I think
think of
of the
the greatest
greatest of
of men
men
My heart keeps turning to the memory of you
Kings and rulers and presidents
Never stood as tall, or brave, or true.

From the islands, oh so far away

Father called for you to come and obey
Leave your earthly
earthl y stores, bid farewell those Tongan shores
And you heard His call...and
calL and you gave your
yo ur all.

Never doubting of your faith in the Lord

You leaned on Him when you felt weary to stand
Trying to raise
rai se a house of one accord
The priesthood power was all you held in your hand
hand..

And you were never just too busy to care

To take my hand,
hand , so I'd know someone was there
Bring me to my knees, so the Lord could hear my
Illy plea
And you heard His call, and you gave your all.

In the temple, when I'm all alone

I will think of all the love that you've shown.
Listening ever clear, for I know the Lord is near
For you heard His call
call,, and you gave your all.
al l.

Lyrics: Teuila Gerber Lavea Music: Wynona Judd

 241
241

wALTER'S PROBLEMS
WALTER'S
By Tisilla
Tisina Gerber
Gerber (Approved
(Approved by
hy Walfer)
Walter)

ITEM 1: I: Problems September

Septem ber 1997
Salote's I11I 'h,h child)
Ii; has be~n
"tt has
-Pasepa's
been oneofthe
Pasepa s famI
one of the hardest trials
family.
trials that came
came upon
ly. They had a real rough time.
upon Walter
Walter (lohani
tIme . Their
(lohani and
and Salote's
TheIr oldest son Sa Salesi
child) and
les l left for college
and
col lege inIn

St.George, Utah. Utah . At school

school he met a lovely Samoan girl and married her. It was hard for his mother
Pasepa because aall ll these years, she wanted a big wedding for their oldest son son.. He was a very fine
young man.man . He went wer:t on a m mission.
ission. AAll
ll their ward, friends and family were expecting aa huge wedding
forr Sa
fo Sale,
le, but I guess Sale ddidn't idn 't want that so he quietly
qu ietly arranged their wedding and Pasepa was very
broken hearted and so disappointed
d isappointed over this.th is. But his
hi s in-laws were very happy to have Sale and their
daughter,
daug hter, now married, in their family fami ly and living in St.George. Walter wanted very much to visit
them, and a cho ice was given to him. If he chose to see or be with the newly
choice new ly wedded couple he would wou ld
be out
o ut of the house and that would be the end of his difficult
hi s marriage. So it was a very difficult time for all.
all .
A few months later the new couple had a premature baby. There were many problems with w ith
their
the ir new born, born , common
com mon to premature babies. Sale's wife was suffering suffering from sugar diabetes and
there was little hope for their new daughter to survive. The baby was flown flown to Primary Children's
Hospital
Hospi tal in Salt Lake City for special treatment. Walter's heart was torn between his families.
hi s fami lies. Later
this
thi s granddaughter passed away. Walter wanted to come for the funeral, but the choice was given him
forthe
was so difficult
difficult to go or save his hi s marriage,
man'iage, he didn't come. But yet in his heart he desperately wanted
to be there. Prayers were offered offered to the Lord on their behalf.
During
D uring that difficult
difficult time Walter hardly
hardl y had any sleep. I'm sure it was very hard on his hi s wife
also as he often worked at the Temple. He often went to the celestial room, room , searching for a way to
solve hi hiss problems without hurting the two parties. One evening as he entered the celestial room, he
bowed his hi s head and pleaded with the Lord why their very first granddaughter had been taken away so
early from her fami family.
ly. She was just here for a very few days. They didn't didn ' t even get to see or hold her
or hug oorr kiss k iss her. Why?
In just that few moments in his spiritual eyes he saw three young single lady missionaries
come into the celestial room. The one in the middle looked like a Polynesian girl girl with aa smile on her
face and beautiful long, black hair. Her eyes were looking straight at Walter. As they came ccloser, loser,
each of them had on their missionaiy missionary name tag. The one in the middle spoke to Walter and said, ''I'm "I'm
your granddaughter,
granddaughter, and Ijust I just had my call to to serve aa mission." As Walter reached out to hug and ki kiss
ss
her, he noticed on her name tag, Sister Wolfgramm. Wolfgramm . Walter immediately understood why their
granddaughter left the family so early. The only reason she was sent here was to get a body of of flesh
and bones and she was soon called back to serve her mission on the other side.
I hope and pray that the Lord's hands will continue to bless our fami families difficulties
lies during our difficulties
and trials
tri als at this time, so we may continue to serve him, him , forgive one another, and prepare to live with wi th
oour
ur Heavenly
Heavenl y Father soon, is my testimony Illeave leave with you, in the name of Jesus C Christ, Amen..
hri st, Amen
242

ITEM II: iJ: Exhausted Traveler September 1997

All the children of lohani Iohani and Salote were called to spend a few days with Iohani lohani before he
passed on. So everyone was here. My father was very happy to see and talk with all the famil familyy
including all his hi s grandchildren and great grandchildren.
From his hi s sick bed he called out to Salote to come, his eyes were looking up and it seemed to
us that he was reading something from above. He said to Salote, ""Oh Oh yes, I can see one name; no 20
names; no 150 names; no 200 names; and he kept on counting until he said there are I1,000 ,000 names
wa iting at the Salt Lake Temple to be done. It would be nice if you could do that for me before I die.
waiting
So all those who held temple templ e recommends left that same moming morning including Salote. They did bapti baptisms
sms
for
fo r the dead. By the time
ti me they got through they had done a thousand names before lohani
Iohani passed away.
away.
Walter flewfl ew to California
Califomia to drive hi
his s family back to Salt Lake City. While he was busy getting
everything
eve rything ready, my sister Malina called him up to drive to another place to pick up some Tongan
mats for the funeral. Walter was so weary, tired and wom worn out with hardly any time to rest or sleep
while he was in Salt Lake City, Ci ty, but he still managed to drive. On his way to pick up the Tongan mats
he kept falling
falling asleep
as leep at the wheel.
whee l. He was exhausted but kept pushing himself. Walter said he had
no idea where he was and was awakened when he heard a voice sayi saying
ng to him, "Ualeta,
him , "Ual eta, Ualeta". It
lohani's
was lohani ' s voice saying to him, "Wake up. Watch your driving, it is not time for you to die yet."
As Walter looked out, his hi s car was almost to the edge of a cliff. If he hadn'thadn 't heard Iohani
lohani's
's voice, his
life would
wou ld have been lost too.
But Walter continued
cont inued on. on . He said after he swayed his hi s car back to the road he tumed
turned his
hi s head
back and he saw his father lohani Iohani sitting inside the back seat ofthe
of the car. He smiled at him and in a very
short time vanished.
Walter is quoted as saying: "It is my testimony to you, that I know that God the Father, and
Jesus Christ lives, his hi s gospel is true. We do believe in miracles and power of of the priesthood. We
believe in angels that are sent to help when we are in deep trouble. Iohani lohani was sent as my ever loving
angel
ange l to protect my life. li fe. I thank God for my special angel. angel.""

MIGHTY MIRACLE OF HEALING

By risillG
Tisina Wolfgramm Gerber

B etween the months of JJuly

<
1
1life.
life. IIbecame
became very
very 111,
ill,coughing,
andAugust
ul y 1 and August 19,
coughing, throwing
19,.1998
throwing up,
1998 were
were some
up,headache,
someof
headache,sometimes
ofthe hardest times
the hardest
sometimes with
with fever
times of
fever and
of my
my
andaapain
pain
on the right side of my stomach that didn't seem to leave. I was was completely incapacitated for six weeks
before improving enough to funct function again,
ion again , but the pain has never completely left me.me .
I went to see the Doctor, and even took some X-rays and othertests other tests at the hospital,
hospital , but co
couldn't
ul dn't
find out my problem.
prob lem . They gave me some medications. My headache got worse and I found I was
allergic
al lergic so I threw the medication
med ication away. Memories of of my father
father's faith-promoting
's fai th-promoting stories came into
my mind as to what to do.
 243

My husband had to leave for the Salt Lake Temple where he works at the recommend desk to
meet those who come early each moming. morning. I awoke early one Wednesday moming morning about 3:00 a.m.
callll for my husband to come and give me a priesthood blessing,
I tried to ca bless ing, but I was too late. Roy had
already left for the temple.
temple . I tried to get up, but was too weak. So a thought came to my mind, mind , why
not call on lohani
Iohan i for help. He is my father, father, I have been sea sealed
led to him. He sti stillll has the priesthood.
When we need his hi s he lp, all we have to do is ask our Heavenly
help, Heaven ly Father if he would
wou ld allow him to come
and help us in time of our need. At this thi s time Iohunj
lohani had been gone alm ost a year. I knew without a
almost
doubt in my mind that if you have fa ith in God, nothing can stop you if you humbl
faith humblee yourself
yourself before
Lord,, and pour out you
the Lord yourr heart to him,
him , he will give answers to our prayers.
On bended knees, I went to the Lord, with deep humility and a deep love for my Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ my Savior. I thanked him and expressed my gratitude for all my many
wonderful blessings. I thanked him for his hi s gospel, al also
so their endless love for us. I told the Lord how
grateful I was caring for fo r lohani
Iohani at my home (a few weekends so Salote might have a break) while he
was suffering
suffering from cancer. So great was Iohani lohani's faith
's fa ith in the Lord Jesus ChriChrist angels
st that ange minister
ls did min ister
unto my father daily.
I know thi thiss was
was not an an altogether unllsual
unusual occurrence
occurrence among
among our Polynesian fami families, especially
lies, especially
to lohani.
Iohani . I asked the Lord, if he would be kind enough to allow my father to come and lay his hi s hands
on my head to restore my health again again,, so I would be able to fin finish
ish writing his
hi s life
li fe history.
hi story. I cried
cri ed to
the Lord for almost three hours until 6:00 a.m., and finally said "Amen. "Amen."" I soon fell asleep on my bed.
The first thing
th ing I saw in a dream
dream,, the heavens were opened and I beheld the voice of a great
number of angels. I saw the heavens were unveiled and a thick white wh ite cloud appeared. Great bright
lights
li gh ts surrounded this clo cloud.
ud . I had never seen anything so beautiful, beautifu l, and shining like crystall
li ke a crysta
diamond.. My spirit was carried away in this dream and I was taken out to the middle of a large open
diamond
field and I was lying lyi ng there very sick.
I saw the thick white cloud slowly coming down toward me where I was sitting. sitting. I saw a man
dressed in hishi s missionaiy
missionary suit come out. I didn didn't't look at hihiss face, but in my mind I wanted to look at
his missionary
hi s mi ssionary name tag first to see who was that special missionaiy. missionary. To my great surpri surprise,
se, as I
looked up it was my father coming toward me with two open arms and gave me a big bi g hug and kiss.
He said
said,, "T
"Tisina,
isina, through your faith, the Lord and angels have heard your prayers and the Lord has
healed you."
you ." Just
J ust as he said that to me I saw another missionary mi ss ionary come out from the white cloud cloud.. 1I
immediately recognized
recogni zed his hi s missionary
mi ss ionary name tag and the face was my uncl unclee Samuela Fakatou who
came along with my father to bless and to restore my health. health . I was so excited. My so soul ul was fill
filled
ed
with great jjoy
oy and happiness.
They both hugged
hu gged and kissed me. They told me of how much they loved me and I said to my
father, "What are those great bright lights
li ghts that shine like crystals or diamonds
diamonds.. They are so beautifu
beautifull
and I have never seen anything like that in my entire life? Can yo youu explain?"
lohani said,, "Yes. You are mine. You are a member of the Latter-day Saints.
Iohani said Saints. You have
faith in God who lives and dwells in the heavens, and you have asked God many times for things and
you have received them. You know he can hear and give you answers. His angels watch over you,
you,, and administer to your wants in the holy calling unto which they are appointe.d
guide you appointed.. Your mind
including YOUl'
your eyes have witnessed the power of ofthe
the holy priesthood and glory, honor, immortality and
244
244

etemal
eternal life
lifeand
andbecause
becauseof ofyour
yourfaith
fa ith Christ
Christhashasshown
shownyou youthis
thisglory
gloryandand light.
light. After
Afterlohani
lohani explained
explained
these
these things
things to to me,
me, itit seemed
seemed toto me
methey
theywere
were in in aahurry.
hurry. They
They again
again hugged
hugged me me andand went
went back
back where
where
the
the thick
thick white
white cloud
cloud rested
rested with
with all
all the
the glorious
glorious lights.
li ghts.
My
My spirit
spirit was
was back
back and
and IJwoke
woke up up and
and stood
stood right
right up
up and
and began
began toto walk,
walk,exercising
exercising my my hands,
hands,
head,
head , arms
arms andand legs.
legs. Everything
Everything was was fine,
fine, all
all mymy sickness
sickness had had left
left me.
me. 1I fefeltlt 100 percent better.
better.
ItIt was
was aa testimony
testimony to to me
me toto know
know ifif wewe areare subject
subject toto Jesus
Jesus Christ
Christ and
and GodGod thethe Father,
Father, he
he will
will
ever
ever continue
continue to to bless
bless our
our lives.
lives . We
We areare also
also told
told that
that angels
angels and
and ministering
ministering spirits
sp irits will
will bless
bless those
those
who
who shall
shall become
become heirs
heirs ofof salvation.
salvation . II know
know thatthat through
through the the priesthood
priesthood of of mymy father
father and
and my
my uncle
uncle
Samuela
Samue la Fakatou
Fakatou that
that II was
was blessed
blessed to to recover
recover my my health.
health.lI will ever be grateful
grateful to our Heavenly Father
and
and Jesus
Jesus Christ
Chri st who
who created
created me
me and
and you.
you.

* :;: * ::: ::: * * ::: *

iii ^ H' * 3 ' H< H* • ^
 245

• : . • • • • • • • . .

IOHANI'S BURIAL
SCENE AT lOHANI'S
Tiana Henderson, Marlene Henderson (eldest daughter), Salote
Back row: Tiana
Wolfgramm (wife), Esca Henderson, Raymond Henderson,
Wolfgramm
Pat Henderson
Pat
Front row: Selu Wolfgramm,
Front Wolfgramm, Sale Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm (eldest son),
Miss Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm
246
 (Source of Materia
BIBLIOGRAPHY: (Source Material)
l)

Ancient lsrael
Anciel1l Israel Pedigrees told by Pres.
Pres. Anthony WW.. Ivin
Ivinss
Herman Wolfgramm
Autobiography written by Ludwig Christian Helman Wolfgramm
Bible
Mormon
Book of Mormon
lohanii and Salole
Casette tapes recorded by Iohan Salote Wolfgramm
Wolfgramm
Family
Fami ly Records
Israel in the Pacific by William A. Cole and
and Elwin W.
W. Jensen
Personal knowledge
Thee Tongan Chronicle, Dec.
Th Dec. 331,
1, 1975 Th
Thee Founder, How he Started written by Charles Sanft
Sanft
Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine,
Ma gazine, Vol.23,
Vo1.23, pp 6-8