"Labor Missionaries, Part 2"

Historical Vignette

October 29, 2015 Edition

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Aloha ,

As we continue to prepare for the main celebration events for the 150th anniversary of the LDS Church in Laie, we feature below another installment in a series of stories about the rich history of our beloved town.

We encourage everyone to check out the schedule of upcoming celebration events on the Laie150.org website.

We express our appreciation to the Mormon Pacific Historical Society which has graciously authored these historical vignettes to help us remember and honor our wonderful heritage.

Labor Missionaries, Part 2

When David O. McKay visited Hawaii during a 3-year tour of the missions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world, he witnessed a flag-raising ceremony at the Laie Elementary School. He was then a member of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and was impressed by the mixture of races and ethnic groups united in learning. At that time he envisioned a school of higher learning in the community.

Elder McKay never forgot that impression and as early as 1949, committees were formed to examine the possibilities. A few years later when McKay became the president of the Church, he wasted little time in establishing a college in Laie. He asked that the school begin in temporary quarters (army barracks) while a permanent campus was built.

A Labor Missionary program was begun in Hawaii and men from around the Hawaiian Islands were called to serve. They reported like any other missionary to the mission home in Honolulu and were set apart by mission president, D. Arthur Haycock. Tom Kaleo of Hauula was the very first labor missionary in this era and altogether there were over 150. They worked, ate and lived together in a couple of old buildings where Pat's at Punaluu and Hanohano Hale are now. All but a handful have gone on to their reward in Heaven.

As early as 1947, Elder Matthew Cowley of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles began publicly sharing his vision of small villages or marae where Polynesian Saints could stay when they came to the temple in Laie. He had seen the small Samoan village a block from the temple built by the Fonoimoana family. His thoughts, together with the growing need for a place of employment for foreign students, convinced the Church to accept a proposal put forward by President Edward Clissold, Manager of Zion's Securities, to build the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Some of Laie's "second wave" of labor missionaries

Once again labor missionaries were called to serve (for more about the first group labor missionaries in Laie, please see our last newsletter). This time in addition to local young men, a number of men from New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga were called. Many of these men already had experience as labor missionaries in their own countries, building chapels and schools.

This "second wave" of labor missionaries accomplished much during the three years they labored under the general direction of supervisor Joseph Wilson. In addition to building the PCC, they greatly expanded the Temple complex, the Visitors' Center, built four new dormitories, several homes on Lanihuli Place, and a number of chapels around the islands, including the Laie Stake Center, and chapels in Waialua, Kalihi, and Hauula (Kai).

Former labor missionaries at a reunion in 2005

When the main structures were in place at PCC, cultural specialists from each island group were called on missions to see that the construction of the villages, and the teaching of cultural practices, was accurate and appropriately taught to the young students at the Church College of Hawaii. Many of these missionaries later became employees of the PCC.

Labor missionaries at PCC, early 1960s

Today we still find labor missionaries in our community. Some are working as service missionaries for PCC in various capacities: Gateway greeters, electricians, welders, seamstresses, safety officers, and Hawaii Mission Settlement organists, to mention just a few. Others work as educational missionaries at BYU-Hawaii teaching classes, tutoring, and counseling. Up until around the year 2000, labor missionaries contributed their unique knowledge and skills to the work of land management company, Hawaii Reserves, Inc.

Present-day Church service missionaries

For 150 years now, many have been blessed by lovely Laie. To this special community have gathered persecuted Saints, temple patrons, visitors, university students and . . . missionaries who have labored for our benefit, with "little in return" except for our gratitude, enduring memories, and the blessings of an all-knowing Heavenly Father.

- The Mormon Pacific Historical Society

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Mahalo,

The Envision Lā'ie Team

Envision Lā'ie represents a diverse group of residents and stakeholders of Ko'olau Loa working together to study Lā'ie and plan for its future possibilities, a future that protects quality of life and emphasizes the values of the people who live in the Ko'olau Loa region.
For more information, visit: www.envisionlaie.com