SACRED GEOPOLITICS: LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN GERMAN SAMOA DURING NEW ZEALAND’S INVASION

Authors

Dylan Michael Beatty, East-West Center, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Abstract

This article traces the connections in German Samoa between missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), Samoan Latter-Day Saints, and the colonial regimes in Samoa, 1900–1920. Latter-Day Saint missionaries largely omitted remarkable geopolitical events, such as New Zealand’s invasion and a devastating influenza epidemic, from news reports written for audiences in the United States.

The underlying cause for this silence was reterritorializations in Utah and Samoa. By the 1890s, the church in general began adapting to American norms in recognition of the federal government’s sovereignty in Utah. By the turn of the century, Samoa was annexed by Germany and America. The LDS Samoan Mission became adept at navigating the local political geographies, illustrated by greater discursive discipline. Furthermore, the mission decreased its usage of Lamanite to describe Pacific Islanders. This article expands scholarship of Mormon history, Colonial Samoa history, and the geopolitics of religion.

Recommended Citation

Beatty, Dylan Michael (2019) "SACRED GEOPOLITICS: LATTER-DAY SAINTS IN GERMAN SAMOA DURING NEW ZEALAND’S INVASION," Pacific Studies Journal: Vol. 42: No. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcollections.byuh.edu/pacific-studies-journal/vol42/iss1/2