�鶹��ý

In 1934 thirteen-year-old Emma Broederlow lay in bed gravely ill at her parents’ home in Apia, Sāmoa. Emma recalled that her mother, Valasi, was concerned that she would not live much longer after being bedridden and suffering for several months. Treatment from doctors had been ineffective, so she called the local branch president of the Church and asked him to fast and administer a blessing to her daughter.[1] Men from the branch came to their home, “all kneeling down, all holding hands, and they anointed me with oil, and they said . . . ‘I know the Lord will save you because there is work for you to perform.’ After they blessed me, they said the same thing again. In the night my mother dreamed of a medicine to cure me. I knew it wasn’t just a dream, that it was the answer, and in two weeks I was cured.”[2]

It would take over two decades after this incident for Emma to finally begin the work for which the Lord had miraculously preserved her: helping to establish a firm foundation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fiji. She served as the first Relief Society president for twenty-two years, tirelessly teaching, serving, and strengthening early Church members while raising her own young family. As a result of her faith and steadfast service, Emma Broederlow Lobendahn became a key pioneer in establishing the Church in Fiji whose legacy continues to positively impact the work today through her posterity. This paper maps the growth of the Church in Fiji through the lens of Emma’s contributions during the years that she served in Church leadership and suggests ways that her influence can still be felt in the Church in Fiji today.

Early Life and Relocation to Fiji

Emma was born on August 14, 1921, in Savai‘i, Western Sāmoa, to Peter Oscar Broederlow and Valasi Asomua. She was a sickly child, which culminated in a debilitating sickness that lasted throughout much of the year in 1934. After her miraculous healing because of that priesthood blessing and the faith of her mother, “she was never sickly again,”[3] remaining physically strong until her passing in 2020 at ninety-nine.

The fifth-born of thirteen children, Emma moved to Suva, Fiji, in 1943 at age twenty-two to live with her eldest brother, Oscar Broederlow, and his wife, Hilda Lobendahn. While in their home, she met and fell in love with Hilda’s brother, Henry “Harry” Lobendahn, and they were married in 1945. Over the next decade, Emma spent her time raising two sons, Brian and Elliott. In 1954 Emma and Harry welcomed a daughter, Irene, into their family. They would later have one more son, Alex, to complete their family. However, 1954 would be a pivotal year in Emma’s life with the arrival of the missionaries and establishment of the Church in Fiji.

Establishing the Church in Fiji, 1954

Mary Vea Ashley, left, with her daughters. Margaret, center, was the first person baptized in Fiji on January 23, 1954 at Laucala Bay Beach. Courtesy of Boyd Harris.

Fiji was assigned to the Samoan Mission in May 1954. Before that, it had been under the jurisdiction of the Tongan Mission (1924–53) and the New Zealand Mission (June 1953–May 1954). Despite being on the radar of the Church, no formal Church organization existed; during the year the New Zealand Mission administered to the islands, missionaries were sent to Fiji on short visits every three months to visit with the small number of members who had relocated to Fiji from other parts of Oceania and to administer any needed priesthood ordinances.[4]

During this time the first recorded baptism in Fiji took place at Laucala Beach Estate on January 23, 1954. Baptized was eleven-year-old Margaret Ashley, daughter of longtime member Mary Vea Ashley, who had moved to Suva from Tonga in 1924. Soon afterward, the first recorded meeting of members in Fiji took place on July 25, 1954, led by the only church elder living in Fiji at the time, Cecil B. Smith.[5] Several months after being assigned to the Samoan Mission, Fiji received its first formally assigned proselytizing missionaries.

Missionaries Boyd L. Harris and Sheldon L. Abbott arrived from Sāmoa on September 3, 1954, officially organizing the Church in Fiji two days later on September 5. In attendance at that first meeting was Emma Lobendahn, her sons Brian and Elliott, and her five-month-old daughter, Irene. Elder Harris recorded in his journal, “The 5th was Sunday and we held our first church meeting in Fiji, we had 13 in attendance. We had three member families then residing in Fiji, they were Brother Cecil Smith and his family, Sister Ashley and her two daughters and Sister Emma Lobendahn and her small children who were in attendance plus some of their friends. We had to administer to the sacrament, give the talks and teach the lessons.”[6]

Emma recalled her happiness at being able to once again attend the church of her childhood back in Sāmoa: “The meeting was wonderful. It felt good to be among members of the Church. I was happy. Something dear to my heart was finally happening. I was going to be able to renew my baptismal covenants with the Lord every Sunday during the blessing and passing of the sacrament. I was going to have the Church in my children’s lives. My daughter Irene was about 5 months old and she was given a blessing at this same meeting. According to records, she was the first baby to be blessed . . . in Fiji.”[7]

Cecil Smith and his family, part of the first congregation in Fiji, circa 1954–55. Courtesy of Boyd Harris.

Despite the success of that first meeting, the first year of the organized Church in Fiji presented a myriad of challenges for the missionaries, members, and Emma’s small family. Elder Harris recorded, “As the church was new in Fiji there was much administration responsibilities we had plus a lot of tracking. The only place we could hold church meetings was in a hall located in a rougher section of town. Before meetings we had to clean out the beer cans and cigarette butts. Most of the schools in Fiji were operated by the various religion organizations. They informed their members that if they listened to the Mormon missionaries their children would be kicked out of school.”[8] Emma was told by the Catholic-run school that her sons attended that she needed to stop taking her children to “the Mormon Church.” When she continued to attend church meetings with her children, the boys received punishment in the form of painful whacks on their knuckles at school by their teacher. With the help of Elders Harris and Abbott, she was able to transfer her sons to a nearby grammar school so that she could continue attending church without consequences for her children.[9]

Emma Lobendahn with her four children in front of the Suva chapel, left to right: Elliott, Emma, Irene, Alex, Brian. Courtesy of Irene Lesuma.

Leaders from other Christian denominations frequently harassed the missionaries, following them around the island and attempting to interrupt their lessons with others.[10] Emma struggled in her own home for a time because her husband Harry was a Catholic. He initially opposed church attendance and baptisms for their sons, citing a desire for them to be raised Catholic. In response, Emma sent the boys to mass in the mornings on Sunday and took them to sacrament meeting in the afternoons. She also fasted every weekend for his permission for them to be baptized until he eventually relented. While he was never baptized during his lifetime, Harry ultimately supported his wife and family in their church attendance and responsibilities until his passing in 1987. Emma recalled, “My three boys went on missions, and he supported them, and he supported me in my calling even though he wasn’t a member. He supported me after realizing that he can’t stop me from going to Church.”[11] The faith and resilience of the missionaries and early members during that first year set a pattern of persistence and hard work that would help the Church to grow significantly over the next several decades.

Building the Church in Fiji, 1955–77

The next twenty years saw significant miracles and growth in the Church in Fiji, many of them involving Emma. In January 1955, President David O. McKay made an unexpected visit with the Saints. Hurricane damage to the Fiji port prevented President McKay’s boat from leaving for his intended destination of Tonga; as a result, what was meant to be a single-day stopover turned into several days in Suva. Elders Harris and Abbott happened to catch sight of President and Sister McKay as they were walking in downtown Suva during their delay, surprising them greatly. President McKay later said, “I was unaware that there were missionaries or members of the Church residing here in Suva.”[12] The missionaries invited the McKays to attend church on January 9, and Elder Harris recalls in his journal that President McKay pointed out that the meeting being held this day was very significant and of historical importance. . . . President McKay then said, “Surely the Lord has had a hand in changing our schedule so that we can be with you, the members of the church here on this island.” He further encouraged them to be good missionaries for the eyes of the people of this island will be upon them. He blessed them that peace might be in their hearts and in their homes with their families and urged them to work together to spread the gospel.[13]

Suva, Fiji, congregation during President David O. McKay's visit on January 9, 1955. Courtesy of Boyd Harris.

Property acquired by Elder Boyd Harris for the building of the Suva chapel, summer of 1955. Courtesy of Boyd Harris.

As one of the members present at this meeting, Emma took the Prophet’s counsel to heart and became a lifelong member missionary who played a role in helping many early members to be baptized. President McKay consulted closely with the elders during the rest of his visit, urging them to acquire land in Suva to construct a chapel so that the members of their small branch would have a place of their own to worship and to continue to grow in numbers. That summer, they were able to locate and purchase an appropriate parcel for ten thousand pounds. At the time, Elder Harris recalled that “the church was not registered in Fiji so it couldn’t own property; [mission] President [Howard B.] Stone and Elder Abbott were American citizens so they couldn’t own property. I was a Canadian citizen which made me a British subject there for [sic] the property was bought in my name and remained that way until I signed it over to the church in 1964.” Elder Harris attributes both incidents—President McKay’s unplanned visit and the ability to acquire land for a chapel—to the foresight of Samoan Mission president Howard B. Stone, who was prompted to send missionaries to Fiji earlier than planned and to make sure that one of them was a British subject.[14] Building permits were acquired in 1956 with the help of Elder Hugh B. Brown—also a Canadian—and a groundbreaking for the chapel was held in May 1956.[15]

As the branch continued to grow, Elders Harris and Abbott felt that it was time to organize a Relief Society for the women in Fiji. They were impressed to ask Emma to serve as the president, which she repeatedly declined, saying, “‘No, I’m sorry I cannot do that work because I don’t know very much about the Relief Society.’ So the second time they came again to me and said, ‘We fasted and prayed; still you come up.’ I still said, ‘No, I cannot do it.’ So the third time they said, ‘Sister Lobendahn, we’ve been fasting all this time, and your name always comes up in our prayer. We see you, your face is always there, and we know you’re the one.’”[16] After the elders’ third request, Emma recalled,

I knew that I had to do something different. I had to take my fears and worries to the Lord. When they told me that the Lord wanted me to be the Relief Society President, I felt different. A peaceful feeling came over me and my mind went back to a place and time in Samoa when I was a young girl who was very ill and thought that I would die. I fondly remembered the blessing that my Branch President gave me: “Emma is not going to die, the Lord has work for her to do.” I told Elder Harris and Elder Abbott that I would accept the calling and I wanted to serve to the best of my ability. Once I said “yes” followed by diligence and sacrifices, the Lord blessed me by helping me with good health and strength and above all with His spirit to do my best.[17]

Choosing faith over her fear and uncertainty, Emma finally understood why the Lord had preserved her life over twenty years before. Daughter Irene Lesuma said, “Even though [Emma] felt fear and personally unqualified to take on [her Relief Society] calling, her faith qualified her for the work. . . . My purpose in sharing [her] virtues and accomplishments is to emphasize the extraordinary transformation in my mother from being fearful and lacking confidence in her abilities, to someone who was an effective leader exercising faith, hope and charity with an eye single to the glory of God.”[18] The Fiji Relief Society was officially organized on October 9, 1955, with Emma serving as president alongside counselors Mary Vea Ashley and Nona Smith.[19] True to her pledge to do her best, Emma would continuously serve as Relief Society president for the next twenty-three years until 1977.

Emma embraced her role in her new calling, expending considerable time and talents to strengthening Church members in their testimonies and in their homes. A talented homemaker well known for her cooking and sewing ability, Emma taught women in the branch how to make food, clothing, and handicrafts, then organized bazaars for them to sell their goods to support their families.[20] Ami Petero recalls, “Whether it was at her home or church premises, we would flock there to learn cooking and sewing skills. Am so very grateful for the privilege and opportunities I was given to be around Aunty Emma and be mentored by her both in spiritual and temporal things.”[21] Irene Lesuma has stated that despite its significant demands on Emma’s time, her calling as Relief Society president blessed their family: “My mother was more efficient and received added capabilities, so that she could successfully multi-task at home and church to keep everything in proper balance.”[22]

Emma was a faithful leader, ensuring that there was always a welcoming space for sisters to attend at the branch. Irene recalls, “There were times I remember vividly just the two of us would be present for Relief Society meetings, where she would sing an opening hymn, say an opening prayer, read the lesson aloud to me, sing a closing hymn and say a closing prayer.”[23] Later, when the branch had grown in numbers to include more sisters, she continued to faithfully hold meetings that made everyone present feel welcomed and loved. Ami Petero remembers Emma’s time as Relief Society president fondly: “Through her loving care for us young mothers, we felt welcomed and loved in Relief Society. The lessons and activities were fun and uplifting. Young and old mingled well due to her leadership.”[24]

The Suva chapel was completed in 1958 and dedicated on May 4 by President McKay. Litia Vakarewakobau watched the construction of the chapel as a high school student, noting the “fresh white coral stones” quarried from the reef nearby to build the exterior walls. She was baptized in 1957 at the age of seventeen, just a few months before the building was dedicated.[25] The chapel was built to accommodate a church much larger than existed in Fiji at the time. Vakarewakobau explains, “President McKay’s faith in the future growth of the Church in Fiji dictated that the size of the chapel was almost that of a Stake Center rather than a small first chapel.”[26] Emma contributed significantly too. During the construction, the Church sent labor missionaries from her native Sāmoa to complete the structure. Throughout the three years it took to build the chapel, Emma cooked for them and washed and ironed their clothes,[27] taking special care to ensure that the food they ate was fresh: “I would always go there and cook and run down to the market and buy what other things the workers should have, like fish or meat, because most of their food was all canned stuff.”[28] Emma’s sacrifices to aid in the construction of the chapel by caring for its builders demonstrates her commitment to serve with diligence and sacrifice.

Emma, far left, with member missionaries in the Suva district. Courtesy of Irene Lesuma.

Emma actively participated in the work as a visiting teacher and as a member missionary, both made challenging due to the geographic, cultural, and linguistic landscape of Fiji. Living across an archipelago consisting of over three hundred islands with only a single branch based in Suva, the members in the early years were spread far and wide. Similarly, multiple languages and dialects made it difficult to teach the gospel in Fiji, especially without scriptures translated into those languages.[29] Emma was a faithful visiting teacher despite these challenges, including the challenge of balancing her calling with the responsibilities to her own young family at home. She took it upon herself to travel to the sisters in the branch and ministered to them in their own homes. The journey to reach some of the outer islands required her to leave home for days at a time, taking her still-young daughter Irene along as her visiting teaching companion.[30]

As a member missionary, she created opportunities to invite people to attend church meetings and activities. Ami Petero’s account of her introduction to the Church credits Emma with her conversion:

It was through one of her invitations to MIA that I had my first experience with one of the church activities. When we had the opening exercise that evening, when I heard the songs, the prayers and the activity planned, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper that the Church was true. I have not lost that feeling to this day. . . . When I met the man who became my husband, I realized that if our marriage was to work, we had to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We got married and after our daughter was born I got baptized. It is obvious that Aunty Emma’s love for the Savior that motivated her to invite us to become members.[31]

Emma Lobendahn, age ninety-five, faithfully attending sacrament meeting on August 14, 2016, in Santa Rosa, California. Courtesy of Jannifer Lesuma.

Emma witnessed several other important milestones in the growth of the Church in Fiji during her tenure as Relief Society president. In 1971 the Fiji Mission was established. Church membership had grown rapidly in its first two decades, from 33 members in 1955 to 438 in 1965. By 1975 the Church had grown to 2,808 members.[32] In addition to expanding missionary work across the country the establishment of the mission allowed Fiji to be the center of missionary work for many surrounding island nations. Fiji held its first area conference in 1976. The meeting was presided over by President Spencer W. Kimball, who declared Fiji an important location for the expansion of the Church into India because of its significant population of Indo-Fijian members.[33] That year also saw the dedication of the Fiji LDS Technical College, which was performed by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in July 1976. A secondary school built to help the rapidly growing church membership to strengthen their faith and combat economic hardships, LDS Tech would eventually become a special place for Emma, who lived with her daughter Irene’s family during her son-in-law Meli Lesuma’s tenure as the Church Educational System’s country director and principal of the school from 1996 to 2001. Many of her grandchildren attended the school and went on to serve full-time missions and attend Brigham Young University–Hawaii.

Emma’s dedicated service over the course of more than two decades left a lasting impression on many members in addition to laying the groundwork for exponential growth of the Church in Fiji in the following decades.

A Continued Legacy in Fiji

Emma's daughter Irene, Fiji temple matron, with her husband, temple president Meli Lesuma, January 14, 2023. Courtesy of Irene Lesuma.

After Emma’s release from her calling as Relief Society president in 1977, the Church continued to grow exponentially. By 1983 membership was high enough to support the establishment of the first stake in Fiji. It continued to grow despite increasing political unrest in the country, including a series of political and military coups. In 1985 membership was at 3,396 and rose to 10,792 over the next decade.[34] This exponential growth justified the construction of a temple in Fiji, which was dedicated in Suva on June 18, 2000, by President Gordon B. Hinkley. In the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley emphasized the blessing that it was for members to have a temple close by: “No longer will we have to travel far across the seas to do that work which Thou hast established as sacred and necessary for Thy Saints in this latter-day dispensation. Thou hast heard our prayers and hearkened to our entreaties that this blessing might come to us. How beautiful is Thy house, O Lord. How wonderful is the great plan of happiness for Thy children.”[35] Emma was thrilled at the opportunity to attend the temple, and attended regularly throughout her life until she was physically unable to continue. In 2004 members celebrated the fifty-year Golden Jubilee anniversary of the Church in Fiji. During the event, members honored Emma by featuring her story and legacy in a pamphlet published to commemorate the occasion.[36] Looking back on her time as Relief Society president during her later years of life, Emma said, “I feel I have done my part well to build up the kingdom of heaven.”[37]

Over the most recent two decades, growth in the Church has continued to rise exponentially. By 2019 membership grew to 21,000 with four stakes and fifty congregations.[38] Currently, membership is 23,458, and the number of congregations has risen to 52.[39] Since the organization of the Fiji Mission—since renamed the Fiji Suva Mission—and the dedication of the Suva Fiji Temple, Fiji has become a major hub in the Pacific for the work of salvation on both sides of the veil.

Emma Broederlow Lobendahn passed away on October 29, 2020, at age ninety-nine. Despite the decades that have passed since her time of active service, her influence on the growth of the Church and its members in Fiji continues to be felt today. Sister Ami Petero asserts,

Many members of the Church today do not know the details of Aunty Emma’s life as a true pioneer and how she impacted positively, the lives of many young people. . . . If there is anything that young and old members can glean from the life of this wonderful daughter of God is how she defended her faith by teaching and living the doctrines of the Church in its purity. She kept the commandments and diligently followed the Savior and invited all to come unto Christ. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father and our Redeemer for the life of Aunty Emma, who through her discipleship and diligence helped bring us to the Savior through baptism and a life of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[40]

Emma’s legacy also continues through the lives of her children and grandchildren, many of whom throughout the years have served throughout the Pacific as full-time missionaries, temple workers, and in local and stake levels of Church leadership. One notable example is the recent assignment of her daughter Irene as the Suva Fiji Temple matron alongside her husband, temple president Meli Lesuma.[41] Emma’s tireless efforts during the beginning decades of the establishment of the Church in Fiji built a foundation that members are still building upon today; her legacy also lives on through her posterity, who continue to labor in the same corner of the vineyard that she helped to establish.

Notes

[1] Debbie Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo: Women of Faith Speak,” in Pioneers in the Pacific, ed. Grant Underwood (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005), 69–80.

[2] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[3] Irene Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii: Stories of Faith, Hope, and Charity” (devotional, Brigham Young University–Hawaii, December 8, 2015).

[4] W. James Jacob and Meli U. Lesuma, “History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Fiji,” in Pioneers in the Pacific, ed. Grant Underwood (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005), 241–63.

[5] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[6] Boyd Harris, “A Hurricane and the Inspiration of the Mission President Made the Difference,” journal, 1954–55.

[7] “50 Years of Growth and Service: Fiji Islands,” in Fiji Golden Jubilee Celebrations Pamphlet (n.p., December 2004).

[8] Harris, “A Hurricane.”

[9] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[10] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[11] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[12] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[13] Harris, “A Hurricane.”

[14] Harris, “A Hurricane.”

[15] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[16] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[17] “50 Years of Growth and Service: Fiji Islands.”

[18] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii.”

[19] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[20] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii.”

[21] Ami Petero, email to Meli U. Lesuma, February 6 2023.

[22] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii.”

[23] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii.”

[24] Petero, email to Lesuma.

[25] Sarah Jane Weaver, “Pioneer Member Has Witnessed Church Growth in Fiji; Miracles Have Happened, She Says,” Church News, June 30, 2016.

[26] Weaver, “Pioneer Member.”

[27] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii”; Petero, email to Lesuma.

[28] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[29] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[30] Lesuma, “Building Zion at BYU–Hawaii.”

[31] Petero, email to Lesuma.

[32] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[33] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[34] Jacob and Lesuma, “History of The Church,” 241–63.

[35] Gordon B. Hinckley, “Suva Fiji Temple Dedicatory Prayer,” Suva Fiji Temple dedication, June 18, 2000.

[36] “50 Years of Growth and Service.”

[37] Hippolite-Wright et al., “‘Olelo,” 69–80.

[38] Riley M. Moffat and Fred E. Woods, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Islands of the Pacific,” in The Palgrave Handbook of Global Mormonism, ed. R. Gordon Shepherd, A. Gary Shepherd, and Ryan T. Cragun (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 431–53.

[39] “Fiji—Statistics and Church Facts,” https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.

[40] Petero, email to Lesuma.

[41] “Read about the New Suva Fiji Temple President and Matron,” Church News, October 27, 2022.