Progress and Developments of the Churches in the Samoan Islands: Early 21St Century

By Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto

If you’re interested in Church-related events on the American Samoan islands during the early twenty-first century, then you need this book.

Following up on his first book on the history of the Assemblies of God Church in American Samoa, author Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto delves deeper into church life on these South Pacific islands.

Geared for Bible college students, pastors, and researchers, he answers questions such as:

• What role has Christianity played in the lives of most Samoans?
• What notable changes have recently occurred within American Samoa’s churches?
• What is the financial condition of various churches?
• What role does politics play in church life?

While there is ample literature on the history and developments of churches in American Samoa and the Pacific from the late 1800s to the 1980s, there are not nearly as many resources updating the world on new church developments. This book fills that void.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: May 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781489735867

Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto

Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto published his first book in 2011 on the history of the Assembly of God Church in American Samoa. With more than sixty years of experience as a member of the LMS, CCCS, and AOG churches, serving in various capacities, his critiques are valuable to everyone. He earned a Master of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health as well as various certificates from various schools including Harvard and M.I.T. He also worked as a Consultant for U.S. Federal Government programs for about 10 years.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Fuimaono Fini Aitaoto.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

LifeRich Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.liferichpublishing.com

844-686-9607

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3585-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3584-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3586-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021909253

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 05/25/2021

CONTENTS

36321.png

Acknowledgement

Dedication

Preface

Introduction

Notable Changes and Developments within the Churches

Samoan Culture and the Churches

The Main Churches That Were Active During This Period

Samoa Council of Churches (SCC)

World Council of Churches (WCC)

National Council of Women of Samoa

Special Days and Celebrations

Ministries and Related Organizations Serving the Samoan Islands

Crusades and Public Conferences

Church Media

A Concise History of the Major Churches

Church Legal Issues

Regular Church Meetings

Church Traditions and Current Observations

Notable Church Leaders Who Passed Away During This Period

Notable Church Leaders of the Major Churches During This Period

Church-owned Schools and Religious Studies

Denominational Developments and Related Activities

Church Related Statistics

Controversial Issues and Contemporary Perspectives

My Commentaries with a Samoan Twist

Debate with the Atheist

Epilogue

God’s Touch

Conclusion

Bibliography

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

32901.png

This book owes its existence to several people: Mr. and Mrs. Lalagofaatasi Sanonu and Rev. Lauama Fonotaga for verifying Bible verses. Finiana Nanz Fini, Array S. and JohNya A. Saiho Levaomana for the various translations and the poems. Auimatagi Gideon F. for his related research, Alieta A. Ahuna and Dr. Nia Aitaoto for the financial support; Rev. Roseti Faamausili for providing the old LMS hymns’ lyrics. Finally, my special appreciation for my congregation, AOG Mother Church Assembly of God Church of Pago Pago.

DEDICATION

32903.png

This book is dedicated to the two people who inspired me throughout my life. My father, the late Reverend Aitaoto Seiuli Fuimaono and my uncle, Tagaileono Liva Seiuli Fuimaono. Reverend Aitaoto Seiuli served as Print Shop Manager for the Malua Printing Press; LMS/CCCS Treasurer; LMS missionary to Papua Niu Guinea; pastor for the Vailima LMS church, Tau Manua LMS church and the Lufilufi LMS church. He was the writer/publisher of the Anoama’a district’s church newspaper O si au Pa’aga Lelei and former Translator for the American Samoa Legislature (Fono). Uncle Liva, is a well-known musician (Molimoto Group) and his performances can still be viewed on the KVZK TV re-runs of old national cultural performances. He was a reputable newspaper personality (the original Fealualua’i); was a close friend of the late Governor Tauese Sunia and caretaker of our family’s history and lands at Malie. The first color edition of the Samoa Times (January 14, 1994), was dedicated to uncle Liva and was referred to by the Samoa Times Editor (National University of Samoa, NUS instructor Dr. Felise Va’a) as a Giant in his indigenous style of storytelling and living legend in journalism. Liva was a former Secretary to both the Minister for the Post Office and later Minister of Education, in Samoa. Thank you, guys, this one is for you.

PREFACE

32906.png

My interest in writing about religious issues derives from the two people whom this book is dedicated to. My father, Reverend Aitaoto Seiuli Fuimaono, and my uncle Tagaileono Liva Seiuli Fuimaono. After writing my first book – translated: "The History of the Assemblies of God Church in American Samoa (2012. WestBow Press), I realized that I still had ample underutilized capacity and yearning for compiling church-related activities and facts. Furthermore, church related issues continue to intrigue (but more often bother) me as I struggle to understand the various obscure religious doctrines that the different denominations continuously disseminate; confusing the indigenous residents and sometimes contradicting their own actions and beliefs. In 2010, during a weekend discussion with a foreign Jehovah’s Witness member, he asked me about the different doctrines and beliefs of the various local churches; flapdoodles bombarding mostly the undecided. My reply was that the variety of beliefs and doctrines have confused me. Well said" he replied. Maybe this confusion and my inability to personally resolve religious ideas to my own satisfaction partially drove me to write this second book. Moving from perplexity to utilizing a tidy array of important church events may prove to be a good start to my approach to satisfy my uncertainty but most importantly, to assist students studying at Bible Colleges and Seminaries in writing their thesis and dissertations. There is ample literature on the history and developments of churches in Samoa and the Pacific from the late 1800s to the 1980s, available from various sources, but there is a lack of an update on relatively new church developments, issues and activities during the beginning of the 21st. century. This book should help fill that void. The main objective of this book however, is to provide a source of information to assist students in Bible Colleges, Seminaries and Universities with their thesis and dissertations.

INTRODUCTION

32908.png

The Samoan Islands consists of a chain of thirteen Pacific islands, nine of which are inhabited plus two remote atolls, and is located 14 degrees south of the equator near the International Dateline. The islands are divided into two political entities, the Independent State of Samoa and the neighboring United States territory of American Samoa. Independent Samoa’s land area (1132 mi²) is approximately fifteen times larger than the land area of American Samoa. American Samoa consists of five high-volcanic islands (Tutuila, Aunu’u, Ofu, Olosega, and Ta’u) and two atolls (Rose Atoll and Swains Island) with most (96 percent) of the population living on Tutuila. This is the southernmost territory of the United States of America, and its population in 2019 was about 60,000. Upolu, Savai’i, Manono, and Apolima are the main islands of Independent Samoa with a population about three times that of American Samoa. The Polynesians (not a European sailor) discovered the Samoan Islands and settled in about 3,000 years ago. A very recent (2020) study by the Waikato and Berkley University researchers at Ofu Island, American Samoa, suggested that the Samoan Islands may have been settled 500 years earlier than initially estimated. Until 1997 the western Islands were known as Samoa I Sisifo, or Western Samoa, to distinguish them from the neighboring group known as Amerika Samoa, or American Samoa. The climate is humid, hot, and rainy year-round.

When members of the London Missionary Society (LMS) arrived in Samoa in 1830, led by John Williams, the then king of the Samoan Islands, King Malietoa, was still practicing cannibalism. Malietoa’s eventual conversion to Christianity facilitated the spreading of Christianity throughout the island chain, and the rest is history. The indelible mark left by the introduction of Christianity on the Samoan Islands considerably reshaped the Samoan culture in a way that saw the inclusion of church-related mentions in cultural salutations and the performance of traditional activities. This was no coincidence. The famous female oracle Nafanua had prophesied to King Malietoa that he should await a new adjunct for his worldly kingdom that will be from heaven, and she was spot-on. When England’s national poet William Shakespeare wrote, Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more, he didn’t realize that millions of people around the world and especially the natives of the Samoan Islands would continue to hear about Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years after he left the world stage.

Continuous developments and related church activities are important events that often mirror the progress or decline of the various churches in the Samoan Islands. The past century had seen Samoans gradually liberating themselves from many of their cultural practices deemed barbaric by Western religion standards. Since the late 1800s, religion has been the most influential element impacting the Samoan culture and the general way of life, the fa’a-Samoa. Generally, religion had provided a few negative local mishaps but mostly positive effects. Some families were banned from some villages for joining new church denominations, while several community conflicts were resolved through the intervention of the clergy.

Meanwhile, overseas, several Middle Eastern countries were invaded by the Islamic State (ISIS), which added fuel to the continuous fighting between various factions of Muslim groups. The varying interpretation of Islamic doctrines was the basis for each group’s strive to influence others and their fight for dominance, causing unrest in these parts of the world. A suite of factors including varying ideologies regarding Islam, the significant impact of high illiteracy, struggling economies, and the oppression by foreign countries all contributed to the destabilization of Middle East countries during this period. Islam seemed to have a negative impact on that region but relatively less so in the Samoan Islands.

The fact remains, however, that Christianity will always be a significant factor in the lives of most Samoans, and therefore, it is a paradigm that reflects the general well-being of a people, be it a positive impact or a negative influence. In the Letters to a Young Contrarian the author wrote, I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that influences of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful.

Providing an updated record of church events and related issues in this reference will facilitate the preparation of course papers and research by students of religious studies. With pilar hair removed, pertinent materials can be quickly extracted from this almanac-style record. The book covers significant events and issues that were important to the public and the churches during the beginning of the twenty-first century, in both Independent Samoa and the American Samoa group of islands.

A spice of the local churches’ history and a few peeks into related issues occurring overseas are also included. This would hopefully provide a proper local and universal context of the events mentioned. An attempt was made to include information on as wide a number of denominations and topics as the resources and time could support. Unfortunately, new information continues to emerge, and several new events occured during this period that the author might have failed to track and mention in this book.

The author also attempted to provide broad perspectives, personal experiences, and short objective critiques that should mirror the perceptions and circumstances during this period, hoping the readers would then understand the information provided in proper context and association. This is important. For example, if a confused patient comes out of surgery and hears a nurse talking about a theater, then the patient should assume that she or he is very likely in New Zealand and not in American Samoa where ward is used to refer to surgical rooms. Hopefully there will be more indigenous writers who write on church-related events and issues and don’t rely on foreign writers (like Margaret Mead) who misinterpret information and, consequently, portray superficial, inaccurate, and hollow conclusions about our people. With a smirk on his face, a Samoan chief who was present during Margaret Mead’s investigation in the Manu’a Islands conveyed to my late-friend Chief Lauvao that the chiefs who were assisting with Mead’s surveys had instructed the girls of the village to be nice to Mead and try to give her pleasing answers. In his book, The faithful Hoaxing of Margaret Mead, anthropologist Derek Freeman argued that two of Mead’s informants had lied to Mead, and consequently, false conclusions were deduced for her book. Infantile pro-Mead works like Galileo’s Middle Finger and The Trashing of Margaret Mead: Anatomy of an Anthropological Controversy later used the same erroneous data for their arguments and analyses. Margaret Mead’s book The Coming of Age in Samoa: A physiological Study of the Primitive Youth for the Western Civilization was first published in 1928. Freeman later published Margaret Mead and Samoa: The Making and Unmaking of an Anthropological Myth in which he challenged all of Mead’s findings. Margaret Mead’s book portrayed young Samoans in the late 1920s as natives who enjoyed causal premarital sex with little jealousy and guilt before settling down to start a family. During a conference in Hawaii, with at least four social science professors participating, I calmly repudiated Mead’s findings during one of my presentations while working as a consultant for the US federal Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council, around 2010. It was rewarding when one of the professors said, Now we understand and we have heard directly from a Samoan Chief.

Some short personal homilies are included as insights or comic relief. In the future, this book would hopefully be an invaluable historical tool for the church community in the Navigator Islands¹ but also for Bible colleges and university students overseas. This record should lessen the time spent by students and researchers in acquiring supporting sources, references, perceptions, and related church decisions that occurred during the first two decades of the twenty-first century in the Samoan Islands and allow for more time spent in the prudent interpretation and examination of the Bible.

Readers will find the style and layout of this book very unconventional. A few historical notes, personal perspectives, a couple of poems, lyrics, but mostly facts and related issues on church activities are interweaved into the narrative. Included are a few comments from members of the clergy that provide the readers with privileged perspectives. The words this period appear many times in this text, and they refer to the early part of the twenty-first century. The inclusion of a short email debate with world-renowned atheist Dan Barker should elevate the status of this work. This approach and style should ensure that a true, inclusive, and comprehensive reflection of the churches operating in the Samoan Islands during this period are correctly registered and portrayed. All the activities and church developments mentioned in this book were not happenstances; they were building blocks of the Samoan Islands’ destiny.

NOTABLE CHANGES AND DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE CHURCHES

32848.png

As religious bewilderment and perplexity increased toward the end of the twentieth century, which could have been the end of the world according to some preachers, several Samoan pastors advocated their personal beliefs that the end of the world would arrive at midnight on the last day of December 1999. A few Pentecostal church pastors should have checked their related preachings regarding this change to a new century to prevent embarrassing fallouts that followed. The leaders of the Congregational Christian Church in Samoa² (CCCS/EFKS) and the local Assembly of God³ (AOG) commented publicly not to take these false views seriously and to just brush them aside. The predicted hour of the alleged end of the world came and went without fanfare in the island community. A series of similar false campaigns by Harold Camping and several others followed thereafter. In the end, there were no public apologies from those who preached the false prediction of the end of the world and some of the Samoan false prophets including some Pentecostal church pastors, are continuing to teach and preach the Word of God locally and abroad, to this day. They should apologize to the community then continue with their ministry, if not, step aside. A simple apology would be nice. The Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) made similar predictions related to the second coming of Jesus in the past and they turned out to be false. During this period, a very smart and knowledgeable SDA preacher commented on television that the old guys made a mistake but we should move forward. That was a very honorable and appropriate admission and has made this author look up to that trendy SDA preacher. Local Pentecostal pastors who made similar predictions should do the same, unfortunately they never have, and judging from their characters and attitudes, never will. The Word of God is never incorrect but humans are always wrong. Admission of wrong and repenting is admirable and certain Samoan pastors should try it sometime.

A related emergency ominous alert message predicting the end of the world was also flashed across television screens of Spectrum Cable and Cox Communications in September 2017 in Orange County US. Many conspiracy theorists and doom-mongers exist in overseas countries during this period. These include predictions for October 7, 2015 by the Philadelphia-based Christian website eBible; the September 27, 2015 by a Mormon author Julie Rowes; April 2014 – John Hagee predicted that an upcoming blood moon would mark a world shaking event that would kick off the beginning of an End Times Prophecy; December 21, 2012 according to the ancient Mayans calendar; August/September 2011 by some theorists that a rogue planet called Nibiru would crash into Earth and that a small planet called Elenin, which would pass earth in 2011 was this planet.. Additionally, US Rev. Jerry Falwell suggested that the year 2000 would fulfill a Christian prophecy predicting the end of the world. When renowned televangelist Jimmy Swaggart said on national television that one of the activities that need to take place before Jesus returns is the re-building of a new Temple in Jerusalem, he didn’t realized that the current volatile situation in that area will definitely prohibit such a conspicuous and grievous undertaking and in observing the political trends in the Middle East, it may be that way for hundreds of years to come. His interpretation is therefore not practical nor realistic. The new Temple could well be the inner hearts of the believers, as generally emphasized by Jesus, and not a physical church building.

These theories are largely dismissed by wider Christian churches like those in the Samoan islands. IF JESUS HIMSELF DIDN’T KNOW EXACTLY WHEN HE WILL BE RETURNING, WHAT MADE THESE FATUOUS PEOPLE THINK THEY KNOW WHEN HE WILL RETURN ?. (No punt intended for the Bahai’s and others who advocated that Jesus has already returned). In the Samoan islands people who did made these types of predictions are mostly all members of radical offshoots from their main denominations. For example, a church group that existed on Tutuila who placed stickers on a few vehicles predicting the return of Jesus in 2019 faded away when the event didn’t happen. According to a few people interviewed for this book, friends and relatives of these false prophets would feel ashamed, but not the instigators. Past similar events have shown that these people would often conjure up new viewpoints and proceed with their agendas as if they had done nothing wrong after their predictions fail to occur and more often with no public apologies.

The field of computers was far ahead with their preparations for the prophesied end of the world at the end of the 20th.century. Government agencies (including a government data compilation and analysis section headed by this author); companies and organizations, anticipated the Y2K problem and made appropriate software modifications. The Y2K computer problem resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits. This problem was predicted to materialize and cause various major computer problems when the rollover from xx99 to xx00 arrived in January 1, 2000. The crossover was expected to cause date-related processing to operate incorrectly for dates on and after January 1, 2000. Without corrective actions, computer systems were envisaged to break down when the 98, 99, 00 … ascending numbering system would abruptly become invalid in 2000. Databases belonging to governments, industries and some churches would have been affected. However, most organizations, government and industries worldwide fixed, and upgraded their computer systems before the end of the century. Foretold government and business computer problems were very scarce and any local church databases affected were not reported or most probably not affected. In a related overseas development, three scientists in 2016 won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing the world’s smallest machines 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. Machines at the molecular level have taken chemistry to a new dimension and its applications are several years away. However, technology will and has assisted various facets of life including religion. The Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced the increase use of iPads by their missionaries and other related technological advances are facilitating evangelism around the world and in the Samoan islands. Increased religious television programs and the use of related social media has impacted these relatively remote islands. People seeking local churches to join or list their churches can also utilize the internet by examining websites such as http:/www.joinmychurch.com/churches/Samoa/1/ or http://across.co.nz/SamoanChurches.html.

As the world and local economies started their downturn around the beginning of the 21st. century, local church monetary contributions by church members of several denominations generally declined. This trend was noticed in several churches including the Samoa Methodist Church (MC) and Assembly of God (AOG) churches. The American Samoa Methodist synod faigame for 2013 saw a 10 percent drop compared to the 2012 donations. In American Samoa, the problem was exasperated by the closing of the VCS Samoa Packing cannery in 2009; one of the community’s top three employers. One of the attributes of some of the mainstream churches since the late 1800’s is the relatively significant monetary contributions by the indigenous population for their churches. For example, on December 7, 1899, Commander Ben F. Tiley, of the United States Navy, stationed in American Samoa, wrote: "a large number of natives are today holding a religious meeting for the purpose of raising funds to establish a school for native girls near Leone, Tutuila. … over $7,000.00 had already been contributed by the natives of these two islands. This is more than $1.00 per capita for the entire population. (Bryan 1926: pp. 128-129), and in terms of todays economny, was a very significant undertaking. The school that Commander Tilley mentioned was the London Missionary Society Atauloma Girls School in American Samoa (my mother and aunt attended this school). Substantial contributions to the churches by indigenous Samoans have been apparent since the late 1800’s and has continued to endure despite the general hardships of the local economy. The profound influence of the church within the Samoan culture is mirrored in the hefty contributions to the church. This issue is discussed in a later part of this book.

Members of an AOG church in American Samoa, during this period, complained to the AOG Executive Committee that their pastor was living a lavish, inconsiderate lifestyle while the congregation was struggling financially. The AOG Executive Committee in American Samoa agreed and relieved the pastor serving a Pago Pago harbor AOG church from his duties. Meanwhile overseas, Pope Francis suspended the free spending German Bishop Franz Peter Tebartz-van Elst -- known derisively as Bishop Deluxe or the Bishop of Bling and ordered him to vacate the Diocese of Limburg, at least temporarily. There were also complaints by United States parishioners during this period that some of the televangelists own two or more private jets while the common parishioners are trying to make ends meet. Investigative reporters later documented personal use of the televangelists jets for family vacations. It seems that the local churches at this period were waking up to the fact that church offerings were mainly from the low-income sector of the public and that the churches should accordingly and properly manage church funds.

The downward trend in church contributions and offerings however, started to reverse during this period. During the July 2016 Methodist Church Annual conference, it was announced that there was a substantial increase in offerings from its congregations. The total amount of the offerings was $15,400,000 from both American and independent Samoa and from overseas. This was an increase of one million tala as compared to previous years. The announcement was later confirmed by Rev. Apineru Laai. This upturn, despite the reality of general poor economic conditions during this period again reflected the ingrained resolve of the Samoans to stay true to God by contributing significant amounts of money to the church and maintaining their religious upbringing. Masses of Samoans who have emigrated to the United States, Australia, Hawaii, and New Zealand in the past fifty (50) years have maintained this determination. Even though these Samoan emigrants have made their permanent homes overseas, many of them continue to contribute to their local churches by sending substantial amounts of money to their families in the Samoan islands mainly for church contributions. Economic data from the government of Samoa usually show a very high percent of revenue from continuous remittances, usually making this the top revenue earner item for the country for many years. A classic example of church contributions is when the families of the new President of the Methodist Church came before the church to formally present the new president in August 2019. More than $200,000 in cash, hundreds of fine mats and other items were gifted to the church leaders and certain guests. The overall cost for this presentation including travel and other related expenses was nearly US$ 0.5 million, according to one parishioner.

The 2013 inauguration of American Samoa’s new Governor saw a Manua EFKAS pastor leading the inauguration ceremony. During the following reshuffling of the new administration, a Manu’a chief declined to take a top government post offered to him by the new administration, even though he was well qualified. He claimed that the salary was excessive in light of the minimum duties of the part-time position. This was partially a reflection of his high moral and ethical values that may have been a result of the influence of Christianity in the islands, according to his relatives, and also the personal integrity of this professional. The Chief passed away in late 2016. Several new projects and improvements were quickly made by the new administration and many people of Manu’a descent got top government positions⁴; and so, started the Manu’a Invasion, a phenomenon similar to the British Invasion of the United States by the famous British band, the Beatles in the 1960s. According to one local political scholar, an interesting characteristic of this invasion is the refusal of the administration to terminate leading employees who were part of their election campaign, and were acting unbecoming but simply re-assigning them. This was also the first time in the history of the American Samoa government that a member of the clergy held a full-time position in the Governor’s office. The importance of religious values was also underscored by the territory’s new administration in 2013 and was mirrored during the new governor’s speeches during several events like the Kananfou High School graduation ceremony in May 2013. This school is owned and operated by the Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS/EFKAS), the largest religious faith in this United States territory.

In 2011, as the clock struck midnight (10:00GMT) and as December 29, 2011 ended, independent Samoa fast-forwarded to December 31, missing out on December 30 completely. Samoa jumped to the other side of the International Dateline to align itself with its main trading partners, Australia and New Zealand. This change instigated significant conflicts within the Seventh Day Adventist Church. As a result, one SDA church in Samoa disallowed some of its members to utilize their church building as their members pondered on the appropriate day to worship. Their usual worship day, Saturday has now become Sunday and some of the SDA members were now worshiping on Sunday with other denominations. This is a very significant core issue for the SDA membership and its administration and decisions had to be made for the future of the church. This author emailed the prominent overseas SDA pastor Doug Bachelor for his perspective on this subject and his suggestion was that independent Samoa local SDA members should worship on Saturday to eliminate confusion. I agreed. Additional discussion on this topic is provided in a later section of this book. Also, about this time, some of the mainstream denominations (e.g. SDA in American Samoa) have started to breakup into independent factions.

The year 2012 marked a significant period of fifty (50) years since the name EFKS (Ekalesia Fa’apotopotaga Kerisiano Samoa/Congregational Christian Church in Samoa), has been in use in lieu of the former London Missionary Society (LMS) Samoa church.

It was also around this period that two sons of pastors of the former LMS church became the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa. Governor Tauese would sometimes sneak out the back of the Mauga O Alii official residence when the First Lady was asleep, walk down to the Rainmaker Hotel (about 200 yards away) and would sing a couple of oldies with our Band...fond memories.

During the July 2013 meeting of the AOG American Samoa district in Tafuna, the college principal suggested that AOG should start paying their Bible College instructors. The church superintendent was very disappointed and pointed out that the Bible college instructors traditionally offer their teaching services free, and he also asked the meeting participants: "where is the usual traditional sacrifice for the teaching of the Word of God?. The instructors he was referring to were the full-time pastors who were actively serving in village churches at that time. The younger generation of full-time AOG pastors in American Samoa may have changed their perspectives on the issue of serving God or a foul force was at work. But it may also be that the Bible College is moving to align itself with other church Bible colleges in the region where instructors get paid. Instructors of other churches’ Bible Colleges however are full-time professionals while some of the AOG American Samoa Bible College teachers during this period, were also full-time pastors at their respective village churches and were paid much more through tithes than the non-pastor Bible College instructors. New perspectives by the younger AOG pastors and some members have crept in and manifested itself in a profound announcement made by the AOG superintendent in the June 2014 AOG meeting where the Superintendent announced that AOG in American Samoa no longer has a Bible College; that four parishioners and eleven others have allegedly incorporated the Samoa Bible College under their own names without the knowledge nor the blessing of the church. The announcement situation was a perfect example of the saying you can hear a pin drop" as absolute silence fell over the Tafuna church hall when the announcement was made. Most of the meeting participants were stunned by the announcement and several participants whose names were in the new Articles of Incorporation asked the Executive Committee for forgiveness. One participant even got on his knees and asked the Executive Committee for forgiveness and indicated that he didn’t really understand what was going on. The AOG Executive Committee were also not aware of the incorporation of the Bible College. The Executive Committee had requested a copy of the new Articles of Incorporation a year earlier but the document was never provided. A few years earlier, the late AOG superintendent Max Haleck Jr. (Rev. Poe) had warned a pastor from his deathbed that AOG has already been infiltrated by evil forces and will manifest itself in a few years. Maybe this was the culmination of Rev. Haleck’s prophecy or it could be a necessary change that is overdue. The young and knowledgeable pastors may also have more pertinent and practical contributions for these contemporary non-religious processes and the church should tap into it.

During this period, it was believed that there were practicing Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus in Upolu, where one of the world’s seven Baha’i Houses of Worship is located.

The growing number of Tongan nationals in American Samoa was mirrored in the establishment of about four (4) Tongan denominations on Tutuila including the First Tongan Assemblies of God and the Free Church of Tonga. LDS holds services in Tongan on Tutuila. The territory’s Catholic Church also catered to other ethnic groups in the territory by providing masses in Filipino, Tongan and Korean. Services in Fijian were also practiced in Tafuna and other parts of the islands during this period. A First Chinese Baptist Church and a Korean Baptist Church were also active during this period on Tutuila. Bi-lingual services were also available on Upolu and Tutuila for example those held at the Holy Family Cathedral Parish church in Tafuna.

The Samoan islands’ two governments continued to recognized religious-based holidays including Easter, Good Friday, White Sunday (Monday after) and Christmas. The Baha’i Faith has its own set of holidays, described in a later section of this book. The local Catholic church commemorate certain days and religious periods throughout the year.

Up to this time there have been no significant recreational events on Sundays, as Sunday has traditionally been a day dedicated to attending church (except of course for the SDA members). The possible operations of casinos on Sundays in Samoa would have changed this, but some argued that it was not a problem since these activities were to be done inside hotels. A casino was later opened in independent Samoa towards the end of 2014. Independent Samoa’s constitution states that Samoa is founded on God (O Samoa e fa’avae i le Atua) and the American Samoa government’s motto asserts to put God first (Fa’amuamua le Atua). The two Samoas are widely perceived as Christian countries (refer to Samoa: A truly Religious Place, Views towards Religion in Samoa, Angelica Saada. S.I.T Samoa, Fall 2008). Every formal gathering starts with a prayer, including the start of every session of their legislative bodies. It would be next to impossible to change the normally quiet lay-back Sunday atmosphere in these islands. The use of public areas, however, did changed. For example, the Utulei Beach/Suigaula o le Pasefika, and the Lions Park in American Samoa, mainly by SDA members and others continue to increase. This taboo regarding Sundays was partially broken in Samoa in late 2016 when several pastors, churches, village communities and organizations lined the main road from Faleolo International Airport to welcome their new Samoan WBO Heavyweight Champion, Joseph Parker. Additionally, many students and members of the public participated in various performances during the Grand Opening ceremonies of the Pacific Games in 2019 which was held on a Sunday.

One of the significant reflections of how Christianity has been ingrained in the Samoan persona is the conspicuous image of the Divine Mercy watching over the Faleolo International Airport. The Divine Mercy is a Roman Catholic devotion to the merciful love of God and is due to Saint Mary Fautina Kowalska (1905-1938), whom the Lord revealed to and she recorded in her dairy the divine mercy of my soul. Maybe the dominant influence of the Prime Minister, who’s a devout Catholic, had something to do with the placement of this structure at the international airport.

Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints announced during this period that their missionaries will do less house-to-house proselytizing and increased the use of the internet to spread the gospel. The common image of Mormon missionaries has long been two young men wearing white shirts and ties walking through villages. That