Aloha!
Behind this podium, I’m wearing a Tongan skirt or tupenu and over it the distinctive ta’ovala, a finely woven mat, which Tongans wear as a symbol of respect and modesty. I begin this morning with another Tongan tradition. It’s called Faka Tapu, which literally means “To make sacred.” Faka Tapu is a formal blessing that acknowledges God and those in attendance and recognizes the presiding authority.
'Oku ou fakatapu atu ki he Tu`'i o e Langi.
(I pay tribute to the King of Heaven)
Pea tapu mo Palesiteni Wheelwright mo hono hoa.
(And acknowledge the presence of President Wheelwright and his lovely wife)
Tapu mo e kau faiako mo e kau ngaue 'o e ako`anga mahu`inga ko`eni `a e `Eiki.
(I also pay my respect to members of the faculty and staff of this educational institution belonging to the Lord)
Pea tapu mo e fanau ako hono kotoa.
(I also pay tribute to the entire student body)
Pehe foki ki he kau `a`ahi kotoa pe `oku tau lonuku `i he malumalu `o e fale ni,
(And finally, all visitors who have graced us with their presence at this Devotional,)
Kae `ata, ke u fakahoko atu `a e fatongia lea ko`eni.
(I humbly seek the privilege to fulfill this sacred responsibility of speaking to you.)
The nod to my Tongan heritage in petitioning the Lord to make this meeting sacred can only happen with the Holy Ghost, and I ask you to join my prayers that His presence will make it so.
I appreciate my beautiful wife Keala for her kind introduction. Last month, we celebrated our 30th anniversary. She’s a proud Kahuku Red Raider, and bringing her to her hometown where she can eat a poke bowl at the Superette, a loko moko breakfast at Hukilau Café, and cocoa rice and bread from Jr Ah You’s Tita’s Grill is one of the ways I continue to court her affection and show her how much I love her.
I thank my nieces for their stirring rendition of a favorite Tongan hymn, written and composed by one of their noble ancestors. Should you ever find yourself among Tongans, LDS or not, ask them to sing "Folofola Mai a Sisu," then sit back and brace yourself. Girls, malo aupito.
I work in television, so I’m a visual person, and I thought you might want to see some of my work. Believe it or not, many Philadelphians actually know where Tonga is because I played football for the Eagles and because of the many stories over the years in which we’ve highlighted my homeland. Take a look:
[Sydney Olympics video]
Recently, I was promoted to anchor the news after 20 years in sports. It's a significant promotion because in a newsroom, sportscasters are typically relegated to the kid’s table while the more serious news journalists have a seat at the adult table. Here’s a sample:
[News video]
So, how did a Tongan boy born in Nuku’alofa, who grew up in TVA and attended Laie Elementary, end up anchoring news for NBC in the fourth TV market in the country? It’s as improbable as many of your stories – growing up in remote villages, yet finding your way here and perhaps even learning English as a second language. The fact that you’re here on this sacred campus is evidence that you have God’s favor.
Throughout my life, I have often felt the Lord's guiding hand on my shoulder as well as the whispers of my noble ancestors nudging me to do things I wouldn't have the confidence to do on my own. I suspect some of you have had similar experiences. I've found it wise to listen closely with my mind and heart and to feel the Lord's hand on my shoulder when faced with important decisions. Allow me to introduce you to a noble ancestor with whom I share much in common and whose voice I've often felt throughout my career.
The first Mormon missionaries who came to Tonga were Elders Brigham Smoot and Alva J. Butler, who arrived in Nuku'alofa on July 15, 1891. There were religious and political reasons beyond their control that resulted in their unsuccessful efforts, but suffice to say, in 1897, the First Presidency recommended missionary work closed in Tonga. A decade passed before the president of the Samoan Mission, Thomas A. Court, sailed to the Vava'u Group on March 19, 1907 to determine if it was suitable for missionaries but also to buy horses for the mission farm.
According to the book Unto the Islands of the Sea - A History of the Latter-day Saints in the Pacific by R. Lanier Britsch, "When President Court returned to Samoa, he reported that the prospects were ‘very bright’ and he intended to send elders there soon. ... President Court told ... missionaries that friends he made in Vava'u had asked the Church to send elders to open a school and preach the gospel. According to Ermel J. Morton's account of the Tongan Mission, the man who asked President Court to send missionaries to Vava'u was Iki Tupou Fulivai, harbor master" (434-435).
Here’s my great-grandfather Iki Tupou Fulivai, harbor master of Neiafu, Vava'u, which was one of the busiest and most beautiful harbors in the Pacific. Until recently, this was the only portrait of him that existed, probably taken in the late 1800s in Sydney, Australia because he was educated there. Iki was well traveled, working on ships that took him to China, Europe, and even to America - rare among Tongan men at that time. He especially loved the Orient, and as a little boy, I remember playing on his estate Esia, which I didn't realize until I was an adult is the Tongan transliteration for "Asia." Tonga was so remote that it was also rare for Tongans to wear Western clothing, but Iki is sporting exactly what was fashionable at the time in London, New York, and Philadelphia right down to the handlebar mustache. As the son of a nobleman, Iki and three of his peers were sent to Australia to study because the Tongan government hadn't yet established public schools. The other three boys grew homesick and returned to Tonga, but Iki stayed and learned to speak English, although he didn't complete his education - he simply dropped out to travel. Because he was fluent in English, the governor of Vava'u later appointed him harbor master, piloting the tow boat that brought large ships into Vava’u’s scenic Port-of-Refuge harbor.
Presumably, that's how Iki met President Court, whom he invited to stay in his home when he learned he was a minister looking to buy horses. The next morning, Iki took the mission president to a neighboring village and introduced him to a family friend who owned horses. President Court selected two plow horses for purchase. Iki later recalled that President Court produced a handkerchief in which he saw gold coins that he offered for the horses. But true to the Tongan custom of the day, the friend refused the money. President Court was so indebted that he asked Iki how his kindness could be repaid. Iki responded by asking President Court if he could send teachers to educate his children. According to family lore, President Court famously replied, "I will send you two teachers."
Two months after President Court returned to Samoa with his horses, he sent Elders William O. Facer and Heber J. McKay to Vava’u on June 13, 1907. They lived with Iki’s family, teaching all of his children to read and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. The youngest of Iki’s 14 children is my grandmother Toa'ila, who wouldn’t be born for another 13 years and is alive today at age 94.
Five years ago, I was thumbing through a copy of this BYU Studies booklet a friend had given me. My friend gave me this issue because the family of a former missionary to Tonga in the 1930’s, named Thomas Whitley, published Elder Whitley’s missionary photos. Among them was this picture.
This is the only photograph that exists of my grandparents Iki Tupou Fulivai and his wife Leva’itai, who appears to be wearing a silk dress that Iki probably bought in China. It was both exciting and haunting to look into my great grandparents’ eyes for the first time. You can imagine the stir I created when I had this photo distributed to my father's family. It was if they had been raised from the dead. We still haven't been able to identify the child, but no matter, these are my great grandparents. If this photo was taken in 1937, Iki would’ve been in his 80s because he died in 1951 at the age of 101. And look at what he’s wearing: a graduation robe and motor board. It’s so fitting that Elder Whitley caught this moment on film because it perfectly captures what I grew up hearing about my great-grandfather and his insatiable thirst for learning. The missionaries came to his home because he wanted his children educated. He saw things and met people in his world travels that must’ve compelled him to yearn for his children to be literate. Keep in mind, this wasn't his undergraduate degree or his MBA. This was his graduation from grammar school! He led by example, sitting with his children and grandchildren, in his 80s, in the same classroom as they all learned math and science.
Here is what the caption beneath says: “Missionaries from the LDS Church initially entered Tonga in 1891 but withdrew six years later, when the extensive proselyting had produced only a handful of members, not all of whom remained faithful. When missionaries returned in 1907, Nopele ‘Iki Tupou Fulivai invited some of the first LDS missionaries to teach in Neiafu, where they opened a branch and a school. When the Tongan government instituted education in Vava’u in the 1930s, ‘Iki Tupou Fulivai became one of the first students to graduate. His wife Leva’itai was part Fijian and worked in the Relief Society. Fulivai had contact with many people from different parts of the Pacific because he was the pilot who helped bring large ships into Neiafu harbor with Fredrick Wolfgramm’s boat, Olga.”
As a nobleman, Iki was pressured by the Tongan monarchy, who were mostly members of the Free Wesleyan Church, to remove the missionaries who lived in his home and to cease teaching his family and neighbors the restored gospel. He refused at great personal cost. Until the 1930s, when public schools were established in Tonga, Iki charged the Church $1 per year for the school property on his estate where missionaries taught in order to satisfy a Tongan law, making it affordable for the Church. Generations of Tongans learned to read and write and were baptized because of Iki Tupou Fulivai. Iki Fulivai's great courage and enormous sacrifice, I believe, is partly why Tonga is among the most literate countries in the world and why Tonga, at 57% according to Church census, has the highest LDS membership per capita in the world. That figure may explain why the Church uses an extraordinary amount of its resources in such a small, remote place.
While you're here on this campus, take full advantage of your studies. Don't squander this opportunity! Many of your peers back home wish they were in your shoes.
Now, by the very nature of this campus, many of you are very closely connected to your culture. You should be, but I would caution, be more connected to the gospel culture. That is exactly what the Lord meant when He said, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). If I may share a few examples.
Every culture has customs and traditions that are at variance with or even oppose gospel principles. When faced with that dilemma, which do you choose?
Our Polynesian ancestors all used kava for their most important ceremonies. Village leaders and chiefs counseled together over a bowl, or kumete, of kava. Kava was an integral part of the wedding ceremony. In fact, the Tongan word for “covenant” is fua kava, which is literally translated as "the first fruit of the kava."
Yet today, kava is consumed socially to the point if inebriation in parties that lead to marital discord, loss of academic opportunities, chronic unemployment, and infidelity. All night kava parties, or fai kava, now replace the sanctity and righteous purposes for which our ancestors used the kava root anciently.
Let's try another tradition:
The word "tattoo" comes from Polynesia. Tongans called it ta ta tau. It was practiced anciently in all Polynesian cultures. I don't know if my great-grandfather Iki Fulivai had tats. If he did, it would be understandable - many wonderful converts today join the Church wearing ink. We accept, love, and embrace them just the same. We are all more enlightened by the gospel. Because of that greater light and knowledge, the Lord will hold me more accountable than Iki Fulivai relative to tattoos. Yet sadly, many still choose to be tattooed despite the fact Church leaders have consistently counseled against it.
The same could be said of the long, warrior-like hair dos that many Polynesian men wear. Quite simply, it's unbecoming of someone who holds the holy priesthood. We are counseled to avoid extreme hairstyles, clothing, and behavior. Follow the Brethren. Do your best to look, speak, and act as they do.
We are all blessed and cursed by the many traditions of our culture. Be prayerful and selective of the many traditions from your culture. Choose wisely from the customs and traditions in your culture that will elevate and strengthen you; discard those that diminish your role as a son and daughter of God.
It is culturally and socially unacceptable for Tongan men to walk in downtown Nuku'alofa bare-chested or anywhere in public for that matter. My mother never allowed me to even lounge in our home shirtless, insisting that my temple needed to be covered as someday it would house the holy priesthood of God. Modesty is one of the pillars of Tongan culture that I cherish.
The foolish traditions of their fathers was a recurring theme of the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon.
Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah devoted their lives to correcting the many erroneous traditions of the Lamanites' culture.
“And it came to pass that they journeyed many days in the wilderness, and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God to bring, if it were possible, their brethren, the Lamanites, to the knowledge of the truth, to the knowledge of the baseness of the traditions of their fathers, which were not correct.” (Alma 17:9)
Paul chastised the Greeks for their cultural traditions that worshipped false gods, which blinded them from the God of Israel. Standing on Mars Hill, which is just below the Parthenon, the great temple built for the goddess Athena, Paul declared, "Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To the Unknown God." Then comes Paul's searing rebuke, followed by his courageous testimony to Athenians of their Unknown God: "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." (Acts 17:22-23)
Like the Lamanites and the ancient Greeks, we all have cultural traditions that are not congruent with gospel principles. Always choose gospel culture.
I don't want to end my message with a scolding, so please indulge me with an observation my wife and I made while visiting the PCC with our adult children last week. We have a long history with this place that dates back over 40 years. I've been fascinated in our last few visits to the PCC with how the Tongan village has been transformed into one of the premier and must-see places in the Center. It hasn't always been that way. I remember when a visit to the Tongan village included instruction on weaving mats and making tapa. Culturally, it was mildly interesting but not very entertaining. I can say that because back in the day, my mother was one of the people giving the weaving and tapa instruction. Then, maybe 10 or 12 years ago, someone decided to feature the Tongan drummers, and now, they have stadium seating, and you have to arrive early to get a spot. See, I don't think it's the drumming that draws people. The drums simply provide a means to showcase the drummers’ bigger-than-life personalities and their enormous people skills. They playfully interact with international visitors and perhaps display a little of their showmanship. That, my friends, is placing on exhibit the cultural assets that caused Captain James Cook of the British Navy to call us “The Friendly Islands”! Take it from someone with over 20 years of television experience, it's a brilliant marketing strategy!
Each of you are blessed with special skills, talents, and gifts that are unique to your culture. BYU–Hawaii is unique because it recognizes that, and your education is tailored to take advantage of those unique gifts and talents. Where ever you're from, it's certain your country has been blessed by graduates of this great university. Be prayerful as you consider how and where you will bless others with your talents and gifts.
If I may be so bold to speak to the faculty and administration, the faith of the Polynesian people is legendary and known to prophets of the Restored Gospel now and all the way back to Joseph Smith, who sent the first missionaries in 1844 to Tahiti. Many in our community feel privileged that because of BYU–Hawaii, we are playing a role, even if only a small one, in helping educate our brothers and sisters in Asia and the Pacific Rim. It is not lost on many of our community leaders that the Lord, in His wisdom, appeared to have blessed each group with gifts uniquely suited to bless the other. In other words, we as Polynesians can greatly benefit from our Asian friends' relentless and tireless pursuit of knowledge and good grades. Conversely, who better to help Asians relax and have fun than Polynesians? Like a good marriage, each has what the other seems to lack. In a university setting, we all learn and benefit from one another. I don't just mean educationally - I mean religiously, politically, professionally, and culturally - professors can learn as much from students as students learn from their instructors. Brothers and sisters, if you only came to BYU–Hawaii to teach us and never learn what the Spirit of Aloha means, then you've cheated yourself and your children of an enriching and life-changing experience. Our lives are greatly impacted because of your willingness to teach and engage us.
I love the way my Tongan culture values modesty, humility, and respect, which the ta'ovala worn at my waist represents. That is perfectly aligned with gospel principle, so I embrace it. Tattooing does not, so I avoid it.
I believe doing so honors my righteous and honorable great-grandfather Iki Tupou Fulivai. More importantly, it honors the Lord, and He honors those who honor Him (1 Samuel 2:30).
I bear testimony of God's love for all His children, in every culture.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.