Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Pesega Samoa Stake celebrated the completion of a year-long family history project last week.
Genealogical information for close to 6,000 family members was identified by Pesega Latter-day Saints over the last 12 months. This included a final push over the last few days that saw family trees growing by almost 2,500 ancestral names.
Last week, members of the stake—which includes a number of congregations in the Pesega area—took part in various activities including online research at FamilySearch.org, indexing, workshops and a cultural celebration.
The celebration included performances of songs and dances representing countries such as Sweden, China, Ireland, France, England, Scotland and Germany—places that some Samoans’ ancestries can be traced.
Another highlight of the week was an open house at which Church members presented their family trees in various formats. Historic records, including heirlooms, books of remembrance and family photos from the mid-1800s onwards were displayed.
On Sunday (20 September), around 900 people attended a special devotional to mark the occasion. Local leader, Tanielu Lake Ah Chong, explained that the week of activities was the culmination of the year-long family history project which started in September 2014.
President Ah Chong said the stake effort was inspired by the Pacific Area Presidency’s invitation to all Latter-day Saints to identify their “15 in 15,” or the genealogical information for themselves, their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents.
Angie Peffer, a Samoan woman who lives in the United States, was recognised for her many years of family history research. Mrs Peffer, the daughter of Vern and Mary Ah Ching, left Samoa with her family in the early 1980s when she was 14 years of age to live in Utah. She was formerly a member of the Pesega First Ward (congregation).
Mrs Peffer has travelled to Samoa numerous times over the years in search of information concerning her forefathers who have their origins in China and Germany, where she has visited in the pursuit of her goal.
Local Latter-day Saint leader, Duke laulualo, noted in his remarks that the enthusiasm of many to learn about their ancestors is a fulfilment of biblical prophecy that the Lord would “send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that families are ordained of God and that family relationships can endure beyond this life.
For Latter-day Saints, temples are sacred edifices in which the gospel of Jesus Christ is taught; promises to live honest, virtuous lives are made; and families are joined in eternal bonds.