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The lava kept flowing in the direction of these two holes of which I spoke, and rocks thrown down upon the surface of the lava would melt when near these holes like sealing wax held in a candle. It was surprising to see with what ease the fire would melt this stony mass of lava, which in some parts of the pit would cool on the surface, and convert it again into a fluid.
Sometimes showers of hot lava would be thrown up in the air, and descend on the edges of the pit where we stood. When this occurred the bystanders would have to scamper off as fast as they could, or be severely burned.
The sight of this pit surpassed in sublimity and grandeur anything I had ever witnessed or imagined. It far exceeded what I had read in written descriptions, or even what I expected to see. Language fails to convey to the mind a correct idea of its appearance.
We were told that a party of natives had just been there, throwing the bones of one of their relatives into the volcano with hogs, fowls, etc., sacrifices with which to gain the favor of Madame Pele, the goddess.
For some years there had not been any eruptions from this crater which we visited; but others had broken out in the same neighborhood, the fire and smoke of which had been seen for a long distance, and ashes from which, it is said, had fallen on the decks of vessels hundreds of miles at sea. From these eruptions the lava had run down to the sea, sweeping everything before it, and heating the sea for several miles in such a manner as to kill large quantities of fish.
The island of Hawaii is very frequently shaken by earthquakes, the effects of the hidden fires.
Chapter 14
A Hawaiian Feast – Amusing Joke Played Upon White Men
Returning from the volcano towards Upolu, we had a meeting house to dedicate at a place called Pololu, and the Saints there had prepared a feast on the occasion.
An account of a Hawaiian feast may be interesting to my readers and I will describe this one. The vegetable portion of the feast consisted of poi. This I have before described to you. It is not kept in dishes of earthenware but in calabashes, some of which are very large and will hold several gallons of the food. On this occasion the people sat on the ground on mats. For tablecloths there were large green leaves of the plant called ki. On these were placed packages of beef, pork, fowl, dog, and goat, done up in the leaves in which they had been cooked. Fish also was served up in this manner.
As soon as the blessing was asked, every one dipped his or her forefingers into the “poi,” and lifting as much as the fingers would hold, they passed them into their mouths, throwing their heads back as they did so, to get a good mouthful. The hogs, chickens and little dogs were speedily dissected, the fingers being the only knives, forks and spoons used among them. The scene was one of true enjoyment.
The Sandwich Islander is never so happy, so musical, so full of pleasant talk, as when seated at a good meal; and the quantity one eats on such occasions would astonish an American who had never seen them. Usually they are particular about having their hands clean, and eating with due respect to each other’s rights. One waits for the other to put his fingers in the poi and their ideas of decorum and manners, such as they are, are as strict as ours.
We Elders who ate with them were also seated on mats and ate the same kind of food that they did, only in place of using our fingers we either used spoons or small paddles which we whittled out of wood, to convey the food to our mouths, thinking it would be better to set them an example in this respect.
I scarcely think, though, that any of our party would prefer dog meat to beef, goat or chicken, though I must say that if it were not for prejudice, I think the dog meat as wholesome and as clean as the pork; for the dogs which they eat in that country are a peculiar breed, the flesh of which is very sweet and tender. They are very particular in feeding them; they keep them cleaner and do not give them such disagreeable food as they do to their hogs. But there is something repugnant to people raised as we have been, in the idea of eating dog meat.
A story was told me by Brother Napela of a trick which he and some other natives played off on some white men at a feast which they partook of at a place called Waikapu on the island of Maui. The white men were merchants from Lahaina, and had been invited over to this feast. They had meats and fish of every kind nearly, and among the rest had a number of roasted pigs and roasted dogs. One of the natives suggested, as a good trick to play on the white men, that they sever the heads of the pigs, and put them with the dogs, and take the dogs’ heads and put them with the pigs. They did so. Of course the merchants did not want to eat dog meat, and would not touch any of the meat where the dogs’ heads were, but ate heartily of what they supposed were pigs. The natives tried to persuade them to eat the other meat. “Oh no,” they said, “these delicious pigs are good enough for us,” and they would not touch the other.
I may say here that the native method of cooking meat is superior to ours. They contrive to preserve all the juices of the meat in it while it is being cooked.
Nothing was said to the merchants about the trick that had been played upon them until the feast was ended, and they could not be persuaded that they had eaten dogs, until the bones were shown to them, which they knew to be not those of pigs. They tried hard to be sick at the thought of having eaten dog meat, but had to confess that it was as good meat as they ever ate.
An unsuspecting person, if served with dog meat, would never dream that it was anything but sucking pig.
Chapter 15
Answers to Prayer, and the Bestowal of the Gifts upon the Elders and People – Elders Sent to Teach Not to Be Taught – Blessings Will Rest Upon Those Who Labor Among the Red Men for Their Salvation
One incident, I will relate, which occurred a few months after we went to Wailuku, to show how the Lord hears and answers prayer.
We were very much in need of some means to buy stuff for garments, etc. The natives were very poor, and we felt delicate about asking them for anything; but we knew that the Lord would hear and answer our prayers; so we prayed to Him. Brother Hammond had brought his wife and child over from Lahaina, and they were living, as I have told you, in the village close to Wailuku. He and I had to make a visit to a town about twelve or fifteen miles distant, and before starting, we had prayed to the Lord to open the way so that we might obtain what we wanted.
We had traveled from the house about three miles, when in passing some houses which were on the beach, we met a man by the name of Freeman, an American, who accosted us and inquired if we had authority to marry. Upon our informing him that we had, he asked us if we could spare the time to stop at his house and marry him. We told him as it was on our way we would stop. I performed the ceremony, and at his request addressed the people who had assembled at the house. He gave us a five dollar gold piece.
We had married many before that, but this was the first money which had ever been given to us. His five-dollars supplied our necessities, for in those days we were content with very little.
I have always looked upon this as a direct answer to our prayers, for when we met the man he was evidently on his way to Wailuku, with his intended wife, to be married by the missionary there. The missionary missed the fee, but as he knew nothing respecting it, he was no poorer. I do not suppose he needed it as badly as we did.
It is always more pleasant for an Elder, when he is in need of anything, on a mission, to apply to the Lord for it than to ask the people; at least, I have always found it so.
The Lord blessed the natives who joined the Church in many ways, and they rejoiced exceedingly in the gifts of the Spirit. One day a young man made application to be baptized who had been so sick that he was not expected to live. His elder brother was in the Church, and the evening previous to his baptism the Elders had been called to administer to him. He was so much restored by morning that he was able to arise and afterwards attend the meeting, and was baptized.
The same day Brother Napela and some of the other native Saints had visited a woman who believed in the gospel, who wished to be baptized; she had been unable to walk upright for five years, but she was anxious for them to administer to her, that she might be restored. They laid their hands upon her and commanded her in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to arise and walk. She immediately stood up and walked, and went and was baptized.
This created quite an excitement in the neighborhood, for she was well known, and the people were much astonished at her restoration. The attention of numbers were turned to the gospel by this occurrence.
Another instance which happened about the same time was that of a woman who was a member of the Presbyterian church. She was afflicted with dropsy, or something very like that disease. She had tried various remedies, but obtained no relief. She had heard about the gifts in the Church, and she called upon Brothers Napela and Uaua to administer to her, saying she was willing to covenant and forsake her sins. They administered to her and she was healed; all the swelling left her and she was baptized. On Sunday she attended meeting, and afterwards made some remarks derogatory to the work, indulging in a spirit of apostasy; her disease returned immediately, and she was as bad as ever.
Another instance was that of a woman, one of whose limbs was withered, and who was afflicted with palsy. She was baptized, and was speedily restored to health.
A niece of hers was afterwards afflicted similarly; she requested us to administer to her, and when we did so, she was restored to health.
The same day that this latter person had hands laid upon her, we had a meeting at a place called Waiehu. After the meeting was over, three persons requested to be administered to, one of whom was a blind man. He had been blind for upwards of thirty years, but his sight was restored to him. He began to amend from the time hands were laid upon him, and the next morning, he was able to see. He was afterwards able to go about without any guide; and I have frequently seen him come into meeting, winding his way among the people, without any aid, to a seat which he was accustomed to occupy near the speaker. His restoration caused a great stir in the neighborhood, for his blindness was well known. He had a son, a mature man, who could barely recollect when his father was able to see and go about without aid.
I will relate another instance of which I was not an eye witness; but which I have every reason to believe occurred as I will relate it. I have mentioned an Elder whose name was Uaua. He was a man of considerable faith. His wife had been stricken down in his absence and had been, to all appearance, dead for some three hours before he had arrived at his house.
In that country when a person dies, the friends and relatives of the family assemble together and manifest their grief by wailing. They were indulging in these lamentations and outcries when he returned, every one supposing that she was dead. He was, of course, very much shocked; but the first thing he did was to anoint her and lay hands upon her; and, to the astonishment of all who had assembled, she instantly recovered.
I might multiply instances of this kind without number; but I write these, to show you that the same works and power of God, which were manifested anciently through the faith of the servants and Saints of God have been shown forth in our day and under the administration of the people of God, who now live.
The natives of the Sandwich Islands had great faith to lay hands on the sick, and also to have hands laid upon them when they were sick. It was not contrary to their traditions for them to believe in this ordinance, for their old native priests, before the missionaries came, had considerable power which they exercised, and in which the people had confidence.
Many Elders desire, when they are called as missionaries, to go to enlightened and cultivated nations. They think their experience among such people would be profitable to them, and that they would became polished and learn many things which they could not obtain among a people, for instance, like the Sandwich Islanders or the Lamanites. Such Elders forget that the Lord sends His Elders out to teach and not to be taught. Missionaries should not have the idea of self-comfort and self-indulgence in their minds; but the salvation of souls.
The man who goes out expecting the people to whom he is sent, to teach, enlighten and benefit him commits a great blunder. He does not understand the nature of his Priesthood and calling.
I shall probably never forget the feelings expressed to me by John Hyde, Jr., on this point. He had been called, at a Conference (April, 1856) at Salt Lake City, to go on a mission to the Sandwich Islands. He came to San Francisco on his way. I was then publishing the Western Standard and presiding over the California mission. It was with a feeling akin to disgust that he spoke to me about his mission. If he had only been called to go to France, to England, or to any of the so-called enlightened nations, he said he would have gone willingly; but to go to a degraded, heathenish people was entirely beneath him. A man with his talent and acquirements would be thrown away upon them.
He apostatized while on the voyage to Honolulu; or, to state it more properly, he made up his mind while on the sea to dissolve his connection with the Church. He was an apostate in his heart and feelings before he left San Francisco. But can any one, who understands this work, wonder that a man who felt thus should lose the Spirit and apostatize? It would be a wonder if he did not.
The experience of the Elders who have been on missions to the Sandwich Islands is encouraging to all who are called to go on missions to the Lamanites. They may have privations to endure, but they will be swallowed up in the joy of the Lord. I am sure the Lord makes up for any lack of temporal comforts by an additional outpouring of His Spirit.
The soul of a Sandwich Islander or a Lamanite is as precious in the sight of the Lord as the soul of a white man, whether born in America or Europe. Jesus died for one as much as the other, and to the men of red skins the Lord’s promises are very great and precious. Those who administer ordinances of salvation to them will have fully as great joy over them in the day of the Lord Jesus as if they had been more enlightened.
Blessed shall be the faithful men who have labored, who now labor, and who many hereafter labor among the Lamanites for their salvation. In such labor the Elders will enjoy the power of the Priesthood, the gifts of the Spirit, and pure, heavenly happiness to their hearts’ content, and that is all they could enjoy among the races which they may think more favored.
I say this because my own experience has proved it to be true, and because of the great blessings and promises which are made to those who shall labor for the salvation of the seed of Israel and the covenant people of the Lord.
In what position could the sons of King Mosiah have learned as much concerning the power of God as they did during their missions among the Lamanites? Among what people could they have saved more souls? And will they not have joy with them in the kingdom of the Father.
Thousands of Elders will yet have to labor among the red men for their salvation. They should not look upon this as a hardship, but as a great and inestimable privilege – a work in which angels delight to engage.
Chapter 16
Consolation Drawn from the Book of Mormon – Its Translation into the Hawaiian Language – Great Joy in the Labor – A Committee to Raise Funds to Purchase a Press, Type, etc. – Press, etc., Ordered, and Then Sent to California – The Book of Mormon Printed – The First Translation into the Language of a Nation of Red Men – Kindred Languages Spoken Through the Polynesian Islands – The “Western Standard”
Some of my readers may be placed in circumstances similar to those which surrounded me a part of the time on the Sandwich Islands; and it may be profitable to tell them how I kept from losing courage and becoming home-sick. My love for home is naturally very strong. For the first year after I left home I could scarcely think about it without my feelings getting the better of me. But here I was in a distant land, among a people whose language and habits were strange to me. Their very food was foreign to me, and unlike anything I had ever before seen or tasted. I was much of the time separated from my companions, the Elders. Until I mastered the language and commenced preaching and baptizing the people, I was indeed a stranger among them.
Before I commenced holding regular meetings, I had plenty of time for meditation, and to review all the events of my short life, and to think of the beloved home from which I was so far separated. It was then that I found the value of the Book of Mormon. It was a book which I always loved. But I learned there to appreciate it as I had never done before. If I felt inclined to be lonely, to be low spirited, or home-sick. I had only to turn to its sacred pages to receive consolation, new strength and a rich outpouring of the Spirit. Scarcely a page that did not contain encouragement for such as I was. The salvation of man was the great theme upon which its writers dwelt, and for this they were willing to undergo every privation and make every sacrifice.
What were my petty difficulties compared with those afflictions which they had to endure? If I expected to share the glory for which they contended, I could see that I must labor in the same Spirit. If the sons of King Mosiah could relinquish their high estate, and go forth among the degraded Lamanites to labor as they did, should not I labor with patience and devoted zeal for the salvation of these poor red men, heirs of the same promise?
Let me, recommend this book, therefore, to young and old, if they need comfort and encouragement. Especially can I recommend it to those who are away from home on missions. No man can read it, partake of its spirit and obey its teachings, without being filled with a deep love for the souls of men and a burning zeal to do all in his power to save them. Every Latter-day Saint should read it, as well as the other records which the Lord has given to us.
The conversations which I had with the natives concerning the Book of Mormon and the origin of the red men, made them anxious to see it. After branches had been built up at Wailuku, at Waiehu and other places around, by Elder F. A. Hammond and myself, I was led to commence the translation of the Book of Mormon into the language of the Islands – the Hawaiian language, as it is called.
My place of residence was at Brother J. H. Napela’s, Wailuku. He was an educated, intelligent Hawaiian, who thoroughly understood his own language, and could give me the exact meaning of words. The meaning attached to many words depended upon the context. It was important, therefore, in translating, to know that the words used conveyed the correct idea. Unless the language used carried to the Hawaiian mind the same meaning precisely which the words in our translation gave to us, it would not be correct.
Probably but few in the nation were as well qualified as Brother Napela, to help me in this respect. He was a descendant of the old chiefs of the Island of Maui, in whose families the language was preserved and spoken in the greatest purity, and he had advantages which no other equally well educated man, at that time, possessed. He had studied the principles of the gospel very thoroughly, he had a comprehensive mind to grasp the truth, and he had been greatly favored by the Spirit. As I progressed with the translation, his comprehension of the work increased. He got the spirit of the book, and was able to seize the points presented to him very quickly.
In the last days of the month of January, 1851, I commenced the work of translation. My fellow-laborers, the Elders, encouraged me, and from the First Presidency at home – Presidents Young, Kimball and Richards – came words of cheer, approving of what I was doing, and counseling me to persevere.
The labor of preaching, baptizing, confirming, organizing branches, administering to the sick and traveling around visiting branches, and over other islands, pressed upon me and claimed the greater portion of my time. Those were busy seasons for all who would labor, and they were exceedingly delightful. The Lord seemed very near to us upon those islands in those days.
The time occupied by me in translation, were the days and hours which were not claimed by other duties. In the beginning my method was to translate a few pages, and then, when opportunity offered, explain to Brother Napela the ideas, whether historical or doctrinal, in great fullness. By this means he would, get a pretty thorough comprehension of the part I was translating. I would then read the translation to him, going carefully over every word and sentence, and learning from him the impression the language used conveyed to his mind. In this way I was able to correct any obscure expression which might be used, and secure the Hawaiian idiom.
The Spirit of translation rested upon me, it even became a very easy labor for me. I obtained great facility of expression in the language, and before I got through with the book, I had a range of words at my command, superior to the great bulk of the people.
This was a very natural result. Doctrines, principles and ideas were in the Book of Mormon which were outside the ordinary thoughts of the people. The translation of these, called forth the full powers of the language, and really required – that which I felt I had while engaged in this work – the assistance of the Spirit of inspiration.
At some times in revising the translation, I had other intelligent men present with Brother Napela.
In this way I went through the whole book, carefully reading and explaining every word and sentence to him and to them; and if there was an obscure expression, not leaving it till it was made plain. When it had been thus revised I copied it into a book. The copying, however, into the book, for the want of time, was never quite finished. But, excepting that it was written in very fine writing, because of the scarcity of paper, it really did not need copying.
The translation was finished on July the 22nd, 1853 – about two years and a half from the time I commenced it. But it was not until the 27th of the succeeding September that we completed the revision.
My labors in the ministry have always been to me exceedingly joyful; but no part of them ever furnished me such pleasure as did my work at translating that precious record. After I commenced it, I had, in preaching, an increased flow of the Spirit, in testimony I had greater power, and in the administration of all the ordinances of the gospel I felt that I had greater faith. I felt very happy. In truth, my happiness was beyond description. Thankfulness constantly filled my heart, because of my being permitted to do this work.
In December, 1853, I visited Kauai, the extreme westerly island, which is inhabited, of the group. I had a double purpose in visiting this island – to visit the Saints and bear testimony to all the people concerning the work, and to again revise the translation of the Book of Mormon. There was a native Elder laboring in the ministry with Elder William Farrer at that time on the island, by the name of Kauwahi, a man of acute intellect and talent and good education, and who was called the most eloquent and best reasoner in the Hawaiian nation. I was desirous to have him and Brother Farrer go through the translation with me, to see that no word had been omitted, and to correct any inaccuracies which might have escaped my previous reading.
We commenced this revision at the town of Waimea, the farthest inhabited point west on the Sandwich Islands, on the 24th of December, 1853, and finished it on the last day of January, 1854.
While attending to this we did not neglect our other duties among the Saints and people. During this revision, I read the book through twice, with the exception of a few pages: once to Brother Farrer, who looked at the English version, to see there were no words or sentences omitted; afterwards to Brother Kauwahi, who also looked at the English book, he being a little acquainted with English, to correct any inaccuracies in the translation or the idiom.
Where there was an expression that was not very plain, or that was out of the ordinary line of the Hawaiian thought – and there were many such – I took pains to explain it fully to Brother Kauwahi, as I had done before to Brother Napela, so as to be sure that I had used the most simple and clear language to convey the idea.
In my journal I find that I say it was more free from mistakes than I could expect it to be under the circumstances in which I was placed at the time of translating – there were calls to preach, frequent interruptions to go and administer to the sick, and often conversations which distracted my attention; but in the midst of which I had to translate and copy.
At a conference of the Elders, held at Wailuku, October 6th, 1853, the question was discussed, whether it would be better to employ some printing firm to print the Book of Mormon, or to purchase a press and printing materials for the mission, with which to print that and other works necessary for the instruction of the Saints. It was decided that the better course would be to buy a press, etc. A committee of three – Elders Philip B. Lewis, Benjamin F. Johnson and myself – was selected to take such measures as might be necessary to raise the funds.
