This course might not be a wise one in every nation and under all
circumstances; but I was led to take it there, and the effects were
good. I had a fearlessness and a strength given me which I would not
have had if I had kept myself in a corner, and acted as though I
was ashamed of my mission. I gained influence also with the people,
and they learned to respect me; for, however much men may differ in
their views about religion and other matters, they generally respect
sincerity and courage.
The governor was named James Young. He was a half-white, his father
being a friend of Kamehameha the First, and one of the first white men
who settled among the Hawaiians. We requested the use of the palace,
which was not then occupied by the royal family, to preach in. He
promised to write to his brother, the minister of the interior, about
it. We called a number of times afterwards to see him; but could get no
definite answer. It was very evident to us that he dare not grant us
any favors.
Rev. Mr. Taylor was the chaplain of the Bethel Chapel at Lahaina, where
seamen and most of the white residents went to worship. We introduced
ourselves to him, told him where we were from and our business, and
asked the privilege of holding meeting in his chapel. He held meetings
in the morning and evening. He consented, and gave out notice to the
people in the morning that we would hold meeting in the afternoon.
Elder Henry W. Bigler delivered the discourse, and Brother Keeler and I
bore testimony. We soon became satisfied that if we confined our labors
to the whites, our mission to those islands would be a short one.
The white people were not numerous at Lahaina, and there were but very
few at any other place on the island of Maui. Preaching to them with
the hope of convincing them of the truth seemed a hopeless labor. The
question arose directly, "Shall we confine our labors to the white
people?" It is true that we had not been particularly told to preach
to the natives of the islands, but we were in their midst, had full
authority to declare unto them the message of salvation, and if we did
not declare it unto them, some other Elders would have to come and do
so, in order to fulfill the command of God to his servants.
For my part I felt it to be clearly my duty to warn all men, white
and red; and no sooner did I learn the condition of the population
than I made up my mind to acquire the language, preach the gospel to
the natives and to the whites whenever I could obtain an opportunity,
and thus fill my mission. I felt resolved to stay there, master the
language and warn the people of those islands, if I had to do it alone;
for I felt that I could not do otherwise and be free from condemnation;
the spirit of it was upon me. Elders Bigler and Keeler felt the same.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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