When the first missionaries arrived in Tonga in 1891, they came to a Christianized country.
Christianity had earlier been introduced by Protestant missionaries, and among the most influential missionaries was a Tongan convert, Taufa`ahau, who later became King George Tupou I. After his conversion to Christianity, he went throughout Tonga preaching Christianity and destroying shrines of heathen worship. He became king in 1845.Nearly 50 years later, Elders Brigham Smoot and Alva Butler met with the kindly but aged king and were told that freedom of religion existed and the people could make up their own minds about religion.
However, five years and 20 LDS missionaries later, only 15 people had been baptized and few of those were active. A primary school was started at Mu`a but it struggled. In 1897, missionaries sailed back to Samoa, closing the Tonga Conference for 10 years.
The next effort was more successful. Missionaries returned in 1907 and quickly opened a school in Vava`u. When a whooping cough epidemic struck, the elders blessed the child of the harbormaster of Vava`u and the child was healed. Word quickly spread and soon the elders were blessing children almost daily. By January 1908, a branch had been started. Another school and two other branches began and converts were baptized.
In 1912, three branches and three schools operated. Four years later the Tongan Mission was created under the direction of Pres. Willard L. Smith, and a few more missionaries were sent to Tonga.
When Pres. M. Vernon Coombs of Cardston, Alberta, arrived to preside in 1920, he found difficulty obtaining permission for missionaries to enter the island kingdom. In 1922, Mormon missionaries were banned from the island. The impact immediately led to closing schools and consolidating branches.
Pres. Coombs and local members presented petitions to the Tongan legislative assembly and the matter was decided in 1924. Members waited outside, fasting and praying for a favorable decision. They rejoiced when it was announced that Mormon missionaries could again enter Tonga.
More missionaries arrived and permission to build a larger school at Makeke was granted. However, local members, who numbered about 1,000 in 1926, were spread out and there were few strong branches. But in the next decade, local leaders took over and branches were strengthened. Hurricanes and droughts brought hardships, but membership grew and the auxiliaries were developed. The translation and printing of the Book of Mormon into Tongan was completed in 1946, much of it done by Ermel Morton, a former missionary. Considerable efforts and revisions to accommodate spelling reformations in the Tongan language slowed the work.
Following World War II, Liahona school was built and a massive building program was initiated. Local members were called upon to serve as laborers, the beginning of the Church's labor missionary program. At that time, membership was 2,433.
But foreigners were restricted again from coming in as missionaries. This time the restriction was a blessing in disguise as more local members, mostly couples, were called as missionaries. Their sacrifice and devotion helped install a deep dedication throughout the membership. Later, many of these same couples sacrificed much to be sealed in the New Zealand Temple.
In 1963, mission Pres. Patrick Dalton recommended calling graduates of Liahona High as full-time missionaries. His recommendation was accepted and young missionaries replaced the couples.The number of convert baptisms increased. By 1967, membership reached 10,000. Creation of the Nuku`alofa (Tonga) Stake in 1968 was soon followed by the creation of other Tongan stakes. The Tonga temple was dedicated in 1983. Membership reached 27,400 in 1985, and at year-end 1990 reached 35,227 members. According to local leaders, the activity and convert retention rates are among the highest in the world.