SAUNIATU, Samoa — Any light-hearted argument about the exact, present-day location of ancient Eden may be settled with a visit to the Latter-day Saint settlement of Sauniatu on the Samoan island of Upolu.
Just a 45-minute drive from the Samoan capital of Apia, Sauniatu is fertile, green and "Edenly" peaceful. Apostle David O. Mckay was so moved by his 1921 visit that he reportedly dubbed the village "the most beautiful place I have ever seen."
Today, Samoa's developing status as a global tourist destination has, thankfully, done little to alter Sauniatu. Visitors can take the short walk down dirt roads from the Church-operated school at Sauniatu and find a Samoa not unlike the remote island nation first encountered by LDS missionaries near the end of the nineteenth century. Some villagers still make their homes in open-air fales and guests respect the local custom of slipping off their shoes before entering such lodgings. Meanwhile, starchy taro plants still grow thick just a few steps outside the fales.
Yet Sauniatu is more than postcard aesthetics and enduring Samoan culture. Often called "the Nauvoo of the Pacific," Sauniatu is revered by LDS Samoans as sacred ground. Originally established as a refuge by early island converts who were persecuted for their deep gospel faith, the village remains a place of Eden-like learning and worship.
Outside the campus grounds housing the LDS primary school and the Sauniatu Agricultural Center is a small cemetery where many of the early Church-member settlers to Sauniatu are buried. A neighboring plaque tells the stories of faithful Samoan pioneers with ties to Sauniatu who sacrificed for their devotion to their young faith. Indeed, the village has known sadness. Decades ago, disease killed almost all the villagers. A young boy was left with the macabre task of burying the dead.
Still, further up the road and just inside the fenced entrance is the David O. McKay Fale. The traditional Samoan structure is supported by beams of indigenous wood. Carved on each beam are familiar gospel-themed images. A wooden bust of President McKay — who offered his blessing on Sauniatu while a member of the Quorum of the Twelve — presides at the rear of the fale. Visitors are encouraged to take one of the many smooth, gray stones that form the fale's floor. Each stone represents a testimony of a Sauniatu student.
Tens of thousands of Church members populate the Samoan Islands and persecution has largely been relegated to history. Still, the efforts of those who suffered and sacrificed decades ago at Sauniatu are alive in the hopeful future of its students. Sauniatu's primary school provides traditional elementary education for LDS students in grades 1-8.
Meanwhile, some 25 older male students, ages 18 to 26, are enrolled at the Sauniatu Agricultural Center. There young, single men learn the nuances of self-reliance, operating private and commercial farms and entrepreneurial skills. Most of the agricultural students come from poor families and have had few educational opportunities. Since its establishment in 1998, more than 200 LDS men have graduated from the Church-sponsored program.
"This program is giving them a second chance to study and learn and be prepared for building the kingdom of God by building themselves and building good families," said Lafoga Paia, program director.
George Eliot, said Brother Paia, once wrote: "What do we live for if it's not to make life less difficult for each other."
That philosophy, said Brother Paia, remains Sauniatu's legacy.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com