Comments on: Maui pioneers

By: Hemi

Hemi — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:19:03 +0000

#14
I remember those ties. I have pictures of you under that tree! Ha! Good to see you my old friend! What great times!

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 19:25:29 +0000

A few years ago when our family vacationed on Maui, we attended church two weeks in Makawao. One Sunday after church, we drove to the Pulehu Chapel and went inside. The acoustics were really neat, as we all sang “The Spirit of God.” The spirit was strong as we felt the aloha of the early pioneers from Hawaii.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:59:32 +0000

#14 – Don’t worry, those ties are gone!! When sisters got to that area, we made sure to get rid of those. Thank you for this post, J. Stapley. I lived in that building next to the chapel when I served in that area in 2004. What a special and sacred site that area is….

By: Christian

Christian — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 07:18:03 +0000

I actually had a faith-promoting experience last year that helped me find the chapel. It’s told down in watered down form here:

http://www.christianziebarth.com/pulehuchapel.html

Before I went I could find hardly anything about it on the Internet but just today I found several new reports on it including yours. I’ll probably add your link to my page soon. They should do an article about this in The Ensign.

By: Jonathan K

Jonathan K — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 07:59:40 +0000

The missionary pad right next to the chapel is pretty sweet. In the entrance (at least in the mid 90′s) there were generations of missionary ties hung up in a row. We actually had quite a few zone/district conferences at the Pulehu chapel. We also had a mission tour with Elder Loren C Dunn there. If I remember correctly, there is a nice large stone monument on the site. Also, there is an enormous, beautiful old tree in front. I have quite a few pictures of us in front of that tree.

In fact, you should check out the following article in BYU Studies (Vol 33, No 1, 1993) entitled “Prayer under a Pepper Tree: Sixteen Accounts of a Spiritual Manifestation” that relates of the vision that David O’Mckay had while at Pulehu from the perspective of 5 different men who were there. Great article. The site is probably the most sacred of any on Maui. The article, at the end, even suggests that when there is a Temple on Maui, that it will be at Pulehu.

By: Craig S

Craig S — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:11:12 +0000

J-

I am jealous…and gratified you were able to experience what seems to be a true sharing of the spirit.

I also have noted the faith of some peoples make it easier? for them to experience things that my cynical life has made all but impossible. I yearn for that simple faith that allows for miraculous experience. But it seems that what you had the opportunity to do last week might have been a small window into that very state.

By: RBS

RBS — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 01:28:20 +0000

Today’s Hawaiians are the same overly generous and loving people as they were in the days of the first missionaries. They easily recognize the presence of the spirit and those who teach with or without it. It was thus so when George Q. Cannon first arrived in this island paradise and stood on and relatively small piece of land on the side of Haleakala. On a day as only Hawaii can bring, this small piece of land was pronounced as “Sacred”, was dedicated to the Lord, and designated the place where a chapel would be built for the families from across the islands to come to worship, pray and play.
Today, this sacred place still stands, with the simple white chapel aside a broad, age old tree. This was the centerpiece for the Spirit that I felt immediately upon entry both 50 years ago as a missionary, and on this day, as one seeking the peace and comfort that day two weeks ago. It stands as the sentinel that looks across the island to proclaim the truth of the words spoken by a prophet so long ago on this very spot. The closeness of the Spirit has always been a blessing to these people. They literally walked and talked with the Father. Their faith and love generated love and caring in others beyond anything that I had previously experienced. From them my spirit was blessed and I was filled.
As my love for them grew, I began to recognize the change their culture was making on me. I found it easier to commune with my Father in Heaven without extra preparation. Ultimately I was adopted by an elderly sister of the Wailuku Branch. Even until this day, as I view the Hawaiian Quilts and Feather Lei Hatband she gave me, I remember those days of the spirit.
Imagine what President Cannon felt!

By: JNS

JNS — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 22:59:05 +0000

When I was young, it was a common practice at the end of a Primary or Sunday school lesson for the teacher to ask if anyone would like to share a “faith promoting experience”. You would also hear these experiences in Testimony meeting. I heard stories of healings, lives being saved and even visitations. No one does that much anymore. It has become uncomfortable. Many of the experiences are tender and probably much too sacred or personal to share. Also some of the stories have become a bit fantastic as the tellers tried too hard and the “Mormon Legend” has come into being. However, as we visited Hawaii I was an audience to some stories and experiences similar to those that I had heard and shared as a child. I listened as my Hawaiian friend/sister told of the miracle of George Q. Cannon’s solo journey through the Iao valley and the love of the Saints for those early pioneer missionaries. As we travelled together, she talked of her life experiences and of simple prayers, for needed food, that were granted almost immediately. One experience involved the rain being held back in the rescue of some farm animals. Her words were full of simplicity of faith that resonated with my spirit and told me of their truthfulness. I loved those hours at her feet. Miracles still happen in the Islands. It’s as if they are expected. My friend has not become jaded to those expectations nor embarrassed that their occurrence. Should we resurrect “Faith Promoting experiences” in our meetings and classes? Probably not. We have become cynical and not able to have those qualities of innocence and faith that can accept the miraculous and there are also too many of us/those who haven’t the judgment to know what is genuine and truly of the spirit.

By: J. Stapley

J. Stapley — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 20:57:14 +0000

Ah, most of the good stories came out during the after-party in Denver!

By: Chris S

Chris S — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 19:44:55 +0000

I am thrilled you got the chance to have that experience. Like you, I would enjoy the snorkeling and such, but it would be the chance to walk with my father down those old roads that would make me giddy. Did you get any good ghost stories out of him?