The Struggle Between Mormonism and Culture in New Caledonia + 4 More Things About the Church There

This article was originally written by Mindy Leavitt for LDS Living. The following is an excerpt.

1. The first members of the Church on the islands were U.S. servicemen.

They were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II when Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, served as the U.S. naval and military headquarters in the South Pacific. Years later, more Church members, these ones from French Polynesia, came to New Caledonia to work in the nickel mines. Those Saints were organized into New Caledonia’s first branch in October 1961. At the time, the branch was part of the French Polynesian Mission almost 3,000 miles away.

2. The people there have a genuine kindness and friendliness.

It’s a chilly day in New Caledonia when the temperature falls below 70° F. While there is a rainy season from about February to June, the yearly average temperature remains around 74° F. And the people who live there reflect that warmth.

“People in this country are really nice in general,” says Ula Seiko, a native New Caledonian who also served her mission there. “But there’s something more about the members that makes them different—in a good way—from the rest of the population. One of the principles that comes to my mind is the genuine kindness that I think is a gift tied to the gospel. It’s an attitude that prevails among the members.”

Read Leavitt’s full article at LDSliving.com.