The History of Hawai‘i From Our Files: The Islands Celebrate 100 Years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1950

For 133 years HONOLULU Magazine has kept its readers and advertisers at the vanguard of fashion, insight and fun. Starting out as “Paradise of the Pacific” in 1888 with a commission from King Kalākaua, we’re the oldest continually publishing magazine west of the Mississippi. Here is a look into our archives in 2010.

The Islands celebrate 100 years of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawai‘i with pageants, conference sessions, concerts and feasts. Paradise writes: “Arriving in Hawaii in 1850 when the morale of the Hawaiians was at low ebb, the church gave them a religion which, like their own faith, harmonized with the land and the elements. … Realization that the Mormons looked upon the land itself, not merely as a means of gaining wealth but with the same affection as had their own ancestors, won for them immediate Hawaiian respect and admiration.” In 1950, on the Mormon tabernacle property on Beretania Street, a building is under construction; it will house archives. The church expands its reach in 1955 with the founding of Brigham-Young University-Hawai‘i and the Polynesian Cultural Center in 1963. In 2020, the church continues to serve almost 75,000 people in Hawai‘i through 141 congregations.