His Excellency Ali'ioagia Feturi Elisaia, ambassador of Samoa to The United Nations and United States, visited Brigham Young University last week [27 March 2013].
In his remarks at the university’s Kennedy Center, “the ambassador explained that the basic unit of Samoan society is the family, not the individual,” BYU’s The Digital Universe reports.
He told faculty and students: “The constitution of Samoa guarantees religious freedom, but it is ultimately a country ‘founded on God,’ as well as love, humility and forgiveness.”
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The article continues: “In the past new churches could not be established in Samoa if there was already a Methodist church in the area. However, the constitution safeguards freedom of worship, and Elisaia explained that this has allowed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to become strong in Samoa.”
“Sometimes it’s a strength to have many different religions so long as you are all worshiping the same God and there is a level of accountability between you and God,” Elisaia said.
Brigham Young University is located in Provo, Utah, United States, and is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Read more at The Digital Universe.