Sad to see on the same site, about the petroglyph vandalism.
It's everywhere here (graffiti, vandalism) and I even saw some at Auschwitz (minor carving/writing of names by teens, easily fixable) both within and outside the fences. the state and national monuments here are covered with it, and they have to constantly pay to clean them.
Iosepa, located in Skull Valley, Tooele County, is dry, desolate desert land that the white Mormons had no use for. The leaders probably didn't know what to do with the Hawaiians once they came to "Zion" so they stuck them out of sight out of mind.
Funny you should mention that place. I drove past it this morning on the way to Dugway Proving Ground. I stopped in their one day to take some pictures. A very desolate,lonely place.
What I find particularly interesting about Iosepa is that it was ostensibly set up as a sort of launch pad community where saints migrating from Hawaii could come and stay in order to make their way to the Salt Lake temple. Back in the day, that would have been quite a journey, to say the least. It really is about as remote and dry as one could imagine. Having formerly lived in Hawaii, I cannot begin to imagine what kind of thoughts must have gone through the minds of these people when they first arrived in their new home. I can't think of two more diametrically opposed landscapes. Holy cow!!!
The power of the temple fable/programming over the minds of church members never ceases to amaze me.
And to think that the church leaders easily could have built a small, simple temple in Hawaii long, long before building the fancy temple at Laie. They were doing all the temple ordinances in makeshift facilities in Utah long, long before any of the fancy temples were built.
I guess the leaders just got off on seeing the peasants turn their lives upside down and inside out to "live the gospel" in the manner dictated by the leaders...kind of the same way that Apostle Faust got off on seeing poor members in S. America rip the gold fillings out of their mouths in order to help fund the building of a temple in their region.
I truly can't understand it. Goofy handshakes and idiotic costumes. Why does that lunacy get such a hold on people?
I’ve been out there. An absolutely god forsaken place. I didn’t know the church was now trying to make it a faith promoting thing. It’s a terrible story and blatant racism on the part of the church.
Richard the Bad Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I learn something new everyday. I had never heard > of this Hawaiian settlement in Utah. Pretty > interesting: > > http://www.pasthorizons.com/index.php/archives/04/ > 2011/11461