This book could never have been written without the generous support and encouragement of numerous scholars, institutions, and advisers. Foremost, we are deeply grateful to Lorraine Morton Ashton, who shared with us her vast archive of Tongan mission history as she documented the legacy of her father, Ermel J. Morton. We are indebted to Viliami Toluta‘u for his encyclopedic knowledge of Tongan history and culture and express special appreciation to Eric B. Shumway and John H. Groberg, who understand Tonga better than any other palangi. Others who shared their knowledge, wisdom, and support include ‘Isileli Tupou Kongaika, R. Lanier Britsch, and Pita Hopoate. We gratefully acknowledge those who gave of their time and memories, who are too numerous to mention, which greatly enhanced this effort, and without which this volume would never have been possible.

We wish to thank the following institutions and individuals that assisted us with our research: the College of Religious Education and the Department of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University; the L. Tom Perry Special Collections staff, Harold B. Lee Library, BYU; Brooks Haderlie and Gailyn Bopp of the Joseph F. Smith Archives and Special Collections, Brigham Young University–Hawaii; the Church History Library team, especially Jeff Thompson and Tyson Thorpe; and the Royal Palace Archives, Nuku‘alofa, Tonga. Appreciation is also extended to all those who kindly permitted an interview and to the staff of the BYU Religious Education Faculty Support Center, who transcribed the interviews, as well as to their adviser, Beverly Yellowhorse, who provided careful editorial review of the entire manuscript.

We also express appreciation to our wives—Connie, JoAnna, and Maureen—who supported us throughout the duration of our work and finally to our chief editors, Shirley Ricks, Devan Jensen, and the BYU Religious Studies Center editorial team, including Brent Nordgren, Carmen Cole, Sarah Whitney Johnson, and Emily Strong for assistance in bringing the manuscript to completion.