In just 180 years, the Bahá’í Faith, initially viewed as an obscure movement in the Middle East, has become universally recognised as an independent religion established throughout the world.

The Bahá’ís are active in virtually every country and many dependent territories and overseas departments of countries. They reside in well over 100,000 localities. About 2,100 indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups are represented in the Bahá’í community.

The Bahá’í Faith is quite likely the most diverse and geographically widespread organised body of people on the planet. Its unity challenges prevailing theories about human nature and the prospects for humanity’s future.

But how did the Bahá’í Faith come to be established in Samoa, one of the far-flung islands of the vast and remote Pacific Ocean? And why, of all the islands in the region, is the Bahá’í House of Worship, known as the Mother Temple of the Pacific, located here?

The 14th of January 2024 is an auspicious date for the friends, a term of endearment Bahá’ís call one another. It marks the 70th anniversary, a Platinum Jubilee, of the arrival of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith in the Samoan archipelago.

As stated by the late Malietoa Tanumafili II, in a letter to the friends attending the 50th anniversary of the Bahá’í Faith in Samoa and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Bahá’í House of Worship: “The teachings of Bahá’u’lláh were brought to our shores by a young and remarkable woman who, with unwavering dedication, has served the Bahá’í Faith exceedingly well for full five decades.”

Lilian, who was only 24 years old at the time, travelled from Auckland to what was then Western Samoa on the MV Matua, an inter-island ferry referred to as the Banana Boat and operated by the Union Steamship Company. By 1957, the first local governing council, a body comprising nine adult Bahá’ís, was formed.

In 1970, just 16 years after stepping onto Samoan soil, the first national governing council was established for the entire archipelago. Another significant piece of the history of the Faith occurred five years earlier in 1968. This is when His Highness the late Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, whose birthday was celebrated annually on 4 January for many years, embraced the teachings of the Bahá’u’lláh and declared himself to be a Bahá’í to the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing council that has its offices on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Bahá’í House of Worship, a Ruby Jubilee. When the Temple was opened to public worship in September 1984 by the late Madame Rúhíyyih Rabbáni, she stated: “This much blessed House of Worship now opening wide its doors to people of all creeds, of all races, of all nations, and of all classes, is dedicated to the three fundamental verities underlying the Baha’i Faith; the unity of God, the unity of His prophets, the unity of mankind.”

As to locating the Mother Temple for the Pacific Islands in Samoa, this was a decision of the Universal House of Justice which was announced to the world in 1974. The first reigning monarch to declare to be a Bahá’í was His Highness the late Malietoa Tanumafili II.

The significance of his declaration has yet to be fully grasped. His Highness was actively involved in searching for a suitable property for the Bahá’í House of Worship. Considering further why Samoa was chosen, Bahá’ís will often refer to a promise made by Bahá’u’lláh over 100 years earlier: “Should they attempt to conceal His light on the continent, He will assuredly rear His head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising His voice, proclaim: ‘I am the life-giver of the world!’”

There are nine doors of the Temple through which people of all creeds, of all races, of all nations, and all classes may enter. The Bahá’ís of Samoa and American Samoa welcome you to visit.