Unlike its Polynesian neighbors—French Polynesia, Hawai‘i, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tonga—Fiji did not have any Latter-day Saint members until well into the twentieth century. The first known member to live in Fiji was Mary Ashley, who moved with her small family from Tonga to Suva in 1924. Known to friends and family by her Tongan name, Mele Vea, Sister Ashley lived a long distance from Church members for nearly thirty years before the Church was formally established in Fiji. Throughout this time period, Sister Ashley paid her tithes and contributions through correspondence to mission leaders in Tonga. Primarily because of her connections with the Church in Tonga, Fiji was included as part of the Tongan Mission from 1924 to 1953. In order to better accommodate the needs of Sister Ashley’s family in Fiji, the country was assigned to the New Zealand Mission on June 8, 1953. Though New Zealand was farther away, the change allowed regular missionary visits to Suva once every three months. During the earlier period of geographic isolation, the Ashleys kept in contact with Church leaders through correspondence and periodic member visits to Fiji. For instance, while journeying to visit members in Tonga, Emile Dunn stopped in Fiji to see Sister Ashley in 1936. The occasion brought comfort to Sister Ashley since she had prayed for a servant of the Lord to come and bless her children. On January 23, 1954, Sister Ashely’s eleven-year-old daughter Margaret was baptized at Laucala Beach Estate. This is the first recorded baptism of the Church performed in Fiji. . . .

As part of a worldwide tour of the missions of the Church, the then-Elder McKay had visited Fiji in 1921 with Elder Hugh J. Cannon. They had not felt impressed at that time to introduce the gospel in the Fiji Islands, but after visiting with the nucleus of Saints in Brother Smith’s home, President McKay felt the time had arrived for the Church to begin to grow in these islands and explained that unless the local leaders could find African ancestry, the Fijian men were not restricted from getting the priesthood. So he challenged the Saints to make every effort possible to share the gospel with their neighbors in Fiji.