God's Name Used Extensively

Many missionaries who came to the Pacific from England and America in the 19th century used the name Jehovah in everyday speech and in their writings. In fact, one historian even mistakenly asserted that these early missionaries "were followers of Jehovah rather than disciples of Christ."

Personal letters of these missionaries often started with a phrase such as: "May you be saved by God even Our Lord Jehovah by Jesus Christ the king of peace." Not surprisingly, therefore, Albert J. Schutz, a well-known linguist says that in Fiji a primer produced in 1825 contained only one word borrowed from English. It was the name Jehovah.

This use of Jehovah's name by the early missionaries had a profound effect on Pacific islanders. Some of these taught ones were, in turn, sent out as missionaries, or teachers, to take their message to other islands. Commenting on the above-mentioned arrival of the two Tahitian missionaries on the island of Mangaia, the book The Covenant Makers-Islander Missionaries in the Pacific makes this comment: "For the Tahitian teachers, Jehovah was the only true God. He created the whole world and man was part of God's creation...[They] claimed that Jehovah was the only true God and His Son Jesus Christa was the Saviour of mankind."

As they took the Bible's message to various islands, some early missionaries encountered incredible dangers, since the inhabitants at times were violent. In describing the difficulties involved, the book Mission, Church and Sect in Oceania states: " Strong faith in Jehovah often overcame fear and despair."

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