Everyone knows something about the struggles of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a place on the American frontier, but at the same time, on the other side of the world another epic of faith and courage was being enacted by the Saints. Missionaries called by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1843 to the islands of the Pacific were the Church's first called to a foreign culture and language. Departing in October of 1843 from New Bedford Massachusetts aboard the ship Timoleon , they made their first landfall in Polynesia at the island of Tubuai on 30 April 1844. The mission was carried out chiefly by two missionaries, Addison Pratt and Benjamin Grouard, who were directed to stay in their field of labor until they were released or relieved. They clung to the mission for nine years or more. Immediate success on Tubuai anchored their work, and their success in the Tuamotu Islands set the pattern for missionaries for the next century. Included in the narrative are many inspiring experiences of both missionaries and Tahitian Saints for the next 150 years, up to 1993, when the Church celebrated its Sesquicentennial in French Polynesia. Their fascinating stories center on key events and developments including the following: Persistent opposition to the Church was eventually overcome and cordial relations were gradually established with the government. - The France-Tahiti connection inspired French members of the Church to superintend and teach at the LDS elementary school in Tahiti. - The schooner Paraita , reminiscent of the ships built by the first missionaries, was operated by the Church for the mission. - Temple worship dramatically affected the lives of the Saints in French Polynesia. Although the aim of this history, which is also published in French, is to edify the Saints of French Polynesia and to remind them of their own unique pioneer heritage, anyone interested in the expansion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world will find this account informative and inspiring.