A personal view of a possible Polynesian connection to pre-Columbian America and the Book of Mormon.

Polynesian migration is a subject of great interest to me, particularly areas relating to Samoa. I have read books and articles on the subject, but did not take it seriously until a few years ago. As a member of the LDS Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I am especially interested in this topic because of the claims by early LDS church leaders that Polynesians are descendants of a people whose story is recorded in the Book of Mormon.

• "In these islands of Samoa, Thou hast remembered Thine ancient promise 'unto them who are upon the isles of the sea' (2 Nephi 10:21)." (Apia Samoa Temple - Rededicatory Prayer by President Gordon B Hinckley, 4 September 2005.)
  
  
• "We thank Thee, that thousands and tens of thousands of the descendants of Lehi, in this favored land, have come to a knowledge of the gospel, many of whom have endured faithfully to the end of their lives." (Laie Hawaii Temple - By President Heber J Grant, 27-30 November 1919 )
  
  
• "...the Polynesian Saints are characterized by a tremendous faith. Why do they have this great faith? It is because these people are of the blood of Israel. They are heirs to the promises of the Book of Mormon. God is now awakening them to their great destiny." (Mark E. Petersen: Conference Report, Apr. 1962, p. 112)

In 2003, I set out to take a closer look at this subject and these notes resulted from that initial limited investigation.

This is not an archeological treatise, nor an LDS theological lesson. I am not qualify to speak on those subjects. Nevertheless, I wish to share my opinions about the things that I came across using this website titled "SOLO OLE VA". It is based on a Samoan creation story with the same name. One of my goals is to find out if this Samoan myth provides any insight into the Polynesian migration topic. I want to find out if there are traditions from the Pacific and the Americas that shed light on the true essence of the Solo. It was time to search for answers.

What I have learned so far has convinced me that a connection between ancient Polynesia and America is much stronger than what is acknowledged by many experts. As I will show later, while the names and words in the Solo are different to those in pre-Columbian American cultures, some available facts strongly suggest that this story from the middle Pacific and stories found in pre-Columbian American cultures share common roots.

• 'Solo Ole Va' vs Genesis -Comparing the Book of Genesis to the Text of the Solo
  
  
• Poluto myth vs Lehi's dream -Comparing Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon to the "Polutu" myth from Polynesia
  
  
• Words from East and from West -Comparing words from several languages including Samoa, the Americas and Egyptian
  
  
• Consider these facts -Facts for consideration
  
  
• 'Solo Ole Va' Text -The actual text of the "Solo Ole Va"
  
  
• My Unscientific View -My humble unscientific view of how a group of people traveled from the Americas to the middle Pacific.
  
  

Send me a message if you have a comment - imanua @ yahoo.com