Show MORMONS PERSECUTED GOVERNORS OF THE SOCIETY ISLANDS IS-LANDS FORBID THEM PREACH Under Pain of Fine Imprisonment and Bunisliment Annual Church Conference Prohibited Will Tolerate Tol-erate So Religion Xot Recognized in France The Mormon missionaries and the Mormon people in the Society islands particularly in the Tahiti and Tu amotu groups are suffering from a rigorous persecution Tiilch has lately been instituted by the governors of those insular lands The groups in question are under the dominion of France and a change of governors lately made has turned out to be a bad thing for not only the missionaries mission-aries but for the natives who have embraced the Mormon faith J W Damron W A Seegmiller and T Jones missionaries of the Mormon church and J A Gilbert a Josephite have just returned from the islands arriving at San Francisco on Wednesday Wednes-day and are now on their way to Salt Lake Mr Damron says the Mormon missionaries have labored in the islands without hindrance for forty years and obtained many converts especially in the Tuamotu group where out of a population of isome 3400 people 700 are Mormons 1000 Josephites 1000 Catholics and 700 Protestants In Tahiti the natives are mostly Protestants Governor Tabanu when he was executive officer of the Tuamatu group encouraged the Mormons but about a year ago the French government govern-ment changed the governors and put Governor Martin at Tuamotu and Governor Papino at Tahiti The two new rulers at first were not openly hostile but gave evidence of un friendliness by their very uncourteous reception of the missionaries Last November their opposition became be-came open and the missionaries were forbidden under pain of fine imprisonment im-prisonment and banishment to preach or teach and the annual confprpn nf I the church on April 6 last was for bidden and could not be held Under I I these < < conditions has become almost iiuijuaoiuie jui um missionaries to accomplish I ac-complish anything Mr Damron says the reason for the persecution is that Governor Papino and Governor Martin who Is advised i I by Papino desires to have only the Protestant and Catholic religions I taught the natives When the Mor I mon people went to Governor Martin I with a petition asking to be allowed to worship In their own way the gov ernor told them he could not tolerate I any faith not recognized in France |