Mormon and Maori

Mormon and Maori examines the appeal of Mormonism for the Maori of New Zealand from its first introduction to them in the 1880s and the reasons for its continuing success. It discusses the impact of an American religion on its Maori converts and their culture over the last 130 years and surveys the attempts of American leaders and missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to find a consistent policy reconciling Mormonism and Maoritanga.


Praise for Mormon and Maori:

“Mormon and Maori is the result of a labor of love that reflects not years but decades of diligent research. Indeed, in combination with Newton’s earlier Tiki and Temple, it constitutes the most detailed discussion in print of the fascinating 160-year saga of accommodation and adjustment between Maori culture and Mormonism. Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly compassionate, Mormon and Maori is a must-read for anyone interested in the extraordinary history of the LDS experience in New Zealand.” — Grant Underwood, Professor of History, Brigham Young University

“Marjorie Newton’s Mormon and Maori is an exemplary scholarly work. In this volume Newton deftly untangles the historical and narrative threads that have given rise to a singular variant of Mormonism. Mormon Studies scholars and general readers alike will find this beautifully crafted book an important addition inasmuch as it draws attention away from Mormonism at the core and seeks to make sense of an indigenous American religion in the community’s cultural borderlands.” — Gina Colvin, Ngati Porou, Nga Puhi; Lecturer, University of Canterbury, New Zealand


About the Author:

Marjorie Newton has published award-winning articles in the Journal of Mormon History, BYU Studies and Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, as well as several articles in The Ensign. Her Tiki and Temple: The Mormon Mission in New Zealand, 1854–1958 (Greg Kofford Books, 2012) was awarded the Best International Book Award from the Mormon History Association.