In April 2011 general conference, President Thomas S. Monson spoke of the “all-important and crowning blessings of membership” in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — the ordinances and covenants found within the house of the Lord.

In his remarks, President Monson shared examples of the sacrifices made by Latter-day Saints to enjoy those blessings, including the account of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham and their 10 children, who worked, saved and sacrificed for six years to travel to the Hamilton New Zealand Temple from their home in French Polynesia.

The Hamilton New Zealand Temple is pictured in Hamilton, New Zealand, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

In September of this year, 50 years after Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham and their children were sealed as a family, their posterity returned to Hamilton to honor the couple’s legacy and celebrate the anniversary of this important family milestone.

“Being here 50 years later, it’s a wonderful way to thank Heavenly Father for the help He gave us to make that dream come true,” Gisele Tefan, a daughter of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham, told the Church’s Pacific Newsroom.

In his conference talk, President Monson related how Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham and their 10 children joined the Church in the early 1960s, when missionaries came to their home on Raiatea, a beautiful island located about 100 miles (160 km) south of Tahiti.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints President Thomas S. Monson speaks during the Sunday morning session of 181st Annual General Conference in April 2011 in Salt Lake City.

Tom Smart, Deseret News

Soon the family began to desire the blessings of an eternal family and to be sealed in the temple. However, the nearest temple at that time was the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) to the southwest. 

Tihi Mou Tham was a farmer. The family grew most of their food and sold enough produce to meet day-to-day needs of their large family. Affording costly airfare for the 12 of them to New Zealand, in addition to purchasing new clothing and food, was not possible through the employment opportunities available on Raiatea, so Tihi Mou Tham and his son, Gerard, joined another son, Émile, in working the nickel mines on New Caledonia, 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away.

Tararaina Mou Tham took care of the eight younger children alone at home. She and the children grew their own food and saved as much of Tihi Mou Tham’s wages as possible, a Church News article from 2006 relates.

“It was hard for us to be separated. We felt loneliness, struggled with financial problems, and sometimes had frustrations,” Tefan recalled to Pacific Newsroom.

After four years, Tihi Mou Tham and his sons had saved enough money to take the family to New Zealand. All made the trip except for one daughter, who was close to delivering her first baby. In 1973, the Mou Tham family were sealed together, which President Monson called “an indescribable and joyful experience.”

While many tried to persuade Tihi Mou Tham to return to Raiatea with the rest of the family, he replied that his family was not yet complete. He worked another two years in the nickel mines so that he and Tararaina could travel with their daughter Rona and her husband and child to New Zealand where the new family was sealed together, and Rona was sealed to her parents.

In their later years, Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham continued to serve in the temple. After the Papeete Tahiti Temple was dedicated in 1981, they served four missions there.

“Why are so many willing to give so much in order to receive the blessings of the temple?” President Monson asked in 2011. “Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is too great, no price too heavy, no struggle too difficult in order to receive those blessings.”

The children of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham attend the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in September 2023, 50 years after being sealed there as a family.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Mou Thams have since passed away, but son Gerard Mou Tham told Pacific Newsroom he felt his parents’ love as their posterity met for the 50th anniversary celebration. “I felt their joy to see all their children in the temple so many years after their first visit. … It was wonderful to have the opportunity to share our testimonies, our feelings and our family love with each other,” he said. 

As their family attended the temple where they had been sealed 50 years prior, “We deeply felt their presence around us, as well as the presence of our beloved ones who are gone,” Gisele Tefan agreed. 

Gerard Mou Tham recalled how his mother used to write to him while he was working in New Caledonia. She would always remind him of a scripture in the Book of Mormon: “This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God” (Alma 34:32).

“I have made this teaching central to my whole life,” said Gerard Mou Tham. “It is my way to show my love to my parents.”

His sister Tefan added, “We are aware of the huge responsibility it is to pass on this legacy to our children, grandchildren, and next generations. The light our parents started must stay strong. It will guide our steps on the covenant path leading to our celestial home.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the type of mine that Tihi Mou Tham and his sons worked in. It was a nickel mine.

The children of Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham attend the Hamilton New Zealand Temple in September 2023, 50 years after being sealed there as a family.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints