By Alecia Brown
In the “top end” of Australia, known to the rest of the world as the Northern Territory, 40 years ago missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made their way into the outback and found a people wanting to know about Jesus Christ. So much so that today there are entire communities which are, or are close to 100% Latter-day Saint. This is surprising in part because of the persecution the aboriginal people had experienced in the past at the hands of Christians. From the mid 1800s through the 1970s, whole generations of aboriginal children were taken from their families to be put with white families, usually to become servants. There are still aboriginals alive today who were taken from their families, these are known as the Stolen Generation.
The Aboriginals of the top end are the closest to those that were here before “white fella” arrived. They live much the same way as their ancestors did with some modern additions. They still hunt with spears, but also guns. They may use cars to get to places, or just walk thousands of kilometers. The community of Mulga Bore, an aboriginal community, is one of those native communities of just 70 people, all of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In the past year there have been 127 baptisms across the Northern Territory. Dotted throughout this area are other aboriginal communities that are either all church members or close to it and growing.
Among the members of the church in Mulga Bore, there is an amazing aboriginal artist by the name of Marie Ryder who paints Book of Mormon stories, the plan of salvation, and stories of Church history in traditional aboriginal style. The Church Headquarters has commissioned art by her to put on display in a special exhibit set for 2026. Her art is for sale in the Australian temple distribution centres alongside the traditional art you would find. These artworks help the missionaries preach God's word to other aboriginals in the desert. They take small versions of her art with them to have a visual aid to share the gospel in a way aboriginals relate to because, unlike past missionaries from other churches, it’s in their own language and culture instead of ‘white fella’ telling them how to think and act.
In April of 2024, a group of members from the area traveled to Sydney to attend the temple for the first time, some waited 40 years to make the trip. Because the aboriginals didn’t keep a written history pre-colonization, it is difficult for them to do their family history. But they were able to work with the Barkley Regional Council to use what’s called the Named Death Registry to prepare records of deceased family members to take to the temple so they could perform proxy ordinances for them.
This trip was organised by Elder and Sister Gamble, senior missionaries for the area. There were also a number of returned missionaries that served in the area over the years such as, Mathew Tarawa and Tane Kaka both New Zealanders who served in the 80’s. These former missionaries returned to be a part of this historic trip for these aboriginal members attending the temple for the first time. In 1981 Elder Tarawa baptized Beetaloo and Biddy Bill whose daughters attended the temple trip with him making this a very special trip for them. Together the group made the 32 hour drive, and in total performed 227 temple ordinances including baptisms, initiatories, endowments and sealings. The example of these faithful aboriginal Latter-day Saints show how special major milestones within the church are, and how they’re even more so with friends and family present.
The views expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the position of Ward Radio News. Ward Radio News is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Church) and does not officially represent the Church.
Have any Wokescolds called you out for not referring to the new members as Indigenous instead of Aboriginal?
I love this story and even though I've never met these people I love them also! Coming from a small branch spread out over a large area, I appreciate how much work it takes for these saints to do what they are doing. A very inspiring story that helps me in my own work in the gospel.
I served in the Australia Brisbane Mission and did not know this about the Northern Territory. That's awesome!
This is amazing. Thank you for sharing this story!