Bats in the Church: An Omen That Brought Stolen Building Supplies Back to the Mormons of Madolenihmw

In Madolenihmw, the region of Pohnpei where early Latter-day Saint missionaries faced the fiercest opposition — one elder was almost beaten to death — locals stole the Church's building supplies while the Saints were trying to raise a meetinghouse. On an island where traditional beliefs read meaning into natural signs, the thieves then found bats swarming in their own church building. They took the bats as an omen of the wrong they had done to the Mormons — and returned the stolen supplies. The episode is recounted by Pohnpeian member Ricky Joel as part of the story of how the gospel overcame persecution in Madolenihmw, the municipality where, decades later, the Panasang Pohnpei Stake was organized in 2014.