COUSINS

Miller Soliai was born in Samoa and raised in Oakland, California but for those of us who had the pleasure of knowing him he was a delightful cousin.

It will take a little explaining for the world to understand how a bunch of people from the Reno Nevada Institute of Religion could be considered cousins to someone from such a faraway place and such a diverse culture from the usual student population of that area.

It was impossible to be with Miller for even a few minutes without getting caught up in his enthusiasm for life, reciprocating his infectious smile and laughing at his free and humorous views of life.

One day before we knew it we were in the center of planning a trip to Hawaii because Miller had suggested that it would be the most wonderful thing in our lives. We ended up with an interesting mixture of institute students and local adults along with a couple and their family who would be wed at the pool of the Lani Loa Lodge near the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Oahu where Miller had arranged for us to stay. We actually ended up having the details of the trip arranged by a good friend, Roger Ballingham, who had a travel agency.

Anyway, since the Motel bordered the campus of what is now known as BYU Hawaii, we ate our meals in the cafeteria on campus and enjoyed some of the other offerings of the college. As a side note I must add that it was on this trip that I fell in love with macadamia nut ice cream. I digress, back to the main point of all this meandering down memory lane. While Miller was showing us around the campus one day, he wanted us to see the dramatic sculptures of people and places of Samoa which his younger brother had created. As we walked along we kept running into people who were also from Samoa and Miller would introduce them by saying ‘this is my cousin …’

After we had been introduced to about 30 cousins in just a short period of time I had to question the authenticity of the cousin relationship. Miller kindly explain that since Samoa was such a small community of islands, everyone was related in one way or another and rather than try to trace the exact line of relationship it was just easier to refer to each other as cousins or as a brother or sister.

As our brotherhood grew I eventually asked Miller if he would consider making me an adopted cousin. He was delighted and from that time forward he always introduced me as his brother or his cousin.

One of the real blessings of this relationship with Miller was that we were able to make several more trips to the beautiful Islands of Hawaii with the last of these trips being made with all our children and their mates to celebrate our 50 years of marriage. It was a very special trip since we were able to visit four of the Islands while being escorted by some Hawaiian ‘cousins’, the Kanekoa.

By now I am sure you are wondering what the point of this personal memory account might be. Well, since you are curious, I was struck with this ‘cousin’ relationship thing the other day while I was doing several hours of sealings in the Newport Beach Temple, and how we all live as if on a very small island and with very little effort can find commonality of community and relationship.

In the sessions:

There was a brother who was from Bountiful, Utah, who in just a few minutes I was connected with through common ancestral ties.
There was a sister who is the granddaughter of the family my wife was boarding with when we got married.

There was a sister who is the wife of one of the missionaries who served with us in Colombia.

There was a brother who I knew when I was a teenager going to high school in Garden Grove, California.

In the group there were people who shared common ancestry with those whose ordinances we were performing.

There were fellow ordinance workers in the Temple.

There were people whose lives had been affected by their involvement in the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church Education System.

Anyway, as Miller would remind us, on this tiny island it doesn't take but a few steps to establish common kinship.

I am sure your life and my life would be full of a lot more kindness, happiness and enthusiasm if we could remember that there really are no strangers on this beautiful blue planet, but only cousins!

Hello Cousin!!