From “Mormon Cockroaches” to celebrities, the story of the Eldares and their hit song, Masi Samoa.

They used to call the missionaries Mormon cockroaches. A few years later, those same people were lining the streets asking for their autographs. In the early 1960s, missionaries in Samoa faced a serious image problem. False rumors had spread about the church, and many young people mocked the missionaries. As elders walked down the street, they would sometimes hear the chant, "Mamona, Monga, Monga," which roughly meant Mormon cockroach.

Mission President J. Philip Hanks was only a few years older than many of his missionaries, and he had an unusual idea. What if music could change hearts? He selected four talented missionaries to form a singing quartet called the Eldairs. The group included Wayne Willis, Carl Fono, Moana, Ricky Nielson, and Randy Broadhead. Later, when Wayne became ill, George Murdoch, my father-in-law, joined the quartet.

For two months, they traveled throughout Samoa performing concerts almost every night except Sunday. They sang songs from around the world, and they shared their testimonies, and they preached the gospel through music. One of their most popular songs was written by Randy Broadhead. It was called Masi Samoa. The song humorously described white missionaries trying to adapt to Samoan culture, including eating fish heads, sea snails, and a traditional food called mossi Samoa.

Masi Samoa was made from fermented bananas wrapped in leaves and buried underground as a form of food storage. The song was set to the tune of peanut peanut butter. It was funny, memorable, and people absolutely loved it. The concerts became so popular that records were sold by the hundreds throughout Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand, and Hawaii. Something remarkable began to happen. The same youth who had once mocked the missionaries started looking forward to seeing them.

Instead of shouting, "Mamona, Monga, Monga," they now yelled, "Mamona, Masi Samoa." The nickname had changed. More importantly, so had people's feelings. Music opened doors that had previously been closed. It softened hearts and created friendships and it gave missionaries opportunities to share the gospel with people who might never have listened otherwise. More than 40 years later in 2008, the elders returned for a reunion tour.

To their amazement, crowds lined the streets waiting to see them. They appeared on television and radio programs. People asked for their autographs and the tour concluded with a performance at the Polynesian Cultural Center in La Hawaii. A group of missionaries with a few songs had helped transform how an entire generation viewed the church. Sometimes a sermon changes a heart and sometimes a song does.