Densho Digital Archive - Arthur Nishimoto Interview (denshovh-narthur-01-0016)

<Begin Segment 16>

AL: So at the time before you went overseas -- you've mentioned that you're Mormon -- were you Mormon at that time?

AN: Yes, uh-huh.

AL: So could you tell us a little bit about your faith journey, how and when you became a Mormon, and just how that, if it affected your outlook at all as you... I mean, that's a pretty big thing in your life.

AN: No, Mormon, of course, is a nickname. The real name of our church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. And the word Mormon comes in because of the historical records that were translated from various brass plates, and that's where the Book of Mormon was formed. And so my... of course, I didn't join the church for a long time. I went to the church because I loved the sports program, and I loved the missionaries, and I loved the teachings of Jesus Christ. And so I finally joined the church because I found out that there's nothing wrong with the religion at all. Of course, they talk about polygamy and all that, but that's way, way back history. And when you really come down to it, the whole Christian world kind of points finger at the Mormons because of being polygamists. Because the Bible, as far as I know, all believe in the Bible, and all the leadership in the Bible, the old prophets, they have more than one wife, they had concubines. So it was, you've got to understand that at that time, it was not against the law of the land to have... it was directed. And many people don't understand that. The Mormons, when they went to polygamy, that wasn't everyone, that was only certain people. However, like anybody else, their weaknesses, "Well, he can do it, I can do it, too," until... that was not breaking the law of the land, until the law of the land says there's no such thing, then everything stopped. Because our church, they believe in, to live the law of the land, no matter what. So it's okay, so they stopped that. But then the hard core Mormons, they took off, they got up and broke off, and they formed their own church. They called it the Reorganized church and the fundamentalists, and to this day, they have that. But the main body of the church followed the law of the land, so they got to stop that, well, we have to stop that.

AL: Did your parents or your brother or sister, are any of them, were any of them Mormon or just you?

AN: No, just me. Just me. And later on, my sister joined the church.

AL: Okay. And I apologize if I use any of the wrong terms, but how old were you when you were, is it called received? Received into the temple? How old were you when you became Mormon?

AN: Oh, I guess I was sixteen or seventeen years old.

AL: And that was your choice. So you mentioned also before that you got engaged when you were at Camp Shelby. Can you tell us a little bit about the woman who became your wife, what her background was, her maiden name?

AN: Well, anyway... she was a Mormon girl, too.

AL: And what was her name?

AN: Grace. Grace Dono, D-O-N-O. And yeah, she was a Mormon also. And so we both went to high school together. Actually, she was my high school sweetheart, so we said, well, like I said before, well, we might as well get engaged. That was the selfish part on my part, that when I'm at war, I didn't want her to be fooling around with anybody else. [Laughs]

AL: So how did you propose? You said you were at Camp Shelby when you got engaged?

AN: Yeah. I just wrote her a letter, and I sent her a ring. I said, "This is official." [Laughs]

AL: "This is official, don't be fooling around." [Laughs]

AN: That kept her on track.

AL: Okay, so you... and what were her parents' names, and did she have brothers, sisters, could you just give us a little...

AN: No, she was the only child in the home.

AL: And was she Nisei?

AN: Yes, uh-huh. She was just like a... born and raised.

AL: When you were in Hawaii, I don't know what year it was built, but the temple that's up by...

AN: Laie?

AL: Yeah, where the Cultural Center is, was that there at the time?

AN: Yes, oh, yes. The temple, as far as I know the Mormon Temple's been there since 1900s.

AL: Is it? Okay. Were there many Japanese Hawaiians, Japanese Americans who were Mormon?

AN: There were not many, but... well, we can say many, quite a few, yes. Yes, there were.

AL: I've been to the cultural center up at Laie, and is it the Polynesian Cultural Center?

AN: Uh-huh.

AL: That's pretty amazing. Anytime, if I go back, and I took my mom there.

AN: Oh, yeah?

AL: Yeah, it was neat. I mean, the chance to see all the cultural stuff.

AN: That's where we have a mixture of all the islanders, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, they all may look the same, but they all come from different islands.

AL: It's kind of like, I don't know if you've ever been to Epcot Center in Florida, where they have the whole world in like twenty acres, that's kind of like what the cultural center is. Here's Samoa, here's Fiji, here's Tahiti. Yeah, it was interesting. So I've seen the outside of the temple at Laie.

AN: Yeah, that's right the whole area was Mormon people, you know, from the different islands.

AL: So your wife, what did she do during the war?

AN: She worked for the government, regular government employee.

AL: Doing what?

AN: Government employee during the war. I think she worked for the U.S. Engineers.

AL: Did your parents or grandparents do any work, or you know what they did during, actually during the war?

AN: No. Well, my dad worked as, worked, but my grandparents, no. Because my grandpa, like I said before, a carpenter, he did his own business. But my dad worked regular work he had.