King of Tonga Sends Prime Minister to Stop Son from Being Baptized

10960
Prince Ata, the Guest of Honour at the Liahona and Sainehā Alumni Reunion 2014, in Hawaii. Liahona and Sainehā high schools belong to the Mormon Church.

An unusual event occurred this week when King Tupou VI of Tonga sent the Prime Minister and soldiers to persuade his son, Prince Ata, from being baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

According to New Zealand Kaniva Pacific, the baptism was originally scheduled for the beginning of September at the Havelu Stake Center in Tonga.

After multiple requests sent from the King, Prince Ata, the King’s second son and fourth in line to the throne, finally agreed to postpone the baptism until after the majesties had returned from their trip to the United States and Europe.

Though it’s been almost two months since the assigned date of the baptism, Prince Ata has been attending church regularly. No further news has been reported on when the Prince will get baptized.

Natalie New is a writer and intern for LDS.net and a current English student at BYU-Idaho. She was born and raised in an LDS home and has attending two Mormon universities up to this point. Natalie has also held a variety of Church callings and has had unique experiences, giving her a unique outlook on life. You can contact Natalie via email.