Throughout his twenty year tenure as minister of the mission church in Honolulu, Hiram Bingham earned hostile testimonials. Foreign residents and foreign visitors were virtually unanimous in their dislike for the meddlesome missionary. American visitors were appalled by Bingham's influence and actions: W.S. Ruschenberger, for instance, believed a "refined and elegant" missionary was more suitable than a "strong preacher." Similar sentiments were expressed by some of Bingham's colleagues. Asa Thurston complained that his co-worker was "too much disposed to take precedence of [me]"; later missionaries to Hawaii felt that Bingham assumed too much in the governance of the mission. Historians and novelists agree with this assessment.
