Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hong Kong made history this Saturday April 21, 2018, as President Russell M. Nelson, the Latter-day Saints prophet, visited them as the seventh stop of his global ministry tour.
About 4,200 people from mostly Hong Kong and others from all over the world gathered at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center to hear from President Nelson, who made a remarked that this was the largest group of Latter-day Saints ever assembled in the city.
“We are very happy to go around the world to symbolize our desire to take the love of God to all of his children throughout the world, “said President Nelson who was accompanied by his wife, Wendy and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Patricia. “Our message has been the same. We invite all of God's children to come unto their Savior.”
As a former surgeon and medical researcher, President Nelson spoke of the wonder of the human body, as well as the importance of education, prayer, tithing, family and worship in temples.
“Everything we do in the Church is to make life better for other people, to bring them joy,” he said. “And how do you that? By building strong families. Those families are made stronger because of covenants made in the holy temples.”
He invited all “to come unto their Savior, to be blessed by the ordinances of the temple and have enduring joy and qualify for that greatest of all blessings — that of eternal life.”
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- En declaraciones a los Santos de los Últimos Días en Hong Kong el 21 de abril de 2018, el presidente de la Iglesia, Russell M. Nelson, dijo: "Todo lo que hacemos en la Iglesia es mejorar la vida de otras personas, brindarles alegría".
- El élder Jeffrey R. Holland, del Quórum de los Doce Apóstoles, habló con los Santos de los Últimos Días en Hong Kong el 21 de abril de 2018. "Cualquiera que sea la dificultad, cualquiera que sea el sufrimiento, cualquiera sea la privación, si buscamos a nuestro Padre Celestial, él puede convierte esa configuración y ese momento en instrucción divina ".
- La belleza de la música sacra por parte de un coro de más de 100 Santos de los Últimos Días en Hong Kong marcó el tono de los mensajes instructivos del presidente Russell M. Nelson y el élder Jeffrey R. Holland 21 de abril de 2018
- La música sagrada es una parte importante de la adoración de los Santos de los Últimos Días. El pianista acompañó al coro durante la reunión especial para miembros en Hong Kong el 21 de abril de 2018. El presidente Russell M. Nelson y el élder Jeffrey R. Holland, del Quórum de los Doce Apóstoles, enseñaron e inspiraron a la audiencia.
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Prior to President Nelson’s remarks, Elder Holland taught the Saints about Joseph Smith’s 1839 Liberty Jail experience — one of the most difficult periods of Joseph’s life, but one that yielded some of the Church’s choicest and most comforting passages of scripture.
“God can turn every disadvantage to your opportunity and your advantage,” Elder Holland said. “Whatever the difficulty, whatever the heartache, whatever the deprivation, if we seek our Father in Heaven, He can turn that setting and that moment into divine instruction.”
Such instruction comes more readily in the Church’s temples, Elder Holland added. Like President Nelson, he encouraged members of Hong Kong to continue to focus on the temple — especially because they have such a sacred structure in their midst.
“When you're not in the temple here in Hong Kong, make sure the temple is in you,” Elder Holland said, “that whatever the environment you face, you'll have the peace of the gospel of Jesus Christ speaking to you as God Himself spoke to the Prophet Joseph in Liberty Jail.”
The senior Latter-day Saint leaders, who stand as witnesses of the Savior, began their travels in the United Kingdom with a stop in London on April 12. They also visited Jerusalem, Israel; Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe; Bengaluru, India; Bangkok, Thailand.
This is the President Nelson’s first international trip since he was named the Church’s 17th president in January.
Many were moved by his Christlike, one-on-one approach to his ministry.
“I was so touched by his kindness [and] by his love,” said Lance Chan, whose mother got baptized in 1972. He now works as the assistant temple recorder for the Church in Hong Kong. “I could just feel it when he was going and saying goodbye to us.”
President Nelson reminded Latter-day Saints that the work of the Church in Asia is only beginning.
“In a very real sense, you here today are pioneers. You're pioneers in Hong Kong, Macau, Chengdu, Beijing, Shanghai, the Philippines,” he said. “The work of the Lord in these places is just beginning. And you are His people, His pioneers.”
Wendy Au, who has been a Latter-day Saint her entire life, said she takes President Nelson’s pioneer teachings to heart.
“We're just a start, we're just a little pioneer,” she said. “We have more generations to come to convert and [help] return back to the presence of Heavenly Father.”
Global Ministry Tour
The global ministry tour runs April 10–23, 2018. The senior Church leaders are visiting eight cities in 11 days in Europe, Africa and Asia. The final stop of the tour is Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.
Global Church
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, has more than 16 million members around the world. There are nearly 1.2 million Latter-day Saints in Asia.
Over 26,000 Latter-day Saints reside in the Hong Kong and Macau region. Missionary headquarters were established in 1949.
The Church has 159 temples worldwide with 30 others announced or under construction. The Hong Kong China Temple was dedicated in 1996.