1955, first group of missionaries served Hong Kong. It was taken at SS Pres. Cleveland

It was not until 1955 that Elder H. Grant HEATON was again called to Hong Kong. This time he brought along with him eight missionaries including Elder Jerry D. WHEAT and Malan R. JACKSON. They sailed to Hong Kong from San Francisco on board the President Cleveland. The company arrived in Hong Kong on 17 August and immediately set up the Southern Far East Mission. After setup up a temporary office at 149 Argyle Stree, Kowloon, they set out the missionary work at once and their work laid a good foundation for the Church in Hong Kong.

On 30 September 1955, the Church purchased the building at 2 Cornwall Street, Kowloon Tong which later became the mission home. Furthermore, the Church rented the flat at 4th Floor, 32 Peacock Road, North Point as the meeting place for the North Point Branch. They also rented flats at 6th floor, 349 Castle Peak Road and at 4th floor, 10 Observatory Terrace for accommodating the Sham Shui Po Branch and Tsim Sha Tsui Branch respectively on the 17th of the same month. However, the progress of the missionary work was hindered by the language barrier.

NG Kat-hing, the present president of the Hong Kong Temple, was one of the earliest brethren who came in contact with the Church. At the time, Brother NG was teaching at Pui Sun English College and also working as a part-time interpreter in a furniture store. President HEATON met Brother NG at the time he went to shop for furniture. Brother NG soon started the discussion lessons with missionaries. Touched by the teaching and patience of the missionaries, he was finally baptized by Elder WHEAT in May 1956. Soon after the baptism, President NG quitted his teaching and interpretation jobs and contributed all his time to service in the Church. All through the years, he never stops serving. At the present time, President NG is serving as the president of the Hong Kong Temple despite his ill health. He is indeed a true servant of the Lord and a pioneer of the Church in Hong Kong.

On 12 June 1956, the Hong Kong Mission moved into the office at 2 Cornwall Street. Translators were employed to facilitate the preaching of the gospel. The story of Joseph Smith was translated into Chinese on 20 September. Soon, the teaching manuals were also available in Chinese. Sixty people were baptized in that year and one of them was Sister FUNG TSANG Po-fan. There were 400 baptisms in 1957. A Chinese hymn book was also published in the same year. Having an eye on the long-term development, the Church started to purchase chapels. The Church bought the entire 8th floor of the Pak Cheung Building on Tak Shing Street, Tsim Sha Tsui and used it as the chapel of Tsim Sha Tsui Branch and Kowloon City Branch. The Church also purchased the entire 8th floor in Pak Fa Building, Sham Shui PO and used it as the chapel of Sham Shui Po and Lai Chi Kok Branch. 80 Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan was also bought to become the Tsuen Wan Branch chapel. The Church continued to grow. By the year 1958, there were 1000 members and twelve branches in the territory. In Kowloon, there were the Kowloon City, Lai Chi Kok, Sham Shui Po and Tsim Sha Tsui Branches; in the New Territories, the Tsuen Wan, Yuen Long, Sha Tin and Tai Po Branches; on the Hong Kong Island, the Aberdeen, Happy Valley, North Point and West Point Branches. The number of missionaries had reached 53 and the missionary work progressed satisfactorily. 600 people were baptized that year.

1955, first group of baptism

1956, second group of baptism

Kam Tong Hall at no. 7 Castle Road, Central, Hong Kong

1960, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley spoke to the members in Hong Kong (translated by brother Ng, Kat-Hing)

On 25 May 1959, Elder and Sister PETERSON paid a visit to Hong Kong and Elder PETERSON presided over a conference held in the Queen Elizabeth II Youth Centre. During his stay in Hong Kong, Elder PETERSON visited various branches over the territory – including Tsim Sha Tsui, Sham Shui Po, Tsuen Wan, Yuen Long, West Point, Causeway Bay, and Tiu Keng Leng and officiated at their dedicatory ceremonies. On 10 September, President TAYLOR, the newly called mission president, came to Hong Kong with his wife to replace President HEATON. At the same time, the Church also set out the work of translating the Book of Mormon into Chinese. The work was later completed in 1965.

In 1960, to better organize the branches, President TAYLOR conducted a 14-week training course for the priesthood leaders with lessons on the conduction of meetings, organization of the Church and responsibilities of various callings. About 120 priesthood holders attended the course and the attendance rate was over 95%. The result was satisfactory. After that, various posts and callings of the branches began to be filled by local members. On 3 May, Elder Gordon B. HINCKLEY, Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, visited Hong Kong. A party was held in the Tsim Sha Tsui chapel that evening to welcome him. At the party, Elder HINCKLEY admonished members to appreciate the fact that they were servants of the Lord, understand their callings, take good care of and love their families, keep all the commandments of the Lord, obey their leaders, be humble and courteous in their dealings with others, and strengthen their personal testimony. Over the subsequent years, Elder HINCKLEY has made a lot contributions to the Asian members, including receiving a revelation to build a unique multi-purpose temple in Hong Kong after the pattern shown to him in 1994. He is a true pioneer in respect to the Church’s development in Asia. On 19 July of the same year, Elder Howard W. HUNTER of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Hong Kong. On the next day, he attended the worship service at Victoria Peak and in the afternoon he went to the hospital to visit and bless Brother TANG Sum who lay sick in bed. On the 24th, Elder HUNTER presided over a conference an expounded the teachings of Christ and the Plan of Salvation. Two church leaders visited Hong Kong that year, which was indeed a great boost to the development of the young Church here.

To cope with the Church’s development, the Causeway Bay Branch was divided into the North Point Branch and Causeway Bay Branch on 16 October. With a view to speed up the missionary work, President TAYLOR diligently searched for a suitable spot on the Hong Kong Island to be the activity center for the Church in this part of the territory. However, owing to the strict control over land sales and construction in Hong Kong, his efforts were to no avail. Later, he learnt that the building at 7 Castle Road, Central, Hong Kong Island was put up for sale. President TAYLOR went to see it with Elder HINCKLEY. They both liked the place as soon as they saw it and finally the Church bought it on 31 December. By 1961, the auxiliary organizations of each branch were operating smoothly. Both the M.I.A. and the Relief Society performed well. By now, all the teaching manuals of the auxiliary organizations had been translated into Chinese. In order to develop good teachers, some fifty members were chosen to attend a teacher training course, which consisted of 16 parts. From then on, all the callings of Sunday School teachers, priesthood teachers and teachers of other auxiliary organizations began to be held by local members. This was another forward stride made by the Church. In addition, the M.I.A. organized many different activities such as ball games, talent shows and dances.

For the purpose of enhancing the development of the Church in Hong Kong, Elder HINCKLEY came to Hong Kong again in May 1962. To consolidate the development of the Church, Elder HINCKLEY not only presided over a conference, but also visited different places over the territory with President TAYLOR. President TAYLOR finished his term of service and went home in September. The new mission president was Brother Jay A. QUEALY. He sailed with his wife and children from Honolulu, Hawaii on board the ship President Wilson and arrived in Hong Kong on 12 September 1962. Over 100 members went to welcome them and a reception was held on the ship. Everyone had an enjoyable time. On 20 October, President QUEALY was invited to dinner by Mr. Wilfred WON, the Secretary for Home Affairs of Hong Kong. Among the guests of honour that night were Mr. RANSWORTH, the Consulate-General of the United States in Hong Kong, and his wife; Mr. Chan, the executive director of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and his wife; Mr. TURNER, the Chief Secretary, and his wife; and Mr. BRADLEY, the president of the U.S. First National Bank, and his wife. This dinner provided a very good chance for the Church to get in touch with the government officials and local community leaders, which was conductive to the image of the Church in Hong Kong. From this we can see that Church leaders attached importance to the Church’s external relations even in the early ‘60s.

On 5 June 1963, Brother Erme J. MORTON from the Ricks College in America came to Hong Kong to set up a Cantonese training course with a view to strengthen the language ability of the foreign missionaries. He recorded the discussions both in Cantonese and English to enhance the missionaries’ understanding of the discussions. On 11 July, President QUEALY was involved in a serious traffic accident on his way home after inspecting the missionaries’ quarters. He was badly hurt. Several of his ribs and both his legs were broken. The injury on his left thighbone was particular serious. He was rushed to the Queen Mary Hospital and had to be operated on immediately. Metal supports were put in his left thighbone to hold it in place. He had only 50% chance of recovery. Missionaries and members all fasted and prayed for him, asking the Loard to bless him that he could recover soon. On 15 July, the apostle Elder HINCKELY came to Hong Kong especially to visit President QUEALY. After giving him a special blessing, Elder HINCKLEY reported to the headquarters of the Church that President QUEALY could continue with his duty as the mission president. Subsequently, President QUEALY moved his office to the hospital where he directed his assistants to carry out the work.

1961, teacher training class graduated


1962, prize drawing by President Ng Kat Hing during a Relief Society activity of Shum Shui Po branch