In 12 April 1964, apostle Elder HINCKLEY presided over a conference in City Hall, and it was a full house. It was also the first time that a choir was present at the conference to perform musical numbers. At the conference, Elder HINCKLEY announced the establishment of the Hong Kong District with Brother LUK Wing-wah as the president, and Brother NG Kat-hing and Brother HUI Tung-ching as the first and second counsellors in the presidency. For the first time, the posts of various auxiliary organizations of the District were filled by local members. The organization of the Church in Hong Kong had improved greatly. On 19 June 1964, the Church bought a plot of land in Lai Chee Garden, Yuen Long, for the construction of the Yuen Long Branch Chapel. On 28 October, a bazaar was held by the Relief Society at Kam Tong Hall on the Hong Kong Island. Almost 600 people went to the bazaar and a total of HK$5,847 was raised. It is a considerable amount - over $600,000 in terms of today's prices. In the same year, a missionary couple Elder and Sister LUNG came all the way from Hawaii to Hong Kong to promote genealogical work. The chapel in Tiu Keng Leng, the first one built in Hong Kong by the Church, was also completed.

On 14 March 1965, the district conference of the first quarter was held in the City Hall of Hong Kong. This was the first time that a conference was presided over and conducted by the local brethren. 235 members participated in the priesthood meeting. 965 members attended the morning session and 430 attended the evening session. The district choir also sang at different sessions.

On 13 June 1965, the construction work of Yuen Long Chapel started. This was the second chapel built by the Church in Hong Kong. The area of the construction site was about 30,250 square feet with the chapel occupying 6,020 square feet. 150 people could be seated in the main hall and when the middle partition was lifted up, the entire hall could hold 350 people. There were a baptismal font and a car park. Brother TIPPLES, an architect, took full charge of the design and construction of the chapel. A local member, Brother CHEUNG Nai-keung, was called to assist Brother TIPPLES. Other local members also came often to do physical work. One of the members who came frequently was Sister TSE Po-chun of Sham Shui Po Branch. But the most important source of labour was the missionaries who worked for half a day and sometimes even a whole day there every Monday. Thanks to the efforts and cooperation of the members and, of course, the help of the Lord, this great building was finally completed on schedule in March 1966. This was a glorious historic event of the saints in Hong Kong for they had fully demonstrated their sacrificial and pioneer spirit.

Left: White Snake
(Sister Yau Lee Ping)
Right: Green Snake Siu Ching
(Sister Wong Tak Sun)

On 7 August of the same year, members in Hong Kong held a farewell party for President QUEALY at Kam Tong Hall. On the 13th of the same month, the new mission president, President Kenneth E. GARNER, arrived in Hong Kong together with his wife and children. The District performed a Chinese opera, the Legend of the White Snake, at the Kam Tong Hall to farewell President QUEALY that evening and on the evening of 16th to welcome President GARNER. Performers included sister YAU Lee-ping of the Sha Tin Branch as the White Snake, sister WONG Tak-sun of the Kowloon City Branch as the Green Snake, brother NG Shee-nan of Tsim Sha Tsui as the monk Fahai, brother LEE Kwok-kwong of the Causeway Bay Branch as HUI Sin, and brother LEE Kwok-hing of the Lai Chi Kok Branch as Wai Tor. In addition, Brother AU Kwok-chiu of the Sham Shui Po Branch and Sister LEE Lai-fong of the Tsim Sha Tsui Branch played the tourists. Brother LAM Bing-lun was the coordinator as well as the director and stage manager. The performance was a success. This was the first time that the District put on such a drama in the history of the Church in Hong Kong. All the brothers and sisters mentioned above were also pioneers who had made great contributions to the Church.

On 17 October, the Hong Kong district conference was held in the City Hall in which President GARNER, the new mission president, announced the division of the Hong Kong District into the Kowloon District and the Hong Kong District with Brother Malan R. JACKSON as the president of the former and Brother NG Kat-hing as the president of the latter. From this time onward all branches were run by the local members. This marked a new chapter in the history of the Church in Hong Kong. In early December that year, the work of translating the Book of Mormon into Chinese was completed. On 20 December, the first print of 1,000 copies was available. The coming forth of the Chinese version of the Book of Mormon was a milestone in the Church’s work among the Chinese people. From then on, investigators and members could read this book, another testament of Jesus Christ, in their own language. After over a decade’s development, all the branches were better organized. Starting from 1966, the M.I.A.’s operation was all in line with the Church Headquarters’ instructions. The District and various branches organized many activities such as football matches, ping pong matches speech competitions, music and dance festivals, talent nights, Gold and Green Balls, and so on. The bazaars held by the Relief Society were also organized in various branches and every time a conference was held, the choir of a different branch would perform musical numbers.

In April 1967, President Hugh B. BROWN, the first counsellor of the First Presidency, visited Hong Kong and presided over the dedicatory ceremony of the Yuen Long Chapel on 16 April. On 11 May, riots broke out in Hong Kong and the situation deteriorated during that summer. Mobs not only created disturbances but also laid bombs around, causing great anxieties among the people. For the sake of safety, the Church reduced the number of missionaries in Hong Kong from 88 to 44. It was not until October that the unrest started to subside. Even during this unstable time, the Church was in normal operation. To improve the branch clerks’ understanding of their work, the Church organized training for them starting on 24 August. The training was conducted by Brother NG Shee-nan, counsellor in the District presidency. President NG was a professional accountant who was familiar with different accounting systems and financial management. The training consisted of five parts which were held on five days with lessons on data collection, compilation of reports, financial management, monthly bank statements, tithing records, and year-end statements. This training was a great help to the clerks. After the training, the clerks could handle the work more confidently to meet the standard of the Church. Thanks to the continuous efforts of members, the internal operation of the Church became increasingly mature. On 19 August of the same year, Philippines was separated from the Far East South Mission and became the independent Philippines Mission.

Left:
Wai Tor
(Brother Lee Kwok Hing)
Middle:
South Pole God
(Brother Yee Wing Chung)
Right:
Fat Hoi
(Brother Ng Shee Nan)

President W. Brent HARDY, the new mission president, arrived in Hong Kong on 4 July 1968 to replace President GARNER. The Elders Quorum held a farewell party for President GARNER and his wife on the evening of 3 July. On the 13th of the same month, President HARDY conducted the worship service at the Peak. There were about 400 people attending that service. The first thing that President HARDY did after assuming the office was to visit the quarters of the missionaries. He also made a great effort to improve the leadership skills of local members. On 1 August, Sister HARDY gave birth to their fourth child in the Baptist Hospital in Kowloon. That was the second time that a child was born to a mission president in Hong Kong. The first was the birth of President H. GRANT HEATON’s daughter Lisa.

On 25 November, Elder Bruce R. McCONKIE came to Hong Kong to preside over a conference for mission presidents in the Asia area. On the 28th and 29th a meeting was held in the Peninsular Hotel to discuss how to strengthen the missionary work in Asia. A special district conference was held at the City Hall on 1 December. It was conducted by President NG Shee-nan. Among the special guests were presidents of the Japan Mission and Korea Mission and their wives. Attendance of the conference was well over 1000, the highest ever in the history of the Church in Hong Kong. On 26 December, the Kowloon M.I.A. put on a musical show at the City Hall. This was the first large-scaled musical show organized by the Church in Hong Kong since its establishment. Many participated in this activity and the performance won much applause.

In September 1972, Brother COOMBS of the Translation Department came from Salt Lake City to discuss the translation and printing of the Chinese version of the Doctrine and Covenants. To cope with the development of the Church in East Kowloon, the Church decided to build a chapel in Kwun Tong. On 3 October, President BRADSHAW discussed the construction of the chapel with Mr. NG Bing-kin. On 17 October, Elder Loren C. DUNN came to Hong Kong to conduct a meeting for the mission presidents of the Asia area. The meeting was held at the Kam Tong Hall and the discussion was on the planning and development of missionary work over the area. After the conference, Elder DUNN visisted the New Territories. At the border, he offered a special prayer in which he asked the Lord that the light of the gospel would shine upon Mainland China soon. Thanks to President BRADSHAW, Radio Hong Kong agreed to transmit the programmes of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from 8 to 8:40 every Sunday morning starting from December.

1967, members standing in front of Yuen Long Chapel