Time flies. Thirty years went by since the Church was first established in Hong Kong. With the advance of time and rapid development of the Lord’s work, business of the Church also became increasingly complicated. The apostle Elder Gordon B. Hinckley was sent by the First Presidency to preside over a conference in Hong Kong held on 29 May and 1 June 1980 at the Stake Centre. At the conference on 29 May, it was announced that the Hong Kong Kowloon Stake and members of the presidencies of the two stakes were sustained by the members in the next day. The president of the Hong Kong Island Stake was Brother Ma Chuen-Sing, and Patrick Yuen Kwok-Ki and Brother Cheung Chai-Yat were the first and second counselors. The Hong Kong Stake consisted of the Aberdeen Branch, West Point Branch, Victoria Ward, Causeway Bay Ward, Shau Ki Wan, Cheung Chau Branch, Tsuen Wan Ward and Kwai Chung Ward, a total of eight units. The president of the Hong Kong Kowloon Stake was Brother Patrick Wong Chung-Hei, and Brother Shum Wing-Hong and Brother Chan Kim-Ming were his first and second counselors. There were also eight units in this stake, which consisted of the Tsim Sha Tsui Ward, Kowloon City Ward, Kwun Tong Ward, Ngau Tau Kok Ward, Sham Shui Po Ward, Cheung Sha Wan Branch, Tiu Keng Leng Branch and Sai Kung Branch. On the same day, the former president of the Hong Kong Stake, Brother Ng Kat-Hing, was called to be the patriarch of the Hong Kong Stake while Brother Ho Hok-Yuen was called to be the patriarch of the Hong Kong Kowloon Stake. This was another big stride of God’s work in Hong Kong.

Following this conference, there were the cultural and art night and the Hong Kong regional conference. The cultural and art night, held in the Stake Center, started at 7:30 in the evening of 7 June. There was not an empty seat in the hall. That night, a comedy called “A Cocktail of the Martial World” and a Lantern Dance by the Relief Society were performed. There were also other performances by the brothers and sisters of the wards and branches, including Sister Lee Lai-Kuen’s Chinese folksong “the Shepherdess”, Brother Lo Hong-Shing’s western folksong “the Dimples and the Smile”, Sister Esther Tam’s Cantonese pop song “the Dream in the Capital” and a comedy “Luk Siu-Fung”. There was also a fashion show displaying clothes ranging from the children’s to the adult’s wear. The clothes were all designed and made by the sisters of the Relief Society, each piece showing a unique style. There were also violin and piano recitals, as well as dramas and dances performed by the youth. The night ended in loud applause at 10:00 p.m.

A Hong Kong regional conference was held on 14 June 1980. Following the conference, leaders instructed members to conduct group discussions. Subjects of lessons included missionary work, teaching with the Spirit, education, clerical work, programme for the youths, the Melchizedek priesthood, Relief Society, Sunday school, Primay, Aaronic Priesthood, and Activity Committee. Single Adults and public relations. The purpose of the discussions was to improve the operation of the various auxiliary organizations to help the leaders of the organizations gain a better understanding of their work in order to tie in with the development of the Church.

Taking the chance of the 150th anniversary of the Church’s restoration, young students from Taiwan and Hong Kong organized a joint activity. Under the leadership of Brother Ling Kuen, a group of 64 young people flew to Taiwan on 31 July. At the Chang Kai Shek Airport, they were met by Brother Chan Li-Chung, the leader of the Taiwanese group. The friendship between the brothers and sisters from the two places immediately began to take root. They first took the Hong Kong group to pay a visit to the National Palace Museum, Chang Kei Shek Memorial Hall.Yang Ming Shan and Cultural City. The three-day conference started the next day in Chitou, Taichung. During this time, these two groups of young students each speaking a different dialect, together held various meaningful and enlightening meetings and activities such as the sacrament meeting, group discussion, testimony meeting, fireside and other social activities. Apart from these, they also had some cultural and entertaining activities, such as a series of fun competitions and sight-seeing in Chitou. These two groups of members could deeply feel the other’s love and zeal for the Church and the gospel. Many heartfelt testimonies were borne in the testimony meeting. They all confessed that Jesus is indeed is the Christ, God lives and only by following our Savior Jesus Christ could one stay on the path leading to the eternal life. The theme of this conference was “if ye are prepared ye shall not fear”, taken from the Doctrine and Covenants 38:30. When the conference was over, members from Hong Kong spent the rest of their stay in Taiwan sight-seeing and shopping for souvenirs. With a heart filled with joy and love, they ended this trip and returned to Hong Kong at 9:00 p.m. on 8 August.

The annual youth conference, which lasted for three days and two nights, was held in the New Asia College of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Starting on 16 August. Other than a talent show, singing and comedies, there were many programmes, including a talk on astronomy, scripture chase, gospel questions and answers, social activities and also talks on preparation for full-time mission. Before the conference was over, the young men and young women arrayed themselves into the figure of 150 to commemorate the restoration of the Church 150 years ago and then they took pictures of one another to keep this in memory.

The year 1980 was a particularly eventful one. The prophet President Spencer W. Kimball, at the age of 85, accompanied by the second counselor in the First Presidency, President Marion G. Romney, and Elder Mark Peterson and Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, visited Hong Kong again on 20 October. In their company were Marion D Hanks and Elder Yoshihiko KIKUCHI of the Seventies, Sister Barbara Smith, Relief Society General President, and Sister Elaine A. Cannon, Young Women General President. A priesthood and Relief Society meeting was held at the Ho Man Tin Stake Center at 7:00 p.m. that night. No one wanted to miss this great opportunity and there was not a single empty seat in the ball. Never had a meeting met with such enthusiasm before. A general conference was held on the 21st at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall which was divided into the afternoon session and evening session. About 1,600 people attended the afternoon session and 1,856 went to the evening session. The opening hymn for the evening session was “We thank thee, O God, for a prophet” and the closing hymn was “God be with you till we meet again”. The solemn atmosphere and the inspiring talks all left a deep impression on the minds of all those who were present. With the beautiful hymns still ringing in the ears of the audience, the prophet and other church leaders waved good-bye to them and shook the hands of the choir members on the stage. The entire hall was filled with love and everyone hated to part with these wonderful leaders. Some brothers and sister’s eyes were filled with tears. All wished that the love of God would always be with them to guide them along.

President Chan Hok-Shun finished his term of office as the president of the Hong Kong Mission in July 1980 and the new mission president was Garry A. Mitchell.During his term of office, President Chan Hok-Shun fully demonstrated his great abilities in leading the Church forward. The Church's reputation was increasingly heightened and the faith of the members was also greatly strengthened.

In 1978, President Chan Hok-Shun organized an exhibition on the family in various places in Hong Kong and Macau. Through slides, films, pictures, historic records as well as genealogical records, various issues concerning the family such as harmony in the family, co-operation between husband and wife, ways to handle the generation gap, financial management in the family, and ways to create a happy family were examined. Topics on the discipline and education of children (for example, how to motivate the children to work hard in school, be honest, have self-respect, help one another, know the community, serve the people, develop personal talents, and prepare for parenthood) were discussed in great detail by means of illustrations through pictures and words. There was also a special introduction about the Relief Society of the Church. Topics on the role of women in cultivating a spiritual life, handling household chores, being a good wife and mother, working with the husband in setting a good example for the children, and maintaining unity in the family so that everyone could take part in developing unity in the family in a loving and harmonious atmosphere were discussed. This exhibition attracted large numbers of visitors and was highly regarded by all sectors in society.It provided people with a good chance to learn more about our Church.

On 27 January of the same year, President Jimmy Carter of the United States was invited by our Church to the All-American Family Week held in Salt Lake City. After the meeting, President Carter said that attending the Family Week was a most pleasurable experience for him. He also praised the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for launching the welfare and community services programmes. He remarked, “If these programmes can be extended to all states in the nation, my job as the president will be much easier.” From this we can see how important the family is and it also proves that our Church is leading people to the eternal life under the direction of God.