“I Could Feel Eternity”

“I am overjoyed. … Truly overjoyed,” exclaimed Sister Hu Chou Yue-ying 胡周悅影 in November 1984 as the Taipei Taiwan Temple was dedicated. She had cause to rejoice. Of the 10,000 names cleared to begin work in the Taipei temple, she had provided 9,100.

Veneration of ancestors and careful record keeping to facilitate this purpose and maintain family identity are hallmarks of Chinese culture. Taiwanese Saints come from Chinese families, which have kept detailed genealogical records that often date back for millennia.

Beginning in 1982, when it was announced that a temple would be built in Taipei, Latter-day Saints in Taiwan began to make preparations. Members contributed funds to the building project and sought out names of large numbers of kin for whom to perform temple rites. “There was a great spirit,” said Sister Chang Lai Hui-pin 張賴慧嬪 about the temple dedication. “The Spirit touched us and we were in tears to have a temple.” On January 1, 1985, she and her husband, Chang Ting-tsung 張定宗, were sealed. “I could feel eternity,” said Brother Chang. The temple in Taipei became a center of Latter-day Saint life, and in 1993, the first local temple president and matron were called: Wang Wei 王偉 and Wang Tan Hsiao-feng 王譚筱鳳.

Sister Chen Yang Shu-yen 陳楊素媛, who spoke at the event to mark the 30th anniversary of the temple dedication, is an example of faithful Saints in Taiwan who make temple service a regular part of their lives. Although blind, she traveled each week on the train from Taoyuan to Taipei to serve as a temple worker. She first received her own endowment in 1985. Shortly afterward, she underwent a surgery that resulted in 40 days of hospitalization. Doctors told her it would be at least a year before she could return to her beloved temple. Just as soon as possible, she was back in the temple performing saving ordinances. After being set apart as a temple worker in 1992, she continued working toward her goal of performing at least 5,000 proxy endowments for deceased persons. By 2016, she had completed 4,378 endowments toward that goal.