Asia

Asia’s first “For the Strength of Youth Facility” has been specifically designed to host FSY conferences, helping Latter-day Saint youth have fun, strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ, and feel joy and belonging as they live the gospel.
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May 25, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Meet Anurat Kaeocha, one of the newest members of the Church in Thailand and project manager for the Bangkok Thailand Temple.
7 Min Read
May 17, 2023 11:23 AM MDT
Yongsung Kim’s paintings depict a happy Christ and are inspired by his love for Jesus Christ.
10 Min Read
May 15, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Marguerite Gong Hancock is a techno-optimist in Silicon Valley whose family roots, faith, and passion for humanity inspire her to bring an abundant life to civilizations worldwide.
16 Min Read
March 30, 2023 07:00 AM MDT
Three nations on this list don’t yet have a temple operating, announced, or under construction. Find out where.
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March 18, 2023 11:46 AM MDT
“People perhaps do not know who Jesus Christ and President Nelson are, but they can listen to their words in my messages.”
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December 13, 2022 08:00 AM MST
Editor’s note: The following excerpt has been adapted from Voice of the Saints in Mongolia, the first comprehensive history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in that nation.
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New temples in Brazil, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Bolivia now have construction sites announced. Find out where.
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November 21, 2022 08:00 AM MST
After Batchimeg told Soyolmaa that they could serve a mission, they decided to put in their mission papers together around March or April 1995.
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July 26, 2022 11:57 AM MDT
As NYC fashion photographer Kah Poon chases the perfect moment from behind his lens, he’s grateful for a faith that reminds him to look beyond his camera and see the bigger picture.
13 Min Read
May 03, 2022 10:25 AM MDT
President Jean B. Bingham and President Bonnie H. Cordon visited Cambodia, Singapore, and Thailand. See highlights from their trip.
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July 06, 2020 08:08 PM MDT
Two Latter-day Saint couples in the Philippines played an integral role in the Church since it was first established in their country nearly 60 years ago.
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June 26, 2020 03:32 PM MDT
As the pandemic restrictions eased in Hong Kong, young single adults donned masks, gloves, and painting clothes to help renovate a part of a local hospital.
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June 05, 2020 05:02 PM MDT
While a virtual MTC may not be the setting missionaries imagined when opening their calls, for some this temporary shift is producing miracles at home.
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May 13, 2020 07:13 PM MDT
Fighting a pandemic would be impossible without healthcare professionals working in unity, but they aren’t the only ones who have seen the need to join hands. Religious organizations across the world have put aside differences in an effort to offer hope and service to the staggering number of those in need.
1 Min Read
February 05, 2020 01:28 AM MST
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released the following statement on February 4, 2020:
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January 29, 2020 02:10 PM MST
President Russell M. Nelson’s 40-year professional relationships in China are facilitating a donation of supplies from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that will help Chinese health workers in their effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
1 Min Read
January 15, 2020 04:41 PM MST
Rarely does an apostle happen to be in the area during the time of a natural disaster. But with the recent eruption of the Taal Volcano in the Philippines, Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has been able to minister to those affected by the volcanic eruption as well as meet with local leaders.
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January 13, 2020 04:30 PM MST
For the first time in 43 years, the Taal Volcano in the Philippines has erupted, sending ash, steam, and rocks nine miles into the sky.
1 Min Read
November 18, 2019 07:18 PM MST
It’s been 23 years since a prophet has visited Vietnam.
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October 14, 2019 02:01 PM MDT
As Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on Saturday evening in Japan, the storm brought a record 36 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. Flooding and high wind speeds wreaked havoc throughout the greater Tokyo area leaving a reported 33 people dead and 19 missing. Several river embankments collapsed as a result of the heavy rains and flooding. Transportation systems, including Narita and Haneda airports, remained closed throughout the weekend as the storm passed.
1 Min Read
October 09, 2019 01:00 PM MDT
"Having the knowledge of all my own mother endured, and being a part of that legacy, is why I cried when I heard the announcement. It’s why my mom gasped out loud — sitting in the Conference Center and hearing the announcement in person — and was flooded with emotion."
1 Min Read
September 09, 2019 06:23 PM MDT
Following a group of people dressed in colorful, handmade tribal clothing up the stairs in a small Church meetinghouse in Hualien, Taiwan, Wen-hsiu Chen squeezed her way through the crowd for a chance to say a quick goodbye.
1 Min Read
July 12, 2019 02:10 PM MDT
This article is republished with permission from Book of Mormon Central. For more inspiring and instructive content on the Book of Mormon visit Book of Mormon Central or follow them on Facebook.
13 Min Read
July 09, 2019 08:49 AM MDT
Jiyeon Maeng stood in front of a bustling North Korean farmer’s market wearing a gray sweater and glasses—exactly what she had been told to wear by a complete stranger over the phone days earlier. The voice on the phone said that if she followed his instructions, he would help her reunite with her husband, whom she had last seen eight months before.
13 Min Read
May 22, 2019 04:59 PM MDT
M. Russell Ballard, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ, addressed nearly 700 Church members and friends at the Hyatt Regency in New Delhi, India on May 19, 2019—his first visit ever to the country. He expressed his love for the people of India.
3 Min Read
April 03, 2019 06:11 PM MDT
More than 7,000 miles and the world’s largest ocean separate Astrid S. Tuminez’s birthplace in the Philippines from her adopted home of Orem, Utah. But mere geography can’t aptly describe the massive distance this Latter-day Saint convert has traveled.
1 Min Read
January 29, 2019 11:55 PM MST
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced the closure of the Hong Kong China Temple effective July 8, 2019.
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By  LDS Living
January 28, 2019 02:50 PM MST
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints broke ground for its first temple in Thailand on Saturday, January 26, 2019, in a much-anticipated event. Since the Bangkok Thailand Temple was announced in April 2015, Latter-day Saints around the world and especially in Asia have begun preparing for this new temple of the Lord.
3 Min Read
January 23, 2019 04:14 PM MST
Before bidding farewell to a group of Brigham Young University students, Mother Teresa asked her visitors from distant Provo, Utah, a final question:
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January 07, 2019 07:02 PM MST
A couple of years ago, Ray Goodson had his hip replaced on a Tuesday. By Friday, to the astonishment of, among others, his surgeon, he was off his pain meds and playing golf.
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November 27, 2018 03:08 PM MST
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is pleased to announce that the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Bangkok Thailand Temple will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 26, 2019. The ceremony will be held at the temple site, which is located at 1645/6 New Phetchburi Road Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400 Thailand.
1 Min Read
September 29, 2018 12:00 PM MDT
I was a 29-year-old United States Air Force fighter pilot, hanging from a parachute, slowly descending into hostile territory. I looked below my dangling legs as I watched my doomed F-4 Phantom shudder, shake, and cartwheel its fiery way to the ground. Missing its tail section and a large part of the left wing, it was now totally engulfed in flames. It was hard to imagine I had been sitting in the cockpit, at the very center of the fireball, a few seconds before. Finally, I saw it hit the ground with a huge concussion that I could see but not hear. The fire and smoke reached into the sky several thousand feet. I thought for a few seconds how unlikely it was for a small-town Texas boy to be involved in such a monumental problem as this was turning into.
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September 18, 2018 08:23 PM MDT
Damage assessments are underway in the Philippines and Hong Kong following Super Typhoon Mangkhut, the category 5 storm that hit Asia over the weekend.
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August 15, 2018 12:53 PM MDT
At the first Face to Face event held in Asia, Elder Stevenson told the youth in attendance at the Manila MTC, "The covenant path is not a path for perfect people. The covenant path is for those who are trying to become perfect." He later added, "The gospel is a gospel of joy and it tries to teach us to be happy." Elder and Sister Stevenson continued to share their message of love and joy as they met with youth in Japan for another Face to Face event, and this time the apostle spoke in the native language of those in attendance.
2 Min Read
July 20, 2018 09:00 AM MDT
Of India’s 1.3 billion people, its 13,500 members of the Church represent only a sliver of the country’s total population. But although this number seems small, the faith of the Saints in India is great. The Church in India has grown significantly since the gospel was first introduced, and more growth is coming. With the recent announcement of the new temple in Bengaluru, the hastening of the work in India is just beginning.
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July 12, 2018 09:00 AM MDT
A family tragedy would lead this LDS housewife down an unexpected path—one that would bring hope and healing to thousands of people half a world away.
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June 30, 2018 09:20 AM MDT
Twenty-four-year-old Shivam Shah was born in India and raised in Kenya, yet he jokes that it took moving to Draper, Utah, for him to be shot at. It was an attempted murder case that made headlines across the nation, but Shah doesn't remember that terrifying event as the day he almost lost his life—he remembers it as the day God saved his life, setting him on a path that helped him understand the reality of miracles, grace, and Heavenly Father's love.
9 Min Read
June 26, 2018 01:32 PM MDT
Learn how Elder Takashi Wada, who was raised Buddhist, and his wife, Naomi Ueno Wada, who was raised Shinto, discovered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sacrificed much to follow their new faith.
1 Min Read
June 26, 2018 09:00 AM MDT
The first Mormon missionary in Thailand was Elder Elam Luddington, sent by Brigham Young in 1854. It was an exciting but short-lived expansion of the gospel into another part of the world—Elder Luddington struggled with the language and returned to Utah only four months after his arrival in Thailand. Latter-day Saints wouldn’t return to the Southeast Asian country until the Vietnam War years, when LDS servicemen and their families entered Thailand.
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June 25, 2018 03:11 PM MDT
The First Presidency has called the following four new temple presidents and matrons. They will begin their service in November 2018.
1 Min Read
June 15, 2018 09:05 AM MDT
As an 11-year-old living in Vietnam, Don Skanchy made the decision to run away. He had no idea that that single decision would lead him a half a world away and back or if he would ever see his family again.
13 Min Read
April 27, 2018 10:06 PM MDT
“I don’t want to go to school!” 5-year-old Usha shouted at her older brother, pulling his hair. Later she would become one of the first Nepali women with advanced degrees in both medicine and public administration, but as a little girl, she didn’t yet realize what a privilege education was.
14 Min Read
April 20, 2018 11:54 AM MDT
About the new temple to be built in India, missionary Sister Monica Yadav says, “It makes us fly. It is like we are so close to heaven.”
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Fun
April 07, 2018 11:29 AM MDT
On April 24, 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley addressed over 100,000 members in 27 stakes on the islands of the southern Philippines. In a live broadcast originating from Salt Lake City, he spoke of the Church’s progress and the requirements to have a temple built in the Cebu City area. After acknowledging their desire for another temple, President Hinckley challenged all the adult members to qualify for a temple recommend. Then he said, “If enough of you can do this, we shall be obliged to build another temple in the Philippines more convenient to where you live.”
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June 28, 2017 06:05 PM MDT
Groups in Japan and South Korea say they've gotten reports from inside North Korea that David Sneddon is alive and well, and his parents continue to hold onto hope.
1 Min Read
June 02, 2017 08:16 PM MDT
Along with the Provo MTC expansion, the Philippines MTC also expanded to include two new buildings to meet the growing needs of missionaries in the Asia Area.
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Fun
May 15, 2017 05:27 PM MDT
When BYU students Tylan Glines, Connor Peck, Davis Blount, Jake Mingus, and Sumner Mahaffey made their first video for their Hey Joe Show, they had no idea just how outrageously famous they were about to become.
1 Min Read
May 02, 2017 11:49 AM MDT
On Friday, April 28, 2017, Yasuo Niiyama, president of the Tokyo Japan Temple, passed away, according to lds.org. “We express our deepest sympathies and condolences at the passing of our esteemed brother in the work of the Lord, President Yasuo Niiyama,” a letter from the Asia North Area presidency states.
1 Min Read
March 24, 2017 02:49 PM MDT
In 2004, BYU student David Sneddon was hiking in the Yunnan Province in China when he went missing. Last year, a Japanese news source reported Sneddon was abducted by agents of the North Korean government, possibly for his ability to speak fluent Korean.
1 Min Read
March 20, 2017 07:55 PM MDT
"Our members have learned from this experience that the church is true wherever it is in the world," Chen wrote. "We are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and we are not alone wherever we are. We are all grateful for the rescuing efforts performed by these wonderful Saints in Japan."
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