Chung Hei Patrick Wong, 63, of Cleveland, Brisbane, has been called as president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Hong Kong China Temple, succeeding President John M. Aki. President Wong's wife, Lai Ling Kathy Wong, will serve as temple matron.
President and Sister Wong both grew up in Hong Kong where they joined the Church as teenagers, the first in their families to do so. For the past four years they have made Brisbane their home.
- Australian Mormon Called to be Temple President in Hong Kong, China
- Australian Mormon Called to be Temple President in Hong Kong, China
- AUSTRALIAN MORMON CALLED TO BE TEMPLE PRESIDENT IN HONG KONG, CHINA
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The Church’s 141 operating temples throughout the world are not regular places of Sunday worship for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are places of learning and serve the special purpose of uniting families forever.
The Church has thousands of chapels or meetinghouses around the globe that are used for Sunday services and adult and youth activities during the week. There are 220 in Australia.
Anyone, regardless of religion, may enter a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse and attend services. However, because of the sacredness of temples as, literally, the “Houses of the Lord”, only members of the Church who are in good standing are allowed to enter the temples.
The Hong Kong temple not only serves local Church members but is also the designated temple for many countries that have yet to have their own temple. The temple serves Church members from parts of India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Mongolia, Guam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Micronesia, Majuro and Indonesia.
The temple, located in the residential district of Kowloon Tong, a suburb of Hong Kong on the Kowloon Peninsula, was dedicated in 1992 and was the second temple in mainland Asia.
The striking edifice, characterised by Hong Kong colonial architecture, features high arching windows, ornamented walls, and a gold dome supporting the single spire and gold-leafed angel Moroni statue.
According to worldwide Latter-day Saint leader, Thomas S. Monson, temples bring us peace and spiritual strength in this life and enable us to be reunited with our families after death. “I think there is no place in the world where I feel closer to the Lord than in one of His holy temples,” he has said.
“In addition to the closeness we feel to the Lord when we are in the temple, we can continue to receive blessings even after we have returned to our everyday lives. Attending the temple gives us a clearer perspective and a sense of purpose and peace.”
President Wong grew up in an Anglican family and Sister Wong in a non-Christian family. They first met Mormon missionaries as teenagers.
They became the first in their families to join the Church, and soon after both had family members who also joined. They met each other as young single adults attending the same branch, and were married in the Provo, Utah temple in 1976.
President and Sister Wong have three children, and four grandchildren.
A retired human resources director, President Wong’s career has taken him to many cities and countries in Asia as he fulfilled regional work assignments.
Sister Wong has served as a congregational leader of women’s and children’s organisations. She has been a full-time mother and grandmother.
