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From Returned Missionaries
Northern Far East Mission President=s Report
By Paul C. Andrus. Updated August 11, 2007.
Recognizing the unprecedented opportunities that then existed for the church to begin bringing the gospel to the billions of Our Father in Heaven=s children in Asia, in 1955 The First Presidency and The Quorum of the Twelve made the decision to create The Northern Far East Mission including Japan, Korea, and Okinawa, and The Southern Far East Mission including Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, and Guam. (See my article ADecision of Destiny for Asia.) When President Hilton A. Robertson was released as president of The Northern Far East Mission in November of 1955, to my great astonishment I was called to replace him. Accordingly, it was my privilege to serve as president of The Northern Far East Mission from December 9, 1955, to July 19, 1962. Below are brief accounts of the major accomplishments of the church brought about by the Lord and through the hard work of all the missionaries and members of the church during those years. Each accomplishment has its own body of history which I hope to discuss in more detail in a future account but which can only be briefly described n this article.
Proselyting. In November of 1955 there were approximately 1,100 native Japanese members of the church, approximately 80 native Korean members of the church, and there were no native Okinawan members of the church. During the eight years since the Japanese Mission had been reopened in 1948, 1,036 new Japanese members had been brought into the church. During 1955 there were 136 converts baptized which averaged out to 1.7 converts per missionary. There was no uniform teaching plan and the missionaries were generally discouraged. During 1956 the Lord inspired the missionaries and me to put together an effective teaching plan which the missionaries enthusiastically placed into effect bringing in 638 converts during 1957 which was an average of 6.44 converts per missionary. The number of converts continued to rise until at the time of my release we were on schedule to baptize over 1,500 converts during 1962 which was over 9 converts per missionary. Consequently there were over 5,000 native Japanese, Koreans, and Okinawans baptized while I was president. The majority of these converts were male. In the early years the missionaries in Japan and Okinawa were baptizing more females than males but by focusing on this problem we were able to reverse the ratio. In Korea from the very beginning four out of five of our converts were males and this continued to be true all the years of my presidency. For the first time in history converts were brought into the church in substantial numbers in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa.
Publishing of The Book Of Mormon, The Doctrine And Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price In Japanese. In December of 1955 Brother Tatsui Sato was just completing his re-translation of The Book Of Mormon and his translation of The Doctrine And Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. Benefiting from my experience as a member of the mission translating committee during my first mission when it took years to obtain final approval of the translation of only the sacrament prayers because we had to obtain final approval from The First Presidency, I asked The First Presidency to authorize me to form a translation committee in Tokyo to review and give final approval of Brother Sato=s translations. The First Presidency gave me this authority and I formed the committee with myself as chairman and with Brother Tatsui Sato, Brother Tomigoro Takagi, Elder Ben Oniki, and Elder Don Lundberg as members. This committee met weekdays for several hours a day for several months during the spring and summer of 1956 reviewing and finalizing Brother Sato=s translations. Consequently 10,000 copies of Brother Sato=s re-translation of The Book Of Mormon came off the presses in December of 1956. The first edition of the Doctrine And Covenants and The Pearl Of Great Price came off the presses in 1957 as did the first edition of 2,000 triple combinations which were bound in leather and sold for less than $3.00 per copy. For the first time in history the Standard Works of the church were available in Japanese.
Opening of Korea and Okinawa. When Elder Delbert Stapley set me apart in Honolulu, he said the First Presidency would like me to move ahead with the work in Korea and in Okinawa as soon as I felt inspired to do so. At that time there were no missionaries in Korea and no missionaries in Okinawa. I visited Korea and Okinawa right away and felt impressed to send missionaries to Korea and Okinawa as soon as living accommodations could be arranged. Through the help of the LDS Servicemen and the influence of President Ho Jik Kim in Korea and through the help of the LDS Servicemen and Sister Nobu Nakamura in Okinawa, the Lord opened up the way and Elder Don Powell and Elder Richard Detton arrived in Korea in April of 1956 and Elder LeRoy Anderson and Elder Sam Shimabukuro arrived in Okinawa also in April of 1956. For the first time in history our missionaries began laboring in Korea and in Okinawa.
Creation of the Korean Mission. When Elder Delbert Stapley of the Council of The Twelve, set us apart in Honolulu on November 1, 1955, he counseled me to move ahead in Korea as soon as I felt I should. From that time I felt a burning desire to build up the church in Korea as rapidly as I possibly could and for all the six years and seven months I presided over Korea I exerted my greatest possible efforts to this end. The Lord blessed us greatly and by 1962 the number of Korean members had grown from some sixty or more members converted by the LDS servicemen prior to 1956 to over1,600 Korean members organized into four branches in Seoul and one branch in Pusan with a respectable meetinghouse property owned by the church in each branch. This was accomplished in the immediate aftermath of the Korean War while the land and the economy lay in devastation and while the surviving population was suffering greatly.
These great accomplishments were brought to pass through the blessings of the Lord and through years of tremendous hard work and sacrifice by the faithful missionaries and Korean members struggling in very difficult living conditions. The fact of the matter is that the accomplishments achieved during the seven years Korea was a District of the Northern Far East Mission made it possible to organize the Korean Mission in 1962! With authorization from The First Presidency it was my great privilege to organize the Korean Mission at a meeting in Seoul on July 8, 1962 and install Gail Carr, one of our former Northern Far East Mission missionaries, as the first president of the Korean Mission.
Foundation for Stakes in Tokyo, Osaka, and Seoul. When he set me apart as mission president Elder Stapley instructed me to organize the work in The Northern Far East Mission so that stakes could be organized as soon as possible. In December of 1955 there were only two Japanese branches in Tokyo and only one Japanese branch in Osaka, and of course no Korean branches in Seoul, yet it seemed obvious that the first stakes should be organized in these great centers of population. Accordingly, we systematically went about organizing three more branches in Tokyo which with the existing branch in Yokohama would naturally grow into a stake. We likewise organized three more branches in the Osaka-Kobe area which with the existing Osaka Branch and the existing Kyoto Branch would naturally grow into a stake. Similarly, we organized four branches in Seoul which we felt would also grow into a stake. We proceeded at the same time to acquire meetinghouse properties for all these branches. It was keenly gratifying over the years to see the Tokyo Stake, the Osaka Stake, and the Seoul Stake come into being as the first stakes in Asia.
Acquisition of Meetinghouse Sites. During my term as mission president I purchased on behalf of the church 23 meetinghouse sites scattered over Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. The most important purchase was the Omote Sando property in Tokyo which was acquired with a total net outlay by the church of $150,000 and which was subsequently sold for a total net gain to the church of $24,000,000. The proceeds from the sale of the Omote Sando property were used over a number of years to make possible the acquisition of approximately one hundred meetinghouse properties in Japan. All 23 of these properties were acquired before there were any church building department people in the mission to help out in these purchases.
Opening and Closing of Branches. While it seemed obvious that the church would make the most rapid progress in the centers of greatest population, in December of 1955 there were only two branches in Tokyo and only one branch in Osaka while at the same time there were a number of branches in relatively small cities. This situation was aggravated by a very limited number of missionaries so we set about to systematically close the branches in smaller cities where it was possible to do so without abandoning the members altogether, and to deploy the missionaries from those small branches to the large centers of population. This proved to be one of the contributing factors to the increase in proselyting success and was a very important factor in hastening the organization of stakes in Tokyo, Osaka, and Seoul.
Local Leadership in Districts and Branches. In December of 1955, almost without exception district and branch leadership positions were filled by missionaries. As we began to be blessed with more members, and as more of these members were ordained to the priesthood, we embarked on a program of filling the district and branch leadership positions with native Japanese, Koreans, and Okinawans. By the time of my release almost all leadership positions in Japan were filled by native Japanese and many of the leadership positions in Korea and Okinawa were also filled by Koreans and Okinawans.
Substantial Numbers Ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. As more members began coming into the church we set up a two year program for advancement in the priesthood which over the years produced a a very substantial number of holders of the Melchizedek Priesthood.
In those days only the mission president was authorized to ordain Elders so it was my great privilege to personally ordain well over 100 men to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Just before my release in 1962 we organized the first quorum of Elders ever organized in Japan with Kan Watanabe as Quorum president.
Fulltime Native Missionaries. President Vinal G. Mauss initiated a program of calling native Japanese members to serve full-time missions supported by contributions by the LDS Servicemen. This program was continued by President Hilton A. Robertson and during my tenure we expanded this program. After completing their service as full-time missionaries, many of these brothers and sisters became leaders throughout the mission. Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the First Quorum of Seventy served a full-time mission in this program.
Translation and Printing. In December of 1955 we had practically no church manuals and materials in the Japanese language. Brother Tatsui Sato was working at mission headquarters as our full-time translator but his time was taken up with the re-translation of The Book of Mormon and the translation of The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. We promptly hired a staff of translators, typists, and printers, and we were able to translate and print most of the priesthood and auxiliary manuals and materials in Japanese for our branches in Japan and Okinawa. We also initiated the publication of the Seito no Michi which developed into a quality monthly magazine and was a great strengthening influence on the Japanese and Okinawan members. Sister Toshiko Yanagida translated the LDS Hymn Book and the MIA Recreational Song book which we had printed professionally and which were a great source of inspiration for the saints in Japan and Okinawa. When we opened up Korea, we had no materials whatsoever in the Korean language. Under the direction of President Ho Jik Kim we were able to begin translation and printing of a few church materials in Korean but we fell far short of what we were able to accomplish in Japan.
Religious Corporations in Japan and Korea. President Edward L. Clissold established the church religious corporation (Shukyo Hojin) in Japan in 1948. In the early years of the American military occupation the Japanese government was not strict about requiring compliance with all the provisions of Japanese law pertaining to religious corporations. However, beginning in about 1957 the Japanese government began to require full and complete compliance with the complicated and almost impossible requirements. Brother Tatsui Sato and I wrestled for years with this problem and with the Japanese officials until finally we brought the church into full compliance about a year prior to my release. In Korea we were able to establish the church as a religious corporation only through the influence of Brother Ho Jik Kim. Even then it was a very difficult and harrowing procedure requiring miraculous assistance from Above to finally get the church corporation duly accepted and approved by the Korean government.
LDS Servicemen=s Organization. During the years from 1955 to 1962 the membership of our LDS Servicemen=s organization remained fairly constant at approximately 1,500. These members were organized into districts and groups throughout Japan, Korea, and Okinawa, so that we had two parallel organizations, one for native members and one for LDS Servicemen members. Fortunately we were blessed with capable men to serve as Mission LDS Servicemen Coordinators and to fill district and group leadership positions so that they really ran their own organizations and I helped out as needed. The LDS servicemen made a great contribution to the church in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa by bringing native Japanese, Koreans, and Okinawans into the church, by supporting Japanese, Korean and Okinawan brothers and sisters called to serve as full-time missionaries, and by donating generously to the mission building fund.
Northern Far East Missionaries. When I was called to be mission president I set for myself a goal of bringing every missionary under my direction safely through his mission with an honorable release. Unfortunately toward the end of my tenure it was necessary for me to excommunicate two missionaries so I did not entirely succeed in my desire. I am pleased to report that both of these missionaries were later baptized back into the church. We had a total of over 500 missionaries serve under us. Sister Andrus and I claim each one of our missionaries as our everlasting friends. Serving together in building the Lord=s kingdom forged a bond of friendship and love among us all which will endure forever. Of course we are biased, but we feel the Northern Far East Missionaries we were privileged to serve with are unusually outstanding people. We are pleased that forty four of our missionaries have been called to be mission presidents and that three of them, Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi, Elder L. Edward Brown, and Elder Sam Shimabukuro, have been called to be general authorities.
Sister Frances Parker Andrus. The wisest and best thing I ever did was marry Frances Parker on July 5, 1952, in the Hawaii Temple. When I was called to preside over the Northern Far East Mission she was called to be my missionary companion. She made a tremendous contribution to building the kingdom in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa. When we arrived back in the mission field on December 9, 1955, we brought with us our two sons, Vaun age 28 months, and Charles age 16 months. For the next 6 years 7 months and 10 days Sister Andrus nurtured me as my wife and helpmeet and nurtured our children as our family grew. Our daughter LaVerna Lehua was born in Tokyo on August 16, 1956; our son Jay David was born in Tokyo on March 2, 1959; and our daughter Eva Maile was born in Tokyo on September 26, 1960.
In addition to nurturing our family as wife and mother, Sister Andrus also managed the domestic side of running the mission headquarters in Tokyo. She hired and trained housekeepers and supervised them in keeping the large two-story mission headquarters clean and sanitary. She hired and trained cooks and supervised them in providing nourishing meals for our family and the six missionaries assigned to mission headquarters. She made the menus and did the shopping. She served as head nurse in caring for the missionaries who became ill out in the field and were brought to mission headquarters to recuperate which frequently happened. Often we had as many as six or eight missionaries recuperating at mission headquarters at the same time.
Sister Andrus has a great natural gift of counseling. People love to talk with her and tell her their problems and get her advice. This natural gift was a great boon to our missionaries. While I was interviewing our missionaries one by one in my office or where ever we were, Sister Andrus was conversing with the missionaries who were waiting to be interviewed by me. There is no doubt in my mind that over the years of our service Sister Andrus was more effective in encouraging and inspiring our missionaries by her informal conversations with them than I was by my formal interviews with them.
Sister Andrus made a great contribution to building the kingdom by strengthening the members. She served as Relief Society President for the Northern Far East Mission Relief Society as well as Primary President for the Northern Far East Mission Primary. She traveled with me throughout Japan, Korea, and Okinawa, teaching and inspiring the women of the church.
Sister Andrus=s contribution to building the kingdom of God in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa was of such magnitude as to be impossible to be properly described in words. What a great blessing she was to us all!
Looking Back. Sixty two years ago, in 1945, I first went to Japan as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps and was stationed in Japan for one year as a member of the American occupation forces. Fifty nine years ago, in 1948, I went back to Japan as one of the first five missionaries called to Japan when the Japanese Mission was reopened after World War II and I served as a missionary for three years. Fifty eight years ago, in 1949, Frances was called as a missionary to Japan and served for two years. Fifty two years ago, in 1955, Frances and I and our two little boys returned to Japan to preside over The Northern Far East Mission and served in this assignment for six years, seven months, and ten days. During those years our last three children were born at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital in Tokyo. Over the years in due course all five of our children were called to serve missions in Japan: Vaun served in the Sendai mission and the Sapporo Mission; Chuck served in the Nagoya Mission; LaVerna served in the Tokyo South Mission; Jay served in the Fukuoka Mission; and Eva served in the Okayama Mission. The greatest experiences of our lives have taken place in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa, and these experiences of working with our missionaries and with our Japanese, Korean, and Okinawan brothers and sisters to build the Kingdom of God have forged bonds of friendship and love which will endure forever and ever. Looking ahead, we anticipate great joy in renewing our association with all these wonderful friends. How grateful we are for the gospel of Jesus Christ!