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帰還宣教師から

From Returned Missionaries

Dwayne N. Andersen-Excerpts from Autobiography

Tokyo Temple President

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Part 28

Dwayne N. Andersen

Tokyo Temple Dedication Message

27 October 1980

This occasion is the most important and significant event in all the history of Asia. Not only is this the first House of the Lord in Asia, but it is also the first latter-day temple to be built in a non-Christian nation. It is a thrill to be a part of this historical event. I express my deepest gratitude to my Father in Heaven for this sacred assignment. On behalf of the members of Asia, I would like to express sincere appreciation to President Kimball, the General Authorities, members and non-members who have made this beautiful temple a reality.

A remark made by Brother Tatsui Sato recently caused me to do some reflection. He said that the Lord has been preparing the people of Japan over the past 2,000 years for this great day. His remark led me to re-read the allegory of the olive tree, found in Jacob chapter 5. Verse 8 says:(quote) “And behold saith the Lord of the Vineyard, I take away many of these young and tender branches and, I will graft them whithersoever I will.” It was made known to me that some of these tender branches were placed in the land of Japan to be nourished and watched over. In 1901 Elder Heber J. Grant directed the first workmen sent by the Lord of the Vineyard to begin the harvest. The workmen endured many hardships and struggled diligently in search of good fruit. Their efforts extended over a period of 23 years and brought 166 souls into the Church. Because of the difficulties encountered, the laborers were taken out of Japan in 1924. The meager harvest caused many to feel that perhaps the blood of Israel was not to be found in Asia. However, in the late 1930s good fruit began to be harvested among the children of the Japanese immigrants to Hawaii. Adney Komatsu, Russell Horiuchi, Arthur Nishimoto, Frank Suzuki, Kenji Akagi, Eddie Okazaki, and many other fine Church leaders were numbered among that early harvest. At the end of World War II the Emperor Of Japan announced to the people that he was not God on the earth. This declaration left a great void in the spiritual lives of the Japanese people; and so, when the Gospel was again sent to Japan in 1948, many young people accepted it. When I was privileged to enter this vineyard in 1951, I found a destitute people struggling to obtain shelter and sufficient food and clothing to sustain life. I must admit that my experience from 1951-1953 caused doubt in my mind as to the establishment of the full program of the Church in Japan. Many Japanese traditions were in conflict with basic Gospel principles such as: Sabbath observance, Work of Wisdom, Tithing, and Moral standards. 

However, the Lord of the Vineyard was watching over these tender branches, for when I returned to the vineyard in 1962, I found that most of these difficulties had been resolved by the faithful Saints of Japan. Nevertheless, new challenges appeared on the horizon. There was a need to focus on increasing the number of Melchizedek Priesthood holders, a need to organize the Aaronic and  Melchizedek Priesthood quorums, a need to train and develop leadership, and a need to strengthen the member families. The crowning preparatory event was a temple excursion to Hawaii in 1965. At great sacrifice the Japanese Saints prepared themselves temporally and spiritually over a period of 18 months for the temple ordinance work. It took from 1/3 to 1/2 year’s salary for each family to finance the trip. In July 1965, a group of 136 adults and 29 children gathered in Tokyo. They had come from all over Japan and Okinawa. From a people labeled as unemotional by many from Western cultures, came a continuous flow of tears of joy. The greatest outbursts of tears occurred as they were sealed as families to their ancestors. It was apparent that the blood of Israel truly flowed in their veins and that they were at home in the temple.

President Clissold of the Hawaii Temple remarked at the end of the excursion that he had never seen a group so well prepared temporally and spiritually for the temple ordinances. Fifteen years have passed since that great event, and it is reported that only six people from the original 136 are inactive, representing 96% retention. From that original group have come one general authority, five regional representatives, five mission presidents, and many other fine Church leaders. The faithfulness of the Japanese Saints was rewarded with stakes in Tokyo and Osaka in 1970. It came into my mind that this organization of stakes in Japan was the fulfillment of Jacob 5:60, where the natural branch was returned and grafted into the mother tree to bring forth again good fruit. The good fruit of increased tithing, reactivation of members, increased sacrament meeting attendance, and devoted missionary work of the Japanese members has pleased the Lord; and He has honored them with His temple. I was impressed with the thought that a temple, with its sacred ordinances is necessary before the natural fruit can be produced, which the Lord tells us is “most precious above all other fruit.” Verse 68 says: “And the natural tree will I graft into the natural branches of the tree-– in other words- the forming of stakes, and thus will I bring them together again, that they shall bring forth the natural fruit–in other words–temple work–and they shall be one.” The challenge for the Japanese Saints and all the members of Asia is to become one with the House of Israel–in other words–the Church–and labor with all their might to bring forth natural fruit–in other words–temple work–as they build upon the foundation established by the vineyard labors of the past. Then the Lord will call upon you, His servants, and say to you as is recorded in the last part of Jacob5: 75, (quote) “And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit–temple work–, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.” 

I pray that each of us may be worthy of such a promise from the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

First Tokyo Temple Workers and Presidency. Doug is in the back row.