church history of okinawa

History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan The

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In 1901, President Lorenzo Snow (then Church President) sent Elder Heber J. Grant, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and three others to Japan to open the Church’s first mission in Asia with headquarters in Tokyo.

The Book of Mormon‘s first translation took over six years.

The Japanese Mission was closed in 1924 following a devastating earthquake and difficult cultural and language barriers. The mission reopened in March 1948 after the World War II.

History of How U.S. Military District Supportedthe Church in Okinawa

August 1955 : Elder Joseph Fielding Smith, an apostles at the time, had dedicated Okinawa with military district membersElder Smith had suggested to obtaining a piece property for a meetinghouse site in Futenma to president Andrus and military district presidency.

How Did Missionary Work Begin in Okinawa?

1955 : Paul C. Andrus was called to serve as president of The Northern Far East Mission from 1955 to 1962 (Served 7 years)

President Paul C. Andrus was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Served as a pilot in the United States Army Air Corp for 3 ½ years from 1943 to 1946 and flew combat missions against the Japanese army in the Philippines in 1945. He was stationed in Okinawa preparing to invade the Japanese mainland when the war ended in September 1945. Served in the occupation army in Japan from November 1945 to August 1956 and was stationed in Osaka and Fukuoka. Served as a missionary from February 1948 to February 1951 as one of the first five missionaries to reopen the missionary work in Japan

December 1955 : The First Convert in OkinawaBrother Ralph Bird served his mission in Japan and after his mission went into the army

where he was stationed on Guam. One day in 1955 he unexpectedly received orders transferring him to Okinawa, but when he arrived on Okinawa at his new station he was told that they did not know why he was ordered to Okinawa and they did not have an assignment for him. Private Bird had free time while the army was figuring out where to place him and having served his mission in Japan he was interested in the Okinawan people so he decided to go for a walk through the Okinawan countryside. During his walk he came upon a most impressive old Okinawan residence and was so impressed with it that he decided to go in and ask permission to take some pictures of the house and grounds. He slid open the front door and called out in Japanese as is the custom in Japan and Okinawa.

This was the home of Sister Nobu Nakamura, a prominent middle aged Okinawan lady who for some time had been searching for a church to satisfy the spiritual needs of herself and her family. At the time Ralph Bird stepped up to her door she was inside the house on her knees praying to God to lead her to the true church. When she went to her door she expected to see an Okinawan person but she was astonished to see an American soldier standing there. She was even more astonished when this American soldier spoke to her in excellent Japanese and immediately asked him how he was able to speak Japanese so well. Ralph Bird explained that he had been a missionary in Japan for the Mormon church. Upon hearing this Nobu Nakamura asked him to please come in and tell her about this church which he did. Elder Bird taught the gospel to Nobu Nakamura and her family and put them in touch with the LDS Servicemen members on Okinawa. Shortly thereafter Ralph Bird was transferred back to Guam because the army had no assignment for him on Okinawa. On December 25, 1955, Nobu Nakamura, her daughter and their friend were baptized by LDS Servicemen. (Excerpt from the president Andrus’s Report)

(Excerpt from the president Andrus’s Report)

April 1956 : Opening of Okinawa

Okinawa is still under the jurisdiction of the United States Military Far East Command.

Through the help of the LDS Servicemen and Sister Nobu Nakamura in Okinawa, the Lord opened up the way and missionaries arrived in Okinawa in April of 1956.

For the first time in history our missionaries began laboring in Okinawa.

(Excerpt from President Andrus’s Report)

The LDS servicemen made a great contribution to the church in Japan, Korea, and Okinawa by bringing 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.

Sunday, February 5, 1956. Sister Andrus and I attended the general session of the Okinawa Servicemen’s District Conference at the Kadena Air Force Base. Total attendance was 177 including 76 non-members most of whom were Okinawans.

How church bought the Futenma meeting house land1956: President Andrus’s Testimony (Excerpt from President Andrus’s Report : Experience of Purchasing a Land for Futenma Meetinghouse )

As we entered the land owner’s humble home, I was keenly aware that we were going to ask him something impossible for him to even consider.

This man had suffered through the battle of Okinawa in 1945 and had witnessed the American military forces bombard and invade his beloved homeland and then kill and wound over one hundred thousand Okinawan civilians and Japanese soldiers probably including members of his own family and relatives and friends.

Now we three Americans were going to ask him to sell his precious land to an American church which he had probably never even heard of. However, knowing we were on the Lord 's errand gave us confidence to proceed relying on the Lord 's help to soften the hearts of the owner. We explained that we were missionaries for the Mormon Church and the church would like to buy his land and build a church meetinghouse.

Mr. Tamaki, the land owner replied that he had lived in Utah in the Salt

Lake Valley for several years about forty years ago!

He said that he holds the Mormon church in high regard and that he

personally would be willing to sell his land to the church and that he

would also try to persuade the two other owners of the land to sell to

the church!

The Lord was way ahead of us and had prepared Mr. Tamaki forty years

ago to agree to sell his land to the church!

The Lord had also inspired President Joseph Fielding Smith, and

Okinawa Servicemen 's District President to find and purchase the land.

We were humbled and thrilled at this marvelous manifestation of the

long-range workings of the Lord to arrange for the church to obtain this

land for the benefit of His people on Okinawa!

1956 : Church Bought the Land In Futenma Where Futenma Meetinghouse Located Now

February 4, 1956. A sign was erected on the parcel of land the LDS Servicemen’s District has purchased as a chapel site near the town of Futenma. When President Joseph Fielding Smith dedicated Okinawa for the preaching of the gospel, he suggested to members that they look for a parcel of land in the Futenma area. They did so and recently purchased this parcel with the intention of the church erecting a chapel right away.

1956: Church Built Its First Meetinghouse and Missionary’s Quarter in Futenma

1956: Military Quonset Hut Was Used For The Meeting House

Quonset Hut : Meetinghouse Right side building : Missionary's quarter

Missionaries bore their testimony stating that “ This is the true church of God “in front of this modest meetinghouse.

1957: Missionaries Used this Old Pickup Truck to Visit Naha to Preach the Gospel

Elder Shimabukuro, Okinawan descent from Hawaii, became a general authority later.

1958 : Okinawa District Conference with President Andrus

Sister President First Branch Nakamura Andrus President

1964: Story of Purchasing the Land for Naha Meetinghouse

1966: Elder Gordon B. Hinckley Asked to Buy a Land and Dedicated Naha Meetinghouse

One day military district presidency showed several prospected lands to build a meetinghouse in Naha city to Elder Gordon B. Hinckley. One of the lands caught Elder Hinckley’s eye since he received a prompting of the spirit. He asked the presidency to buy the land. However, the land he was interested in was a part of the King of Ryukyu’s historical ruin. Because of that, the church needs to obtain the city mayor’s approval to buy the land. It seemed almost impossible to obtain the mayor’s approval to build a Christian church on King of Ryukyu’s historical land.

However, the military district presidency used their political connection with the U.S. military government officials to make the necessary arrangements to obtain the mayor’s approval. Due to the best effort of the presidency, the church successfully obtained approval from the mayor and bought the land.

In October 1966, the Naha meetinghouse was dedicated by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley.

At that time, The United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War. Some of the brothers in the military district were going to the battlefields of Vietnam on the next day of dedication day, Elder Hinckley prayed in his dedicatory prayer saying “Please bless these young men who are rushing into the battlefield and please help them to return this place again.”

1966:Elder Gordon B. Hinckley Dedicated Naha Meetinghouse

1965: Okinawa and the Military District Relief Society Joint Fashion Show

1970 : Elder Spencer W. Kimball Visited Okinawa

1980 : Elder Ezra Taft Benson Organized the First Stake in Okinawa

2009: Elder David A. Bednar Visited Okinawa

2013:Elder Russel M. Nelson Visited Okinawa

16 Twelve Apostles Visited Okinawa Who Visited Okinawa No. Year Name

1 1955 Joseph Fielding Smith

2 1959 Mark E. Petersen

3 1960 Gordon B. Hinckley



6 1967 Hugh B. Brown

7 “ Gordon B. Hinckley

8 1968 Ezra Taft Benson

9 1970 Spencer W. Kimball

10 1970 Bruce R. McConkie

11 1973 Neal A. Maxwell

12 1974 L. Tom Perry

13 1976 Gordon B .Hinckley

No. Year Name

14 1980 Ezra Taft Benson


16 1987 Dallin H. Oaks



19 1996 President Gordon B Hinckley

20 “ and Joseph B. Wirthlin

21 1996 Jeffrey R. Holland

22 2001 Henry B. Eyring

23 2004 Boyd K. Packer

24 2009 David A. Bednar

25 2013 Russel M. Nelson

2011: Mormon Helping Hands Joint Activity with the Military District

2011:Beach Olympic at Torii Beach: Okinawastake and the Military District Joint Activity

Number of Missionaries Called from Okinawa

Approximately, 450

President and sister Kinjo, currently serving at the Sapporo Japan Mission

Many Sisters Called From Okinawa!!

New Meetinghouse : Itoman Ward

New Meetinghouse : Naha Ward

The Largest Meetinghouse in Japan : Okinawa Ward

Okinawa Temple Ground Breaking December 2020!!

The temple will be constructed in Okinawa City near the Kadena Air Base, adjacent to the meetinghouse for the Okinawa Ward. Last year, the Japanese government announced that they are planning to build a new Okinawa Expressway interchange near the coming temple location that will make the temple easily accessible from locations throughout the island.

Doctrine & Covenants 84:88

And whoso receiveth you, there

I will be also, for I will go before

your face. I will be on your right

hand and on your left, and my

Spirit shall be in your hearts, and

mine angels round about you,

to bear you up.

Comment from the Editor

For us, the military district members are Lord’s angels round about us, to bear us up. On many occasions, ｗe saw His hand in your hands throughout the church history in Okinawa. Now we are going to have a temple in Okinawa with your support. Without you being in Okinawa, it is very hard for Okinawa stake itself to build a temple on such a small island. As we learned the church history of Okinawa, we now understand that The Lord was way ahead of us and had prepared to give us so many blessings. What a wonderful blessing it is to have a temple in Okinawa!

Moreover, you reminded me the following Book of Mormon scripture.

Alma 43:45 Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

Thank you very much for protecting our country, our freedom, our right of worship, and our church. I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep and sincere appreciation on behalf of all members of Okinawa stake to you all. Hontouni arigatou gozaimasu!!

Brother Moritsugu Nakaima, Editor of this presentation

Thank you very much for reading.See you soon in the Okinawa Temple with a big smile!!

References ① http://www.mission.net/northern-far-east/index.php

② https://www.morumon.org/fromreturnedmissionaries.htm

③ Okinawa Church History Book ( Japanese version)

Appendix

Message From the Okinawa Stake Presidency

Okinawa Stake PresidencyPresident Hiroaki Yoza

Dear members of the Military District,We are truly happy with the announcement of the Okinawa Temple last year and the commencement of the construction this year. Missionary work in Okinawa has begun in 1955, however, the members of Okinawan converts did not know anything about the Later-day Saints’ lifestyle. Fortunately, members of the Military District have always been our examples and teachers. Okinawan members have matured by looking at the Military District members and are now inheriting the fruit of the Gospel to our next generations. The growth of the church in Okinawa today has never been accomplished without you. We would like to keep working together with the Military District even more to enhance the work of Christ which shall save both the living and the dead.

• Did you know that Elder Neal A. maxwell and Elder Boyd K. Packer stationed in Okinawa same time?

• Elder Maxwell had a lifechanging experience at a hill in the battle field near Shuri.

• Elder Packer had lifechanging experiences at a cliff of

Ie shima island where he was stationed.

Let me share their spiritual experiences.

After the war, Elder Maxwell and Elder Packer attended the same military district conference that took place in Naha, Okinawa. About 300 soldiers attended the conference.

They did not know each other at that time, but they found out later that they were attending same district conference. Elder Packer had a group picture taken at the conference with Elder Maxwell. (2004 Elder Packer’s Devotional held at Naha stake center)

40

Elder Neal A Maxwell’s Lifechanging Experience in Okinawa From A Disciple's Life -The Biography of Neal A. Maxwell

During the middle of the battle for Okinawa, Neal was part of a mortar squad that fired at Japanese positions hidden in the hills. His own mortar position created an obvious invitation for the enemy to locate and eliminate his firing capacity - and him. They needed only to direct their own artillery and mortar fire at the place where Neal's squad sent up its shells. By identifying his position and comparing where their shells hit, they could direct their fire closer and closer until they had done their deadly job.

One night in late May, the shrieking noise of artillery fire caught Neal's attention with a frightening realization. Three shells in a row had exploded in a sequence that sent a dreadful message - the enemy had completely triangulated his mortar position, and the next series of shots would hit home. Suddenly a shell exploded no more than five feet away from him. Terribly shaken, Neal jumped from his foxhole and moved down a little knoll seeking protection, and then, uncertain what to do, he crawled back to the foxhole. There he knelt, trembling, and spoke the deepest prayer he had ever uttered, pleading for protection and dedicating the rest of his life to the Lord's service.

Neal later called this "one of those selfish, honest prayers" that many people offer in times of great stress. He didn't feel entitled to anything in particular, and he knew many of his combat buddies prayed that night as fervently as he did. Yet he did have very personal reasons for looking to heaven for protection. He was carrying in his pocket a smudged carbon copy of the patriarchal blessing he had received before leaving home. He had read the blessing frequently enough to know this part especially well:

I bless you that as the agencies of destruction are manifest . . . you may be preserved in body and in mind and your intellect be quickened by the spirit of truth . . . that you may rejoice in the power, the love and the mercies of the Redeemer. I seal you up against the power of the destroyer that your life may not be shortened and that you may not be deprived of fulfilling every assignment that was given unto you in the pre-existent state.

After the prayer, Neal turned his attention again to watching the night sky, which was earlier ablaze with flashing, fiery noises. His body spontaneously tensed up as he waited, searching the darkness for sounds and clues. But no more shells came near him.

Elder Boyd K. Packer’s Lifechanging Experience in Okinawa ①From a seminary centennial broadcast address “How to Survive in Enemy Territory “

The moment I decided to be a teacher is very clear in my mind. During World War II, I was in my early 20s and a pilot in the Air Force. I was stationed on the little island of Ie Shima. This island, a small, lonely one about as big as a postage stamp, is just off the northern tip of Okinawa.

One lonely summer evening, I sat on a cliff to watch the sun go down. I was pondering what I would do with my life after the war, if I was fortunate enough to survive. What did I want to be? It was on that night that I decided I wanted to be a teacher. I reasoned that teachers are always learning. Learning is a basic purpose of life.

I first taught seminary in 1949 in Brigham City. I had been a student in that seminary in my high school days. There were three courses originally taught in seminary: Old Testament, New Testament, and Church History. It was my privilege to add an early-morning class on the Book of Mormon. I had returned from the war with a testimony of the Book of Mormon and an understanding of how the gift of the Holy Ghost operates.

Elder Boyd K. Packer’s Lifechanging Experience in Okinawa ②From April 2014 General Conference, Sunday Afternoon Session, “The Witness”

I had left my home in Brigham City, Utah, with only embers of a testimony, and I felt the need for something more. Virtually our whole senior class in a matter of weeks was on its way to the war zone. While stationed on the island of Ie Shima, just north of Okinawa, Japan, I struggled with doubt and uncertainty. I wanted a personal testimony of the gospel. I wanted to know!

During one sleepless night, I left my tent and entered a bunker which had been formed by lining up 50-gallon fuel drums filled with sand and placed one on top of the other to form an enclosure. There was no roof, and so I crawled in, looked up at the star-filled sky, and knelt to pray.

Almost mid-sentence it happened. I could not describe to you what happened if I were determined to do so. It is beyond my power of expression, but it is as clear today as it was that night more than 65 years ago. I knew it to be a very private, very individual manifestation. At last I knew for myself. I knew for a certainty, for it had been given to me. After some time, I crawled from that bunker and walked, or floated, back to my bed. I spent the rest of the night in a feeling of joy and awe.

Far from thinking I was someone special, I thought that if such a thing came to me, that it could come to anyone. I still believe that. In the years that have followed, I have come to understand that such an experience is at once a light to follow and a burden to carry.

Did you know that president Nelson stationed in Japan as a doctor?

During the Korean War, President Russell M. Nelson enlisted to serve a two-year term of medical duty in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. He was stationed in Korea and Japan.

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