This October’s General Conference marked the first time in history General Authorities from other nations gave their talks in their native languages. The first General Authority to speak in his own language, Cantonese, was Elder Chi Hong (Sam) Wong of the Seventy. Elder Wong and his wife, Carol, are both alumni of BYU-Hawaii. On his lds.org profile. it talks about his experiences at BYUH. It says he “gained much more than an education—he gained a sure knowledge that there is a God who knows the ‘details of our lives.’”It goes on to say, “Because he was in Hawaii on a student visa, Elder Wong could work only 20 hours a week. ‘We had to really exercise our faith and prayers,’ he said of what it took to sustain his family. He worked hard to earn a scholarship and then, to maximize the financial benefit, took as many credit hours as the university would allow.” The Wongs were sealed in the Laie Hawaii Temple on Aug. 9, 1984 and now have four children. “Those years were very special, very sacred,” Elder Wong says in his profile of his time in Laie.His General Conference talk used the account of Christ healing a man stricken with palsy to illustrate how members and missionaries can work together in ward councils to fulfill President Thomas S. Monson’s counsel to “Reach out to rescue.”During the conference on Oct. 4 and 5, leaders of the shurch encouraged students and members with messages of faith, hope, and love. President Thomas S. Monson said, “May we reach out in helpfulness, not only to our fellow members but also to those who are not of our faith.” Church members around the world went to stake centers or tuned into their ipads, laptops, or televisions to watch the 184th Semiannual General Conference. Members here in Laie and world wide listened to President Thomas S. Monson, the First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other General Authorities as they shared messages about the gospel of Jesus Christ.These messages focused on finding happiness through faith in Christ, righteous living, and helping those around us. Here are what students at BYU-Hawaii thought of the conference:“My favorite talk was during the Priesthood Session by President Dieter F, Uchtdorf. The one phrase that he kept on repeating throughout his entire talk stuck with me not only through the rest of the talk but throughout the day. He kept on repeating the phrase, ‘Lord, is it I?’ which I feel that if we actually think about that phrase in our every day-to-day activity, then we could overall be better people because personally I think it is a humbling question,” said Brando O. Barron, a freshman majoring in exercise science from Los Angeles, Calif.“My favorite talk was by Elder Neil L. Andersen because he talked a lot about Joseph Smith and addressed an issue never talked about in conference. He mentioned how there is bad stuff out there about Joseph Smith and more is going to come out as we get closer to the Second Coming. I just loved that he talked about that because I admire Joseph Smith so much,” said Cristina Owens, a freshman from Las Vegas, Nev.“My favorite talk was during the Sunday afternoon by Elder David A. Bednar. I loved how he addressed the non-members of the church. I think he cleared up a lot of the concerns that non-members may have about the church. All that the members want to do is to invite those to feel the joy that the gospel can bring into their lives. We just want to share what makes us happy,” said Louie Arne, a junior majoring in graphic design from Utah.To watch the conference talks again, go online at lds.org or the Mormon Channel Apps.
Writer: Matthew Roberts ~ Multimedia Journalist
