Remember, Remember

Yesterday I served in the temple baptistry and had the opportunity to serve as the baptizer for a Chinese sister who was there performing work for her ancestors. She had a large stack of names, and I baptized her 100 times for her Chinese ancestors. She told me that she had thousands of ancestors whose work she needed to do. That reminded me that President Nelson announced a temple in Shanghai, China several years ago. It was in April 2020 when he said this: “In Shanghai, a modest multipurpose meeting place will provide a way for Chinese members to continue to participate in ordinances of the temple—in the People’s Republic of China—for them and their ancestors.” Unfortunately, the temple is still in the “planning and approval phase” and the site location has not been announced. In President Nelson’s written version of the talk, he added this footnote: “For thousands of years, the Chinese people have kept clan histories and genealogies. Traditional Chinese ceremonies show respect for their ancestors.” This good sister who came to the baptistry certainly was evidence of that as she did work for her Chinese ancestors from several hundred years ago.

Given this experience yesterday, I chose to read a conference talk from Elder Chi Hong Wong who is from Hong Kong, China. He joined the church at about the age of 20 and is one of two Chinese general authorities (the other is Elder Wan-Liang Wu who was born in Taiwan). Elder Wong spoke about remembering, a fitting topic given how well the Chinese remember their ancestors. He highlighted that there are five verses in the Book of Mormon that invite us to “remember, remember” and discussed each of these. One of these verses is this invitation from Helaman to his sons Nephi and Lehi: “O remember, remember, my sons, the words which king Benjamin spake unto his people; yea, remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who shall come; yea, remember that he cometh to redeem the world” (Helaman 5:9). The words referenced from King Benjamin by Helaman are perhaps these: “And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17). Helaman may have also been thinking about these words from King Benjamin: “I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world. And this is the means whereby salvation cometh. And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are there any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you” (Mosiah 4:7-8). King Benjamin made it clear that there is only one way to salvation, and that is through Jesus Christ and His atonement. Helaman wanted his sons to always remember that, and Elder Wong sought to help us remember as well. He taught, “Jesus Christ stands at the very heart of God’s plan of salvation and exaltation. Every promise of redemption, every hope of resurrection, and every assurance of eternal life flows through Him. Without Jesus Christ, there is no salvation, no victory over sin and death, and no path back to our Heavenly Father. He is the very foundation of the whole plan of salvation and exaltation.”

That faith in Jesus Christ is our only path to salvation is exactly why this Chinese sister is working diligently to provide the ordinances of the temple for her many ancestors. Elder Wong quoted this statement from Elder Bednar: “The sacred covenants and ordinances of the Savior’s restored gospel can be compared to the anchor pins and steel rods used to connect a building to bedrock. Every time we faithfully receive, review, remember, and renew sacred covenants, our spiritual anchors are secured ever more firmly and steadfastly to the ‘rock’ of Jesus Christ.” This sister was helping her ancestors to be secured through covenants, if they accept them, to Jesus Christ. All that we do in the temple points us to Jesus Christ and connects us to Him, and that is something we must continue to strive to remember. At some future day there will be a temple in mainland China (in addition to the one already in Hong Kong) and there more faithful Chinese Saints who remember their ancestors will continue to connect them to the rock of Jesus Christ.