CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES
Video: First LDS Missionaries Return to Cebu
Four missionaries who opened Cebu for the preaching of the gospel now see the harvest that has come of their labors, the crowning point being the dedication of the Cebu City Philippines Temple.
Elders Richard Thorson of Layton, Utah; Tom Pearce of Hunter, Utah; Paul Wright of Piedmont, Calif.; and Don A. Asay of Concord, Ore.; came to Cebu in the latter part of 1963. Three of them — Brothers Thorson, Pearce and Wright — returned to Cebu on June 9, experiencing what easily could be called the grandest reunion of their lives.
(Brother Asay had professional commitments that prevented him from traveling to Cebu with his former missionary companions. He made the following comments to the Church News: "When I arrived in the Philippines, there were 36 missionaries and a few hundred members, many of whom were U. S. servicemen scattered around the island of Luzon. It was difficult to comprehend that less than two years later we were opening another island. We were excited over the opportunity to preach the gospel throughout the Philippines. When we arrived in Cebu, we had no place to stay, no meetinghouse, no contacts and no members. We felt a little like the sons of Mosiah. We never visualized the growth that would take place. A temple in Cebu was beyond our comprehension. I am humbled and blessed to have played even a small part in this wonderful work.")
Although it was 43 years ago that they left the island of Cebu, the changes they see — particularly as pertaining to the growth of the Church — seem to have blossomed right before their eyes.
The four missionaries had lost touch with each other after they returned home from their missions. However, Brother Thorson and Brother Pearce ended up at the same reunion March 31.
"We were at a restaurant in Bountiful and Elder Thorson was sitting next to me at the table," Brother Pearce said. "His wife said, 'Richard was one of the first missionaries in Cebu.' I looked at him and then recognized him."
Brother Pearce felt driven to find the other two missionaries. After several phone calls, he contacted Brother Wright who is a stake patriarch of the Oakland California Stake.
" We had a glorious conversation," he said. "I was thrilled, all choked up. The Book of Mormon tells about the grand reunion Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah had as they met up after having served and found that they had all remained faithful. I felt as though I had gotten a chance to experience that kind of feeling. I was learning that my missionary companions had all remained faithful in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
"Paul and I talked a good hour. Then he said, 'Why did you call me today — why today?' I said I was prompted to call that day.
"He then said, 'Last night, there were some Filipino members visiting. They told me about the dedication of the Cebu temple, and were happy to get in touch with me and wanted to know how to contact you.' "
The returned missionaries began planning a trip to attend the temple dedication.
"I am 100 percent convinced that the Lord wanted us to be in Cebu and wanted us to be together again," Brother Pearce said.
When Brothers Thorson, Pearce and Wright arrived in Cebu this week, they took the first steps on a long walk down the proverbial Memory Lane.
"In 1966, the Philippines was part of the Southern Far East Mission, including all of southeast Asia — the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Thailand. President Keith Garner was based in Hong Kong," Brother Pearce said.
Brother Wright said that President Garner sent some feelers out to see about opening a new missionary area in Cebu. Elder Floyd Cook of Alberta, Canada; and Benjamin Kahanaui of Hawaii were sent to see what the possibilities were and reported back to President Grant.
Elders Wright and Pearce were then sent from Manila to Cebu in September 1966. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, who was traveling throughout the Southern Far East Mission, told them that he would give them six weeks to see if missionary work could succeed on Cebu Island.
Brother Pearce said, "Elder Hinckley interviewed Elder Wright and me for a good two hours and gave us some inspirational information. It was a great experience. He said, 'You're going to Cebu. You're going just like the early missionaries of the Church — Samuel Smith and Parley P. Pratt and others. You're going to a place where there are no members, no evidence of the Church. Missionaries have never been sent there to proselytize before.' "
Elder Pearce and Elder Wright returned to Manila and reported to Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who had returned to Manila during his travels.
"We told him that we were impressed that Cebu would be a fruitful area and missionary work would thrive there. He said, 'All right, we'll keep missionaries there. We will send you two more missionaries to be your companions.'
"Those missionaries were Elders Thorson and Asay — good additions. They were good, mature elders," Brother Wright said.
Elder Pearce recalled something written by Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley about seeing her husband send four young elders to open work in the Philippines. Sister Hinckley wrote: "In my eyes, they were just boys, 19 and 20 years old — simple, unlearned in the ways of the world. I thought of my boy at home, just turning 19. I would hardly trust him to buy the weekend groceries, and here were four such young men with the overwhelming responsibility of establishing the kingdom of God in the Philippine Islands.
"When we were leaving the country I looked at those four missionaries — just a handful of members and no other missionaries in the entire country — and I said to my husband, 'How can you leave those four boys there alone?' And he said, 'They're not alone. The Lord is with them." (Glimpses into the life and heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, pp. 24-25, Deseret Book Co., Edited by Virginia H. Pearce).
The elders Sister Hinckley saw might have been other missionaries, but Elder Pearce identifies with her observation.
After they arrived in Cebu City, Brother Pearce said, "We got on our knees and then started to work."
Although the Church was not established there, they did find one Filipino member and five LDS servicemen who were stationed at a U.S. military base nearby.
The missionaries rented an apartment. They lived on the upper floor and held meetings on the ground floor.
"At first, it was very discouraging," Brother Pearce recalled. "Our presence on the island of Cebu was not welcomed by missionaries of other churches. They got on the radio and told people to not look at the Book of Mormon and said it was a sin to talk to us. People wouldn't open their doors to us. We left tracts on doorsteps with our names and telephone numbers."
One night, they received a phone call from Jovita Solon, who said that her father, Mateo Solon, was very active in another church but he had found one of the pamphlets the missionaries had left on his doorstep. "He wants to know if you will come visit him," the young woman said.
Elder Pearce said, "We went to his home and were met at the gate by a little rotund man who said, 'I've read your pamphlet and I know it is true. Will you teach me?'
"He had 16 children; we baptized the majority of them. He owned a warehouse and referred his employees to us. The work got started from there," Brother Pearce said.
As the young LDS missionaries began to be successful in finding people to teach, they received a phone call from missionaries of a Protestant faith who said they wanted to meet with them.
The Mormon elders went to visit the Protestant missionaries. "One of them said, 'How old are you?' We told them we were 21 years old," Brother Pearce said.
"Then one of them said, 'We've had missionaries on this island for 15 years, we have 15 missionaries, every one has degrees in theology. What kind of degrees do you have in theology?' We told them we didn't have any degrees in theology.
"He said, 'We have 32 members of our church here; we're the largest non-Catholic denomination on the island, so we thought we'd throw this out to you: Go home. What do you boys think you can accomplish?' "
Brother Pearce said, "I remember a feeling of discouragement, but we knew we were there for a purpose, that the Lord had sent us there. It was going to work. It would happen."
Brother Thorson described the growth of the Church on Cebu Island and surrounding areas as "incredible."
"It brings to mind the statement in the Doctrine and Covenants that out of small things proceedeth that which is great."
"It has been incredible growth here. It was a place of wonderful people who were prepared in Christianity; it made teaching them a lot easier because they already had a Christian basis.
"It is interesting to reflect on how few we were then and how far away we were from the mission president, who resided in Hong Kong.
"I have a lot of emotions, personal reflections on the work we did and the work we could have done — all those things."
Brother Pearce said, "One of the saddest days of my life was when I left Cebu. We took a bus to the ferry. I remember Brother Solon standing there at the little bus station. I remember him waving goodbye to us with tears running down his face. I remember the little congregation singing, 'God Be with You Til We Meet Again.' "
Back in their beloved Cebu, Elder Pearce and two of his companions are, indeed, meeting again with some of those same members who bade them such a tearful farewell.
At a meeting for "pioneer members" in the Cebu area, they saw Jovita Solon Gabuya.
"When I heard there would be a meeting for the pioneer members, I wished that the first elders would come here," Sister Gabuya said. "When I saw them, my eyes filled with tears. My wish was granted."
The "pioneer elders" had their first look at the Cebu City temple on June 10 and were granted a "walk through" the temple, which had already been stripped of its furniture in preparation for setting up chairs for the dedication. Still, they marveled at its beauty.
"The feelings I felt inside the temple were of peace and joy and it is worth it all for all the times I have struggled and felt I was making no progress," Brother Thorson said.
Brother Pearce said, "Standing in the Manila airport (en route to Cebu City), made me reflect on myriad missionary experiences," Brother Pearce said. "I have always promised myself that when – not if – a temple was built in Cebu I would be there for the dedication."
Brother Wright said, "There has been a flood of memories on Cebu; wonderful experiences, dedicated missionary companions and the wonderful people of the Philippines. The temple symbolizes similar experiences and memories shared by many Church members and missionaries in the past 43 years since we left as the Church has grown here."
