During a 12-day ministry in Asia, Relief Society General President Jean B. Bingham and Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon encouraged Church members to prepare for the temple, reach out individually to others and to trust in the Lord.
“Love helps us feel united as a sisterhood. We help one another become a Zion people by working together,” President Bingham said. She invited the sisters to gather Israel by preparing for the temple through finding their ancestors and by ministering one by one through extending personal invitations to Church meetings. “It will make a difference. There is strength in numbers. There is power when we’re focusing on the same thing.”
President Cordon taught youth and young single adults to live the 2022 youth theme, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5-6), and encouraged them to learn to seek for and act on personal revelation.
She urged local leaders to put their focus on helping young people know the Savior better and build a close relationship with Him. “In this crazy world, it is so easy to assume things,” President Cordon said. “Trust Him and trust His promise that He will direct our path.”
President Bingham and President Cordon visited Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand and were accompanied by their husbands, Brother Bruce Bingham and Brother Derek Cordon, and Elder David P. Homer, General Authority Seventy and Asia Area president, and his wife, Sister Nancy Homer. They met with Church members, leaders and missionaries through visits, devotionals and firesides, according to the Church’s Singapore Newsroom.
In Cambodia and Singapore, they spoke at a young single adult conference. In Thailand, the leaders observed and participated in young single adult committee and ward youth council meetings.
President Cordon said that she has great confidence in the young single adults in the Asia Area.
“The thing that I have loved as I’ve been with [them] is their desire to have joy, and they realize they find that in Christ, and they are just not afraid to share it and invite,” she said.
President Bingham also observed the strength of the young single adults. “Wherever we’ve been, they are stalwart, stellar … . Because the COVID restrictions have been a challenge for a little while … these young adults are committed to reaching out and bringing their peers back, because they know what it will mean to the Church… to have all of that strength for young adults here.”
Read more: Learn more about President Bingham and President Johnson’s virtual tour of 11 countries in Asia
Rayner Tan of the Singapore YSA Ward said, “I enjoyed how they took the time to share from their experiences and drawing on it when answering our questions. … It felt a lot more sincere than just giving textbook answers.”
“I was particularly touched as I witnessed President Bingham, President Cordon and Elder Homer repeatedly and tenderly minister, one by one, to those who needed it most,” said Bishop Chris Rollins, of the Singapore YSA Ward. “This Face-to-Face was further confirmation to me that the Lord is directing this work. He saw our little convention in this little island nation and sent His servants to be with us. Over and over, I heard our members remarked on how their personal, private concerns and prayers were answered … We were all so very grateful!”
President Bingham and President Cordon also visited with families during their ministry in the countries.
“It was just so tender,” President Bingham said. “So many of these Saints that we met have been members of the Church not very long, and [many] of them are the only member of the Church in their family. As we visited with them, their strong testimonies, their depth of feeling was just remarkable … they know who they are. They have chosen the covenant path that leads them to their Savior Jesus Christ.”
In Thailand, they also met with Sunantha Sombuntham, a successful Thai business owner who is actively engaged in charitable efforts to improve medical health, increase educational opportunities, and further self-reliance in Thailand, who also has partnered with the Church through Latter-day Saint Charities on several projects. President Cordon also met with the former governor of Bangkok, Bhichit Rattakul, a BYU alumni.
President Cordon visited Asia in 2017 and was impressed with the increase in Church strength since her last visit: “I was just in awe with the changes in just five years … and to see what the Lord can do in our lives.”
President Bingham, with Primary General President Camille N. Johnson, met virtually with Latter-day Saints from 11 countries and regions in the Asia Area in September 2021.
“It [was] a privilege to be in Asia, to meet the Saints, to understand more of the culture, the environment that they are living in. … I was just so impressed with the faith, the love, and the warmth that they have shown to us,” President Bingham said.
