The Mormon Church and Globalization: A Look at China | Mormon World

The Mormon Church and Globalization: China

In China, the Mormon Church is still preparing for the day when proselytizing missionaries will be legally accepted. The development of the Mormon Church in China carries major implications for the global growth of the Church.

Mormon Church’s Challenges in China

In China, the LDS Church faces its most unique opportunity and challenge of the new century – something far different from what we see in most other developing countries. Although in Hong Kong the LDS Church is very well established with an active mission, 32 congregations, and a temple, China is entirely dissimilar: while thousands attend regular worship services under special circumstances, Mormon missionary efforts are very limited to just a handful of non-proselytizing volunteers. The Church and Brigham Young University have established rapport with many in the Chinese academic and policy making communities through educational exchanges, the entertainment of the Young Ambassadors and BYU’s ballroom and folk dance troupes, as well as BYU’s earned reputation for its sophisticated language training
programs. The LDS Church has also published a translation of the Book of Mormon and other publications in Simplified Chinese, the script used in Mainland China. Chinese officials attend the annual International Law and Religion Symposium in Utah each year, planting a seed for the Chinese government to understand the importance of liberalizing its religious laws to allow proselytizing missionaries. Another interesting setting for connecting Chinese from the Mainland with the LDS Church has been BYU-Hawaii, where dozens of Chinese study and become acquainted with the Church. Once China’s borders are fully opened to missionary teaching, the Church will require tremendous resources to manage its operations there and will necessarily rely on the efforts of local members because of the country’s sheer size.

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