Antique sacrament cups in a wooden tray, fashioned lovingly by hand almost a century ago, are displayed in the office of Philippe J. Kradolfer. Nearby are his scriptures and a mobile phone in a worn case. These items offer insight into the Church's director of Temporal Affairs in Mexico.

Brother Kradolfer blends a profound respect for the sacred and historic while keeping up with modern technology's flood of communication and, as in his "get-the-job-done" in a gentle and people-oriented management style, he directs temporal support for the more than 700,000 members in Mexico.He and his wife, Regula, are the parents of four children, Michele, Yazmine, Melanie and Philippe Jr., whom the couple has reared close to the Church while serving in Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and now Mexico.

Brother Kradolfer has had many experiences rich in spirituality as he has served as a mission president's counselor, regional representative and president of three stakes, with a career largely in the Church's temporal affairs offices. A highlight of his experiences was his conversion.

Of Swiss heritage, Brother Kradolfer was reared in Peru and has lived in Latin American countries most of his life. But, were it not for the Book of Mormon, he likely would be a food industry executive in Peru, groomed from childhood to join his father in that business.

"The Book of Mormon is the reason why I am where I am," he said in a recent interview in Mexico City.

Ironically, it was in Switzerland, where conversions are few, instead of in Peru with its burgeoning membership, where he joined the Church. He was a 23-year-old university student in Switzerland in the early fall of 1974 when missionaries knocked on his door.

The first thing missionaries did was displease him. "I didn't let them in," he said. "I must have looked very young; they asked for my dad, and I did not like it because it was my apartment."

But the missionaries, he learned later, felt strongly impressed to return the next day. They brought him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish.

"I put the book on a shelf and I would look at it almost every day, kind of wondering what that book was all about, but I didn't feel like reading it. In the meantime, I developed quite a friendship with the missionaries, who visited very often. They usually visited on Saturday and Sunday, and also during the week, although on a basis of friendship more than anything.

"For the first couple of months they just friendshipped me. Then they started to talk about religion and the Church. One day, they asked me to read the verses in Moroni 10:4-5, inviting me to to ask God, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true. I had a very strong desire to know, and I followed the promise.

"I wanted to know if what they taught me was true. I had attended other church services for many years as a young boy, and somehow I had the feeling that if I would ask, I would receive an answer. I was in a group during my school years that studied scriptures three times a week. Prayer wasn't strange to me. But this time I had a better understanding of praying to God in the name of Christ. The missionaries had taught me the right way to pray.

"I remember kneeling down, from then on, every night, and asking very specifically about these two young men who had come to my house and given me a book. I asked: `God, is it your book? Please tell me if the true Church has been restored.' I did that for several days, and each day my feeling was deeper, and my desire to know was stronger. My prayers were longer and longer, with almost a certainty that I was soon going to receive the answer I was praying for.

"One day, early in November in 1974, Regula, who was then my girlfriend, and my sister went shopping. I decided to open and read the Book of Mormon, for the first time. I remember it as if it were yesterday, that it was snowing outside, the first snowflakes of that winter. I sat in a comfortable chair, read through the introduction and testimony of the three and the eight witnesses. I was so concentrated, hearing in my mind those wonderful testimonies. Then I started to read the first chapter of Nephi: `I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents. . . .' I couldn't read anymore, suddenly I had to stop as I received the most wonderful feeling you can imagine. Those words penetrated my heart in such a way that any shadow of doubt I may have had disappeared from heart and mind. I knew, I knew. I had received the answer I had been praying for. I knew; I knew without any doubt in my being.

"I had only one desire in my heart: to thank my Heavenly Father for the beautiful testimony I had just received. I knelt down and could only say, `Thank you, Father, thank you.' "

He said that from then on, "I knew with all my heart that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he translated the Book of Mormon from the Golden Plates. By this time, I was weeping. I couldn't continue reading because I was deeply touched. I called the missionaries and said, `Elders, I want to be baptized.' They said, `Why so soon?' I said, `You need to know about the experience I just had.' "

When the missionaries arrived, they told Philippe that he had to receive the missionary lessons before he could be baptized.

"I asked, `What for? I know it is true. What else do I need?' "

The missionaries taught him all the discussions the following day. He readily accepted the principles of tithing and the Word of Wisdom. Shortly after his baptism, he baptized his girlfriend and a year later they were sealed in the Swiss Temple.

"There has not been a single minute throughout this almost 20 years that I have doubted that this is the word of God," he said. "This is the true Church. And what else is there to do but work with all your heart, might, mind and strength in building up the kingdom of God?

"It was a wonderful, beautiful experience. I love the Book of Mormon so much. This book has had the greatest influence in my life."

Brother Kradolfer's commitment has led to many opportunities to serve. Two years after his baptism, he was called as bishop, and two years later was called as the fourth stake president in Peru. During the next five years he presided over three stakes, then served as counselor in a mission presidency for two years. In 1987, about 13 years after his baptism, he was called as regional representative, a position he held for eight years and served in three countries.

In 1984, he left his father's food industry business and accepted full-time employment for the Church as Regional Manager for Temporal Affairs.

He was in Peru during the construction of the Lima Peru Temple. But before it was dedicated, he was transferred to Bolivia.

"When the temple was dedicated in Peru, we were in Bolivia, but a short time after, we returned to Peru, where I soon noticed a very profound difference. The members were happier; I could feel that the temple had made a difference among the Saints. Having a temple in Peru after so many years of waiting made the people feel special and different once they had it.

"On Saturdays, the temple was so full you had to wait for hours in the hallways to go to a session."

The family next lived in Ecuador, an experience they enjoyed as much as previous assignments. He said his family is a source of strength to him during the many moves they have been called upon to make. "You have to be people-oriented to survive the changes. Right after we received our shipment, we would work all day and into the night to unpack to establish, as soon as possible, our home in the country.

"We very quickly feel at home among the Saints in every country where we have been."

He said his children have made friends in and out of the Church. "When my family feels good, I feel good. To have a good and strong family is a great, great blessing. I am thankful to my Father in Heaven for my wife and children. I love the Lord, His Church and the wonderful book that made all of this possible, the Book of Mormon."