Forty years ago the first full-time messengers of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ arrived in Taiwan. The seeds they planted have given the island nation great gospel strength to share with the wider Chinese world.

"The members here have great faith in the Church and they really love the gospel," said Shih-an Liang, an Asia area authority living in Taiwan.On June 4, 1956, four full-time American missionaries serving in the Southern Far East Mission were transferred from Hong Kong to begin missionary work on the mountainous sub-tropical island, known to the Western world at that time as Formosa, or "Beautiful Island."

There were no Chinese members of the Church on Taiwan, although a small group of American LDS servicemen stationed here were holding Church meetings. As the missionaries began their labors, it is likely they had no idea what results their efforts would bring on this Pacific island, whose Chinese name aptly means "terraced bay."

From such humble beginnings, the Church on Taiwan now has four stakes: two in Taipei, the largest city, and one each in the central city of Taichung and the southern city of Kaohsiung.

There are four mission districts; three are located on the densely populated western plains, in Hsinchu, Taoyuan, and Tainan. The fourth is centered in Hualien, on the eastern coast of the island, where the highest mountains in Asia east of the Himalayas drop abruptly thousands of feet into the Pacific Ocean.

About 22,000 members live in Taiwan in 22 wards and 31 branches of the Church. Two missions and more than 300 missionaries continue to spread the gospel.

"The Church is not growing fast, but steadily," said Elder Liang.

He cited a strong economy as a major factor in slowing the growth of the Church. "There is too much emphasis on the economic side of life," said the area authority, a professor and chairman of the business administration department at National Chung Hsing University.

The growth the Church is experiencing is aided by the missionaries who work very hard and provide much service to residents of Taiwan, according to the area authority. During their four-hour block of public service time each week, he said, they do such things as help farmers, visit hospitals and serve in senior citizen centers or orphanages.

"Most people think the missionaries are polite and courteous and diligent young men," he said.

Although the Church is better known and more prominent in the larger cities, it has penetrated to the more remote areas of the island. An example of this is the branch of the Church that was recently established on the Penghu Archipelago. The Penghu Islands, formerly known as the Pescadores, are an isolated cluster of small islands in the Straits of Taiwan, halfway between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. They are one of the most remote and inaccessible parts of Taiwan.

For members throughout Taiwan, the most important blessing is the temple in their country. The Taiwan Taipei Temple was dedicated in 1984 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, when he was then second counselor in the First Presidency. The "Mormon block" in downtown Taipei is the location of the temple as well as the combined stake center for the East and West stakes and the Church administrative offices.

Elder Liang said that many people don't know the meaning of the temple, but they admire it for the beauty it adds to the center of Taipei. He noted that the city government has printed a booklet about the temple, promoting it as a visitors' site.

As the Church has grown in Taiwan, more and more native members have been called into positions of leadership. Stake, ward, and branch leadership is entirely Chinese. The temple presidency is Chinese. In addition, the percentage of Chinese missionaries has slowly and steadily increased.

When these Chinese missionaries are released, they return to their home wards and branches, where the leadership skills and spiritual depth gained from their missions are quickly put to valuable use.

For example, after his missionary release, Lu-pao Wang was almost immediately called to serve on his stake high council. He was the first Chinese missionary to serve as an assistant to the mission president. Today, he is a high councilor in the Taipei West Stake, and is the head of the Church Educational System for Taiwan.

The Church's taking root in a rich gospel soil is further shown by the rising number of second-generation and even third-generation members. Elder Liang is the son of one of the first generation of converts to the Church. His father, Jun-sheng Liang, was the first counselor in the first stake presidency of the first stake organized in Taiwan. (The Taipei Taiwan Stake was organized 20 years ago, in April 1976 by President Hinckley, then a member of the Quorum of Twelve.) Elder Liang's younger brother, Carl Shih-wei Liang, is the Church's regional manager for Temporal Affairs in Taiwan.

The institute and seminary programs have given great strength to the Church. In spite of the rigorous academic pressures faced by Latter-day Saint students on Taiwan, the Church educational programs have been instrumental in providing a gospel knowledge to young members.

The image of the Church is improving. The meetinghouses that now dot the island help, as does the temple. Service of Church members is also noteworthy. Elder Liang said that some of them donate time to visit, sing with and play with youth in detention centers.

The Church is known in Taiwan's family-oriented society for its emphsasis on the importance of families. One of the Church's more successful public relations campaigns has been the widespread distribution of a bumper sticker that says in Chinese characters, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home."

Taiwanese members' focus on the eternal nature of families is evident by their faithful service in the temple. Latter-day Saints in southern Taiwan, for example, rent a touring bus once a month to go to the temple, which for them is a three to six-hour drive.

Despite the unsettled political situation in Taiwan, the Church provides a solid foundation for members here who in years past preferred to immigrate to find stability. Church leaders attribute this change primarily to the presence of the temple, and to the increased spiritual maturity of the Saints on Taiwan. The Church has taken root, and Church members now enjoy all the blessings of the restored gospel.

So as the Church steadily progresses in Taiwan - Elder Liang anticipates the formation of two or three more stakes over the next couple of years - the members continue to look forward to increasing growth.