San Fernando LDS, A Highlight in Jubilee

This morning I've attended a live satellite broadcast of the Area Conference in Angeles Stake Center. It was presided by Elder Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and was conducted by Elder John Michael Teh of the Seventy. The conference was in line with the jubilee celebration of the Church here in the Philippines since it was rededicated for missionary work by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley of the Twelve Apostles at that time.

Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Twelve Apostles gave his message before the concluding speaker, Elder Packer. He acknowledged the remarkable increase of the Church membership here in the Philippines since the formal missionary work began. As he reviewed the number of members here during the pioneer years, I became interested with the year 1964 because that's when my father was converted to the Church with his parents and siblings and were known as one of the pioneers. And when Elder Cook got to 1964 he quoted that there were 263 members in the country at that time. Five of that number were the family of my paternal grand parents.

Brother David Lagman and his family were the very first members of the Church here in the Philippines. They belonged to San Fernando Branch where my grand parents were baptized and attended Church services until they moved to the U.S. According to my father this morning, my grand father became a counselor of Brother Lagman in the branch presidency during the pioneer time.