It is not often that we have a member of The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visit our area; however, in August Elder L. Tom Perry presided over a meeting of the Third Quorum of the Seventy and Mission Presidents Seminar in Phuket, Thailand.  He was accompanied by Elder Earl C. Tingey of the Presidency of the Seventy, along with Sister Barbara Perry and Sister Joanne Tingey.

As we received instructions from Elder Perry, I was reminded again of the importance of apostles and prophets to guide us.  Some of the duties of The Quorum of the Twelve are outlined in D&C 107:33.  Elder Perry came as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it was evident that he was here under the direction of the Presidency of the Church with the urgent message that we must build up the Church in the Asia Area. 

Elder Perry and Elder Tingey were pleased that the eight Area Authority Seventies called to serve in the Asia Area are men of great ability and spiritual maturity.  They are from many nations and speak many languages.

Elder Perry outlined four things that we as individuals must do to assist in building the Kingdom of God on the earth:

First: “Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing.”  He counseled us that we must not neglect our family responsibilities and that husbands and wives have an equal responsibility to plan their lives together.  The
family needs to calendar together each week and to know where each member of the family is at all times.

Second: Our obligation to our employer is very important.  We must know how to work.  We must teach our children to work and understand the importance of thrift.  The virtue of honesty must be instilled in the lives of our families.

Third: Have time for the Lord’s work.  President Gordon B. Hinckley has said, “If you complain that you have too much to do, you have too much to do.”  We must find time in our lives to share the message of the wonderful restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Fourth:  We must find time for ourselves.  Every day we need to communicate with Deity through prayers and reading the scriptures.  In addition we must maintain our health through proper exercise and eating.

I feel certain that as we follow the counsel of Elder Perry we will find happiness in building the Church in the Asia Area.