30th Anniversary of Preaching of the Gospel in Malaysia for The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints 
Ulang tahun yang ke-30 Pengkhutbahan Ajaran di Malaysia untuk Gereja Yesus Kristus Orang Suci Zaman Akhir

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Just before daybreak on August 15, 1996, on the 10th floor restaurant of the former Legend Hotel (now known as Sunway Putra Hotel), a group of 17 members from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered. In their midst was Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles then and Elder Tai Kwok Yuen, the Church’s Asia Area President at the time.

They faced east, where the restaurant had been rearranged the night before by hotel General Manager Joseph Skipps, so that the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia provided a wonderful 180 degree view overlooking the capital. There, Elder Wirthlin offered a historic and prophetic dedicatory prayer for the preaching of the gospel in Malaysia.

On August 15, 2026, members of the Church gathered once more in a devotional to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the significant event at the same location. Skipps, now part of the Kuala Lumpur District Presidency was in attendance again, with District President Kelvin Anand Kumar, fellow Counselor President Michael Ang and other leaders with their spouses from the Primary, Young Women, Relief Society, and District and National Communication Councils.

During the devotional, video messages from the Tais and then mission president Carl D. Warren and his wife were played. President Skipps also shared the background and history of how the dedication came to be and his account of being part of that sacred experience. He expressed his gratitude for the chance to return to Malaysia with his wife and relive that sacred experience again 30 years on.

Other Malaysia Church pioneers who were present at the dedication were Micheal Tamilarason and Ivan Ho, and their wives.  They shared their testimonies of their experience and first-hand account of how they saw the Church grow before and after the dedicatory prayer was made. They expressed how blessed they were to see the Church progress in tremendous ways. Tamilarason spoke about the rapid growth he had seen in Church membership and the opening of new branches and districts, especially in East Malaysia.  

President Kumar then ended the devotional meeting by reading out the dedicatory prayer as Elder Wirthlin had given it 30 years ago. President Kumar shared his testimony "As we remembered the faith and sacrifices of those who came before us, we were reminded that the Lord can do great things through small and simple efforts. May we continue faithfully doing our small part and trust the Lord with what comes next."