President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday lauded the contributions of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to Taiwan, saying their missionaries helped spread positive values and spirit.
Ma made the remarks while meeting a delegation headed by Chung Kuo-chiang (仲國強), leader of Taiwan’s Mormon church.
Over the past decades, Ma said, the Church has taken root in Taiwan because of the way young Mormons spread their faith.
The sight of two young men sporting crewcuts and wearing white shirts with black ties riding bicycles has become an important part of the urban landscape, he said.
“Their clean image elicits good feelings,” Ma said, adding that he admires the Mormons’ pioneering efforts to “promote energy conservation by using bicycles as their main mode of transport.”
Noting that his administration has made energy conservation and carbon reduction its major policy goals, Ma said he hoped Mormons would uphold their tradition.
Ma also said he was moved by Church founder Joseph Smith’s efforts to spread his faith despite opposition and persecution in the early days of the church’s development.
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