By LOIS HASSELL
Lois@newsroom.byu.edu
Permission was granted from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to start a separate BYU ward for the Chinese.
The need for the ward became apparent to the former Asian Ward bishop, Robert Suman, when he noticed segregation among the members of his ward.
'After I became the bishop, I saw three separate groups -- those that had grown up in the Church, investigators and those from mainland China who have joined the church but didn't have a knowledge of its background, culture or doctrine. This last group wasn't even familiar with the Bible,' Suman said.
Suman said he looked for ways to meet the needs of this group.
'They needed to hear the gospel taught at a basic level in their own language,' he said.
The new Chinese ward solved this problem, and has its sacrament meeting in Mandarin, he said.
Those who join the LDS Church here and then return to China are not allowed to attend wards there, said Ramond Tsao, bishop of the new BYU Chinese First Ward.
'This ward is to be a training ground for Chinese students and really plant the seed of the gospel deep in their hearts,' said Tsao, a native from China.
For three years, Suman has been processing for the Chinese ward.
'We feel that the students from China who come here come for two reasons. First, to get a degree, and secondly, to learn the gospel and return to their homeland and assume leadership roles there,' said Suman, who served his mission in Taiwan.
'I can feel the mission to help Chinese students learn the gospel,' said Matthew Kho, a BYU graduate from Hong Kong, who lives in Pleasant Grove and attends the BYU Chinese First Ward.
The Chinese First Ward was formed by splitting the existing Asian Ward into the new Chinese ward and a Korean branch.
The Korean branch, however, will continue to have its meetings in English.
The Chinese First Ward also has a mission of missionary work.
'BYU has over 200 mainland Chinese students. We feel this ward will be a great conversion tool for them,' Suman said.
Also, unlike the majority of wards in the world, this new ward has no set ward boundaries. The ward welcomes families, single students, former missionaries who served in Asia or those interested in learning the language, Suman said.
However, Suman said they are trying to limit attendance to those within Utah County.
This ward will also allow visiting government officials and scholars to attend a ward in their own language, Suman said.