Family History

I don't believe it is a coincidence that I am living in Japan again.  Interestingly enough one of my ancestors on my dad's side was one of the first missionaries in Japan.  On September 1, 1901, four missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints humbly gathered to dedicate Japan "for the proclamation of the truth and for the bringing to pass of the purposes of the Lord." Of those four missionaries, one of them was Louis A. Kelsch who is my great great grandfather's brother.  Louis, along with Elder  Heber J. Grant, Horace S. Ensign, and Alma O. Taylor walked to a secluded spot in Yokohama and knelt within a small grove of trees.  Elder Grant who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time and the President of the Japanese Mission, offered the dedicatory prayer.  Concerning the prayer, Elder Taylor wrote, "His tongue was loosed and the Spirit rested mightily upon him; so much so that we felt the angels of God were near for our hearts burned within us as the words fell from his lips."  There is a monument that now stands at the first church building in Japan as a commemoration of a century of devotion by faithful members of the Church throughout Japan, and as a beacon of hope that the Gospel of Jesus Christ will continue to bless the people of this great land.   

We have been fortunate enough to see the work of the Lord progress in Japan.  The first time my family was in Japan back in 1980 (I was only 2 at the time), all of the English speaking members (both military and civilian) were organized into one stake.  By the time we moved to Japan the second time in 1998 the military wards were separate from the Tokyo Ward members and had their own Military District.  The Tokyo members were combined with the Japanese stake.  Our one English speaking ward split into two wards and by the time I was ready to leave to go to college they split into three wards.  For the past two years our not so small Branch has functioned much like a ward and our District has functioned much like a Stake.  We were only a Branch and District by name only--one of the few in the world that was given special permission to do so.  Recently we have had some great changes happen in Japan for the English speaking members.   All of the English speaking  members are going to be organized into one stake and 5 out of the 7 branches will be organized into wards.  The English speaking Stake in Japan will consist of 3 military wards, 2 military branches, and 2 civilian wards.  We range in distance from the north of the Honshu Island of Japan to the south of Honshu Japan.  It is an amazing time to be a member over here.  Many great things are taking place and the missionary work is moving forward.  Mike will be made Bishop over our Yokosuka Ward and I know that we will continue to learn and grow as he serves in this calling just as he served as Branch President of our Branch.  I do believe we are here for a reason.  It is a great time to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ in Japan!     

Louis Kelsch left (born 1856), Alma Taylor center, Heber J. Grant right