�鶹��ý

“Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation” (Doctrine and Covenants 31:3).

In June 1995 the Asia Area Presidency—Presidents John K. Carmack, Tai Kwok Yuen, and John H. Groberg—shared the following about the growth of the Church in Mongolia: “The first year after missionary couples arrived was spent networking and building a foundation. Now we have about two hundred members in Mongolia, most of whom were baptized within the past two years. We have four couples and six companionships of elders serving in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, and we recently opened a second city, Erdenet. Our efforts so far have been a mixture of humanitarian work and proselyting. About 250 people attend meeting in Ulaanbaatar.”[1]

This chapter explores the experience of the first mission president in Mongolia, the establishment of the first branches in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, followed by the Erdenet and Darkhan Branches in the countryside, and the call of the first native full-time missionaries from Mongolia. Church membership grew to 436 members in 1995, when President Richard E. Cook was called as the first mission president.

The Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission's First Mission President

President Richard Cook and his wife Sister Mary Cook, 1995.

Richard E. Cook and Mary N. Cook were serving as a missionary couple in Mongolia in 1994, and a few months later they received a call from President Gordon B. Hinckley at about 5 a.m. that changed their lives. They were asked to go to Utah for some training and then return to Mongolia to organize and preside over the first mission in Mongolia. President Hinckley told them, “Go forward with faith. The Lord is in charge.”[2] On 1 July 1995, Cook became the first mission president for the newly created Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission.[3] Elder Brough joined Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve to set apart President and Sister Cook. Brough said, “We now have the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission, so that’s no longer a part of the Asia International Mission.” President Cook would later be called to serve in the Quorum of the Seventy and in the Asia Area Presidency.[4] Mission records noted,

July 1, 1995.

The Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission was officially f­ormed. President Richard R. Cook is the first mission president. Twelve young missionaries are here at this time. Ten in Ulaanbaatar and two in Erdenet. . . . At this time there are [also] four senior couples: Elder and Sister Hardy, Elder and Sister Bennet, Elder and Sister Brown, and Elder and Sister Cox.[5]

Left to right: Mission president Richard Cook, Sister Cox, and Sister Mary Cook in Mongolia, circa 1995. President and Sister Cook were the first mission president and spouse called to Mongolia. Courtesy of Enkhtuvshin Togtokh and Dashgerel Doyod.

When President and Sister Cook returned to Mongolia, they found challenges. The Church News reported, “Early members suffered persecution for joining a Christian church, losing employment and friends.” Other difficulties included “finding places to meet and places to baptize,” with some walking through a bar to enter a spa to be baptized.[6] On 14 July 1995, for example, mission records reported Sister Minjin “was finally baptized, after being forcefully taken from the baptismal place in her white clothes by members of another church at the last baptism.”[7] Sister Cook noted that during this time, Mongolia was going through substantial transition from socialism to a free-market economy and that the Mongolian people were experiencing a “mighty change in [their] hearts” (see Alma 5:14).[8] She further described the capital Ulaanbaatar as follows: “Ulaanbaatar is a study in vivid contrasts. Many residents dress in native costumes called deels, colorful hats, and decorative leather boots with turned-up toes, while many others wear typical Western clothing. New German vehicles whiz past old, rebuilt Russian cars, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and trucks—and motor traffic sometimes has to dodge the wandering livestock that graze throughout the city.”[9]

The Mission Presidents’ Driver

Batbold Khishigdorj was driving a friend’s car in 1995 when he was suddenly stopped by a stranger who asked him if he spoke English. “No,” came his reply to the stranger who only knew how to say right, left, and stop. The stranger was President Cook, who needed to rent transportation between the Ulaanbaatar airport and the hotel that day. President Cook said, “I really want to rent your van.” Batbold replied, “It is not my van, it is my friend’s van.” After calling his friend, he began driving President Cook around, not realizing he would become the “mission presidents’ driver” for the next couple decades.[10] He explained,

I called my friend and began to work. I drove for President Cook for about a month and then he said, “I will buy a new car. Will you talk to your wife? I like you to drive for me.” I texted my wife and she said, “It is your choice.” Then I go to the office to talk to President Cook in person. He was happy to see me and said, “I knew you would come.” He then told me that he may be giving me about ten years of work. Now I have been driving for 23 years. I drove him many times to the bank, to the school, and so forth. President Cook was an honest man, . . . and I learned much from him. He is also a handyman and made shelves for the garage.[11]

Batbold Khisigdorj served as driver for several mission presidents in Mongolia. Photo taken in 2018, in Ulaanbaatar. Courtesy of Po Nein (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou.

When President Cook finished his mission in 1996, Batbold just kept driving for the next mission presidents. Gary E. Cox became the mission president in 1996, followed by G. Harlan Clark in 1999. Although Batbold began taking the missionary lessons early on and even had a son who was baptized, his Buddhist mother did not like having her children join a Christian church and was quite upset. Then about a year after his mother died, Batbold, along with his wife and his daughter, were baptized by President Clark. Years later, Batbold would also serve as a counselor in the mission presidency, as well as a counselor in a stake presidency.[12]

Batbold continued to drive for each new mission president, including Gary R. Gibbons in 2002, who was the mission doctor before returning as mission president, followed by Steven J. Sorenson in 2004, who only served about a year due to heart problems. He drove for Wallace F. Bryner, a doctor who arrived in 2005, and D. Allen Andersen in 2007, who also served in the Asia Area Presidency. Kris J. Mecham served in 2010 for only a few months due to his wife’s cancer. Jay D. Clark, who came in 2010, was also a doctor. Joseph Payne Benson came in 2013, followed by Jeffrey C. Harper in 2016 and A. David Hansen in 2019. By 2018, Batbold had already driven for all eleven mission presidents.[13]

I drove [the mission presidents] many times to the countryside to visit the chapels. I had a GPS in my head, and although I grew up in the city, I traveled to the countryside too. My longest trip was 1,500 km one way or 3,000 km round trip, to take the mission president to visit two distant branch conferences each year. We would go from Ulaanbaatar to Murun, and from Murun to Khovd.

When President Cook was here, we would drive two or three days or more. They would be tired and his wife would sleep in the back seat. The road was not paved then, and it was a dirt and bumpy road. Now, the road is paved [part of the way], so it takes us about ten to eleven hours to Murun and about a day and a half to Khovd, or two days from Ulaanbaatar to Khovd.[14]

Besides driving for mission presidents in Mongolia, Batbold also had the opportunity to drive other Church leaders visiting Mongolia, including members of the Asia Area Presidency and members of the Quorum of the Twelve like Elders Joseph B. Wirthlin in 1997, Dallin H. Oaks in 2005, Russell M. Nelson in 2009, Jeffrey R. Holland in 2011, and David A. Bednar in 2018. President Donald L. Hallstrom from the Asia Area Presidency told Batbold that it was “important to have a professional driver driving apostles” and that “these apostles are important people, so one should be careful when driving them.” In 2018, Batbold said, “These American couples are like brothers and sisters to me, and when they go home, it breaks my heart. But I know the Church is true and it has changed my life.” He added, “Every year, I call all the couples at Christmas time. President Clark will ask me, ‘Are you still there? Is the Church still true?’ And I will tell him, ‘Yes!’”[15]

Missionaries in Erdenet and Darkhan

Erdenet is the third largest city in Mongolia, with a road that is 370 kilometers (230 miles) from Ulaanbaatar. Copper was discovered in the 1950s, and the city of Erdenet was founded in 1974. The Erdenet Mining Corporation employs about eight thousand people (including some members of the Church), and it has the fourth largest copper mine in the world. Traveling east of Erdenet is Darkhan, which is the second largest city and industrial center of Mongolia. The city of Darkhan was built with substantial economic assistance from the former Soviet Union in 1961, with a road that is about 226 kilometers (140 miles) from Ulaanbaatar.

While travelling between cities in Khovsgol Province, Mongolia, July 1994, their Jeep got stuck. Shown are the Jeep owner and driver, Tsestegsaikhan's mother, Tsestegsaikhan, Mary Cook, Oyankhuu, and Richard Cook. Courtesy of Brett Hansen.

While the Church was growing in Ulaanbaatar and the first mission was being organized, missionaries were sent to teach and gather those scattered throughout the countryside and other parts of Mongolia. These efforts included the first missionaries sent to Erdenet and Darkhan, located northwest and north of Ulaanbaatar, respectively. The experience of Dina Markhashkhan Karakas and others provides a local perspective of the early converts in these areas. Dina was an early convert in Erdenet and the first Darkhan native to be baptized, and after a brief period of inactivity she returned to church and served as a missionary in the Ukraine Kiev Mission.[16]

First Baptism in Erdenet

In March 1995, Erdenet became the second city to be opened for missionary work in Mongolia following the successful establishment of the Church in Ulaanbaatar. Elders Jay Birch and Gerald Rogers were the first missionaries sent to Erdenet to teach English and preach the gospel. While in Erdenet, they taught and baptized the first converts and organized the first sacrament meetings in the city.[17]

Dina Markhashkhan Karakas was born in 1976 in Darkhan, Mongolia. She grew up in an ethnically mixed household, with a Mongolian mother and a Kazakh father, a Muslim who provided her with an Islamic upbringing. During her second year at a university in Erdenet, Mongolia, she heard, “Two American gentlemen are coming to our university to teach English.” She was curious to meet these teachers, Elders Birch and Rogers, who were missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Other American teachers wore jeans, but these gentlemen were in business suits. She asked them questions outside of class because they couldn’t tell her about the Church in class. She spoke “half Mongolian and half English” at this time, and struggled to understand them in English, so the missionaries began to speak in Mongolian. She was so surprised and shocked that they could speak Mongolian so well. The missionaries began to teach Dina and her two other friends.[18]

We were together and [the missionaries] . . . said [that] before they [would] tell [us] more about [the] Church, they [would] pray. . . . We closed our eyes, and I thought they would pray in [a] different language, you know, because I was used to it. And he started saying [the prayer] in Mongolian. . . .

As soon as they finished the prayer, we just asked, “Why you prayed [in] Mongolian, because it was so different? We never heard prayers in our own language so we can understand.” They started teaching [the] discussions.[19]

Inside a ger in the Khovsol Province, Mongolia, in July 1994. From left to right: local children, President Richard Cook, Oyankhuu, Tsestegsaikhan, and local children. Courtesy of Brett Hansen.

Dina said that although the missionaries were nice, she encountered a roadblock:

I remember [the] first time when I had three discussions, I didn’t like it at all. I thought, “Oh, you’re lying. I don’t believe that we should believe in Christ. Everybody should believe in God, but not this one.” But [then] they talked about the First Vision of Joseph Smith and that made an impression. I thought, “Oh, this man, he was so faithful and he was so willing to see God and His Son. He saw Him.” I thought, “Everybody can see God, if we will be faithful like him.” I like this part, but I didn’t like the other. . . .

They tried to share their testimony, and they said that they are not forcing that I should believe in this, but they said, “This is your choice.” So they left [and] I said, “It’s finished. It’s over. I don’t want to hear anything,” because it made me afraid.[20]

She was afraid that God would come and say, “You are wrong!” So she stopped listening to the lessons. However, a feeling began to grow in her heart, and she felt each morning that someone was saying she was wrong for rejecting the missionaries. This feeling continued to grow until she sought out the missionaries and told them, “I feel that I’m wrong. . . . I’m sorry. Can I take [the] discussions [again]?” She added, “When I started taking [the] discussions, I just felt the Spirit.” She could feel their love for the Mongolian people. The missionaries committed Dina to be baptized and she said yes. But since her father was a religious Muslim, she felt she should ask him during a visit to their home in Darkhan.[21]

[My dad] was not happy because when I said that I am going to be [a] Christian. He said, “No, you can’t, because I am Muslim and you should be Muslim also.” And to my surprise, my mom . . . said, “You know, I think you should be Buddhist.” . . . I started to explain that I felt something. I prayed and I [had an] answer. . . . [My dad] just stopped talking to me, and he was quiet that day. The very next day I thought, “I don’t care what they will say.”

And my dad, before I was going to the railway station to go to Erdenet, said, . . . “There is [a] God. I know there is [a] God. I can tell that you can feel this spirit or feelings from Christian religion.” He said, “God is one. . . . If you feel that God is talking to you or you’re feeling that He is telling you He loves you, and if you know that it is true, you should believe it.” . . . And that was the answer. And I thought, “Okay, so I can be a Christian.” He said, “But don’t quit studying English.” . . . And so I went to Erdenet and said [to the missionaries], “Actually, my dad, he’s not happy me being baptized.” They said, “Why not? You are already nineteen. You can be baptized without permission of your parents.” And then I thought, and I said, “Okay, I will be baptized.”[22]

As the day for her baptism approached, Dina changed her mind again. Her friends had suggested that she watch a baptism first before she was baptized “because we had never seen how people [were] baptized.” In April 1995, when watching the first eight people to be baptized in Erdenet, she felt something powerful inside her heart and heard in her mind, “That’s true that we should be baptized.” She thought, “Oh, why did I say no? I could be baptized that day.” Dina regretted waiting and then joined the second group baptized in Erdenet on 19 May 1995. When she was baptized, Dina was the first native from Darkhan to become a member of the Church.[23]

First Sacrament Meeting in Erdenet

In Erdenet, Dina recalled going to the missionaries’ home for church. She said that the “very first sacrament meeting was in [the missionaries’] house, in their apartment.”[24]

In Erdenet, there is a hotel. It’s called Selenge. I think behind the Selenge Hotel there is another [building]. People . . . used to go there. It’s kind of like a training center. It’s almost the very first building when you go to Erdenet. In this [place] we had sacrament meetings. We had few members, like eight and six, maybe like fifteen members [later]. . . . Elder Birch, he had [finished his mission and was] gone. Elder Rogers with Elder Hawkins were conducting the sacrament meeting. . . .

When we went to partake of the sacrament, I can’t tell [you] the very first impression, but I think [it was] just very nice. There were a few people and we were all smiling because we knew those elders and we knew that we believed in God.[25]

Dina was surprised to attend church in the missionaries’ apartment because she thought church would be in a building. She also said, “We had family home evenings in their house. We played together [and] I liked that very much.” She especially liked the fact that they didn’t drink, because her other nonmember friends always wanted to go out to drink. Although the group was small, she remembered a powerful experience with sacrament meeting.[26]

I remember one time when we came to sacrament meeting, there were [a] few members, maybe like two or three, and I just looked at them and I thought, “They are spending their time for us. Can we cancel this sacrament meeting? Can we do it next Sunday so there will be many [more] people?” But they said, “Oh, we don’t have the right to cancel it.” And that made [me] feel that they did everything, you know, from the bottom of their hearts. They were honest because they just showed us that they believed in God. . . . They told me, “There is [a] God. He is waiting for you. And even if there are few members, it doesn’t matter because He is [still] waiting for you.” And I thought, “Oh, it’s so important to come.”[27]

Serving in Erdenet

While in Erdenet, Dina remembered the missionaries saying, “If you want to develop your testimony, you should serve others.” The missionaries asked her to teach from the Gospel Principles manual. She was nervous but the missionaries told her that if she would try and do her best, it would be okay. So she overcame her fears and taught the class. Serving others helped her grow and strengthened friendships. She said, “When we serve, we can see the blessings.”[28]

Harold and Dorothy Allsop were the first missionary couple sent to Erdenet. Elder Allsop served as Erdenet’s branch president between January 1996 and May 1997. Their apartment had crude plumbing and electricity, with dirty and unlit stairwells, but it had a telephone, which was hard to find. Most people lived in either apartments or gers. There were also young missionary elders in Erdenet, and President Cook would come regularly from Ulaanbaatar by train to visit Erdenet. On 28 February 1996 the Cooks brought Elder John H. Groberg from the Asia Area Presidency and his wife, Sister Jean Groberg, to visit the small congregation in Erdenet. The next day, President Cook and Elder and Sister Groberg spoke, and those attending were spiritually uplifted before their visitors boarded the train back to Ulaanbaatar. Driving was more challenging as illustrated by one trip Elder Allsop took to Ulaanbaatar in August 1996.[29]

We were to go to Ulaanbaatar for zone conference. The elders had arranged for a driver to take them and me in a car and Dorothy was to come on the train with the two sisters the next morning. . . .

We left Erdenet on a road that at one time had been paved—or parts of it. But it was badly broken up, not near as good as the gravel road to Selenge. . . . We had covered the first 20 miles in an hour and fifteen minutes. 240 miles left to go. Fortunately, it got better. We made Darkhan after 4 hours and had paved road the rest of the way to Ulaanbaatar. Here we could go 55 to 60 miles per hour. . . . The road was narrow but there was little traffic and we arrived in Ulaanbaatar after 7 and [a] half hours total. . . . Dorothy arrived on the train [the next] morning.[30]

There were challenges but also an abundance of blessings. In November 1996, they held the first sacrament meeting for twenty-six Russian expatriates who worked in Erdenet’s copper industry. Then, after church, they had eight baptisms, including a Russian family. Sister Allsop noted the tremendous blessing serving in Erdent. In a letter to her family the following spring, she wrote that “things [were] 200% better” than the previous year. They even had fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, fruits, and meat now. Their service was a blessing for many in Erdenet.[31]

The sacrifice and service of many Saints in Erdenet continued over the years. Brother Tserenbat Jamiyan and his family, for example, were among those baptized in Erdenet. He later served as a branch president of the Erdenet Branch from 2003 to 2009, and then as president of the Darkhan Mongolia District from 2009 to almost 2012.[32] He related the following:

I didn’t know much about the Church initially, because my generation was socialist and had no religion. Then my two sons learned about and joined the Church. One day, they told me I needed to go to church. They wanted to go on missions, but without parental support, they can’t go on mission. So I thought that maybe I would come and see, maybe they go to the US on their mission. When I came to church, . . . they taught us the discussions and the gospel to us. The two couple missionaries there were very wonderful, and they helped us. We attended church at the Erdenet Branch, in a rented hotel. . . . There were about 40–50 members then. . . . We organized many activities, youth camp and conferences, and handcart treks.[33]

Tserenbat provided many activities for the youth, and he is known in his district as “one who loves the young people.” He provided activities to strengthen their testimony of the Savior since they are the future of the Church. He said, “President Odgerel told me that a lot of the kids I worked with are now Ulaanbaatar leaders serving in many callings. One year, they came back during the Lunar New Year to my home to visit and honor me. I am very blessed and grateful.”[34]

Please, Send Some Missionaries to Darkhan

Dina Markhashkhan Karakas was studying in Erdenet, but she often returned home to Darkhan on holidays or school breaks. However, there was no church in Darkhan. The missionaries wrote and encouraged her to read her scriptures and pray on Sundays since there was no sacrament meeting in Darkhan, and as the only Christian at home, everyone in her family made fun of her. She recalled telling the missionaries, “Oh please, send some missionaries to Darkhan. Darkhan is a very beautiful city. Please, we should have somebody.”[35]

Dina knew the Church was good, but as a new convert, she didn’t know how to explain the gospel to her family. “I couldn’t tell everything because I didn’t know exactly what to say. . . . My dad, he wanted to know.” In addition, her mother and her sister would say, “You don’t know anything and you are believing in such things.” On a trip from Erdenet to Ulaanbaatar, the missionaries traveled with Dina and stopped by her parents’ home and visited Darkhan briefly. Then the missionaries talked to President Cook about opening missionary work in Darkhan.[36] In March 1996, Darkhan was opened for missionary work when Elders Jonathan M. Thompson and Shane R. Timothy started living in Darkhan. They enjoyed much success, teaching as many as twenty lessons weekly. Mission records noted, “They needed a place to meet and to baptize, and as a result President Cook and Enkhtuvshin [Togtokh] made the trip out to Darkhan in search of such a place. . . . They found a [woman with a] counseling center, who . . . was willing to rent the place out for the Church’s needs.”[37] Davaatseren Damdinjav was the first person baptized in Darkhan, on 28 April 1996.[38] Both the Erdenet and Darkhan Branches helped provide the gospel for the people in the countryside.

Due to school exams and work, Dina was not active for a season and was very unhappy. One day, her mother who was not a member of the Church, said, “Dina, I want to help you . . . be [an] active member of the Church. . . . We will go together to Church.” Her brothers, who were members of the Church by now, also helped her. With this support from her family, she returned to Church and later served a mission. Her mom and siblings were also baptized. She reported, “My sister and her husband and my youngest brother . . . were baptized together. They were . . . the pioneers of the Church here in Darkhan.” Their family often invited others to come to “the white house behind that building, the Women’s [Wedding] Palace,” where church was held.[39]

Ganbaatar Dunkhig and his wife, Nergui Dorjpalam, were early converts in Darkhan. They were both born in Khuvsgul province and came from families who believed in shamanism. Sister Nergui said her parents were herders and religious.[40]

We used to believe in shamanism. . . . We used to worship nature, mountains and water. . . . My grandfather’s younger sister on my father’s side was a shaman, named Itgel Shaman. . . . Even though it was during communism, people used to visit shamans and have them perform their shaman ceremonies or prayers in secret when their livestock were dying from zud (. . . Zud is a natural disaster that causes livestock to die because of severe weather and famine). People would give shamans offerings in return for their service. I used to believe in shamans because it seemed they stopped severe weather and snowstorms and turning the weather warmer during their worship. It also seemed real that they stopped the livestock from dying during zud and made it feel warmer for us during the cold winter. I believed in shamans and used to think that if there was anything good happening to my family, then it was because of the shaman we believed in. We had some hardship and death in our family since it was what life gives us, and one time I even begged the shaman to bring back my grandmother’s spirit to talk to us.[41]

Ganbaatar’s parents were from a shaman clan that lived in tepees, had a nomadic lifestyle, and were called reindeer people. His parents didn’t believe in shamanism, but he did. Their shaman clan was related to native Alaskans, who believe that special natural power and abilities were passed down to their children from one generation to the next. Ganbaatar and Nergui were married in October 1983 and moved to the small village of Enkhtal in 1985, where Ganbaatar worked as a mechanic in the Trans-Mongolian Railway. Then they moved to Darkhan city in 1988 for their daughter to start school. On 17 March 1996, Nergui met the first missionaries in Darkhan, Elders Thompson and Timothy.[42]

They were the first missionaries who came to Darkhan. They used to meet with my friend, doctor Myadagmaa, who lived on the third floor. They used to come to her home and teach her. First, I thought about them as very nice people, who used to shake my hand every time when we met. Then, I asked my friend why these American people came to her home. She said that they talked about Jesus Christ and told me that I could come to her home if I was interested. So, I went to her home and they were talking about Jesus Christ. I was very interested in knowing more about it. I heard about Jesus Christ even before that, from back in 1993, when my father went to Tarialan sum, Khuvsgul province. He watched a movie about Jesus Christ over there, and when he came home, he told us about him. That is how I learned about Jesus Christ for the first time and I learned that our world has one Lord. That is why I really liked it when I met with them and talked about it. I also felt that these people would never lead me in a wrong direction.[43]

Ganbaatar was initially against it, but because the faith of the missionaries was so strong, he felt that they were teaching the truth.[44] He shared the following:

In the first interview, I felt that the Church was true, and that Joseph Smith restored the Church. I learned to pray from the missionaries. Every time they came, they used to ask me if I prayed about the Book of Mormon and if I felt the spirit when I prayed about it. We were taking discussions as a family at that time and there were seven of us. The missionaries used to nod their heads when we asked questions from them because they only spoke a little Mongolian. I used to tell them that I didn’t feel the Spirit when I prayed about the Book of Mormon. But one day, I think it was our third discussion, the missionaries came, and we all sat down on the couch. When they started talking, I felt the Spirit very strongly and suddenly I felt this warm and nice feeling about the Church, and I knew then the Church was true. I told the missionaries that I felt the Spirit and that made them so happy and we all hugged each other. What I felt at that time was like a dream. Since that moment, I have felt that the Spirit is with me.[45]

Batchimeg Masgar (right) received her mission call in 1993 in Ulaanbaatar. Courtesy of Bradley Pierson.

Ganbaatar and Nergui were baptized by Elders Thompson and Timothy on 9 June 1996 in Darkhan. Later that month, Elder Thompson was called as the president of the Darkhan Branch and asked Ganbaatar to be his first counselor in September 1996. On 16 March 1997, Ganbaatar received the Melchizedek Priesthood under the hands of mission president Gary E. Cox and district president Enkhtuvshin Togtokh. Then, on 22 June 1997, Ganbaatar was called as the first Mongolian branch president in Darkhan. When he initially tried to speak in front of people, he got nervous, his knees shook, and his face turned red. But he was later able to speak well and with boldness as he realized he was speaking the word of God. He said, “Now, I can speak the words of God because I am just passing down his words. It is not Ganbaatar speaking, but it is God who is speaking.” Elder Groberg visited Darkhan in July 1998, and following the groundbreaking ceremony for the first Church meetinghouse in Darkhan in July 1999, Ganbaatar represented the Church and monitored the construction of this building.[46]

Flourishing Despite Challenges

Although the Church gained official recognition, the Church and its members continued to face various religious, social, and cultural challenges in Mongolia. President Cook explained,

We faced a major roadblock when we opened the city of Darkhan in April [1996]. The city council refused to register the Church with the city and in fact ordered that the work be stopped. In a city council meeting the reason cited was “We have one Christian church in Darkhan. . . . We don’t need another Christian church in this city.” The missionaries stopped their work with investigators for one month in Darkhan. We met with our lawyer in Ulaanbaatar, and he challenged the city council’s decision. He said that the fact that the Church was registered in the country gave us the right to practice in Darkhan. We continued our work in Darkhan as a dependent branch of the Selbe Branch in Ulaanbaatar and argued that we are not a “new” church. We have not been challenged.[47]

The Church continued to flourish in Darkhan over the years. Tselmegsaikhan Sodnomdarjaa recalled branch meetings at the Wedding Palace in Darkhan while the Church was still growing. When Sister Tselmegsaikhan was only fourteen years old, or a couple of years before the Church arrived in Darkhan, her father passed away. However, her father often came to her in dreams to say, “I’m alive.” A few years later, Sister Tselmegsaikhan had a friend who introduced her to the missionaries in Darkhan. Although the Book of Mormon was not yet translated into Mongolian, she read a pamphlet with the testimony of the prophet Joseph Smith and gained her testimony of the Church. She was comforted when the missionaries taught her the plan of salvation, and she was baptized in February 2000. In 2001, while serving as a full-time missionary in the United States, she was able to attend the Seattle Washington Temple, where her mission president served as proxy for her father’s temple ordinances.[48]

First Mongolian Missionaries: Batchimeg Magsar and Soyolmaa Urtnasan

The first local full-time missionaries called from Mongolia were Sisters Batchimeg Magsar and Soyolmaa Urtnasan. They received their call around April 1995 and served in the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission and the Utah Provo Mission, respectively, from June or July 1995 until January 1997.[49]

Although Sister Batchimeg was raised in a communist country that did not believe in deity, she believed in God and read lots of books about religion. In 1992, with the departure of communism, there were many Christian churches looking for converts.[50] Batchimeg recalled,

In 1992 there were lots of Christian churches in Mongolia opening their doors. I got a copy of the New Testament of the Bible. As I read it, I had a burning sensation and I knew that what was written in this book was true. My whole being was burning and I knew that Jesus Christ was real. . . .

When my uncle passed away, he was only 41 years old. So I began wondering what happens to us after this life. My friend was going to an American church, so I bugged her about going to her church. . . . As I entered the church, I had a peaceful feeling. I felt I belonged there, and I also loved the hymns. I met with the missionaries for three months and then got baptized.[51]

Soyolmaa Urtnasan in 2018 in Ulaanbaatar. Courtesy of Po Nein (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou.

Batchimeg “could barely understand the missionaries because they were just learning Mongolian and she didn’t know English.” Nevertheless, she “could tell the elders meant what they said when they bore testimonies.” She added, “As I was growing up, I found it hard to believe that there was no reason for my life. The Church answered all of my questions, and the gospel makes everything clear.”[52] She gained her own testimony and was baptized on 21 March 1994.[53] Around that time, Batchimeg visited her friend Soyolmaa Urtnasan. Soyolmaa recalled,

[Batchimeg] wouldn’t drink tea, told me about the Church, and invited me to come see. I said, “Yes” and as soon as I said it, I felt something and was excited to go.

We met at the Peace and Friendship Palace. When I met with the missionaries, I thought the six missionary elders all looked the same.

I was a golden investigator. My friend had been baptized about a week earlier, and after taking the lessons a few weeks, I was also baptized . . . on 11 June 1994.[54]

Batchimeg had joined the Church only four months earlier when she went to Russia in the summer 1994 to study. While studying in Russia, she wondered how someone would go about preparing for and applying to be a full-time missionary. In Russia, she walked the city looking for missionaries for two months. When she tried to the find the Church, she was surprised by the hostility that other Christians had towards what they called “the devil’s church.” She later said, “It is so sad when people feel the Spirit and know the Church is true but won’t accept it. I wish I could plant the seeds of the gospel in everyone.” One day she was walking in a tunnel and found the missionaries who invited her to a baptismal service. She saw sister missionaries for the first time and immediately wanted to be one, even though she thought it would be impossible. One of the sister missionaries was from Armenia and told her, “If you are willing, the Lord will call you!” Moreover, she also suggested that Batchimeg talk with the mission president, which she did the next day. The mission president encouraged her to fill out a missionary application back in Mongolia.[55]

Soyolmaa Urtnasan in 2018 in Ulaanbaatar. Courtesy of Po Nein (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou.

When Batchimeg returned to Mongolia, she visited Elder Hardy and said, “I’m going on a mission!” He looked for a missionary application form and called the Church Office Building. Since she had been a member of the Church for only six months, it was too early to apply since she needed to be a member for at least one year. Around that time, Batchimeg visited her friend Soyolmaa, who didn’t understand much about missions but also wanted to share the gospel. After Batchimeg told Soyolmaa that they could serve a mission, they decided to put in their mission papers together around March or April 1995. Batchimeg opened her mission call letter during a home evening with others, and she was so excited to learn that she was called to the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. Soyolmaa got her letter about a week or two later and was called to serve in the Utah Provo Mission.[56] Soyolmaa remembered,

I was called to the Utah Provo Mission from June 1995 to January 1997.

I was excited for my mission call because I would get to go to the United States and I could be a missionary. I didn’t know much about the Church then or what a mission was like. But I had translated for the missionaries before and already knew some of the missionary discussion lessons. I was trained while translating.

My friend and I both spoke Russian, so we could read the Book of Mormon in Russian and didn’t know much about being a missionary.

When we arrived, a missionary couple met us and took us to the Salt Lake Temple for our own endowment. I loved my mission and my conversion was deepened.[57]

Batchimeg said, “Mongolian people are good people. . . . They are very friendly, and they have good thoughts about others. If they will hear the gospel and join the Church, their lives will be better.”[58] While Batchimeg and Soyolmaa were serving as the first missionaries from Mongolia, the first four single sister missionaries arrived in Mongolia on 22 March 1996. They were Sheryl E. Mott, Natalie Romrell, Katherine Sego, and Marcie L. Wellman.[59]

Summary

Although the Church was young in Mongolia, the establishment of the first mission in Mongolia in 1995 was a major milestone. As church membership continued to grow and expand, the Ulaanbaatar Branch was divided, and additional branches were organized in other cities, including Erdenet and Darkhan. Moreover, as additional missionaries arrived in Mongolia, the first full-time Mongolian missionaries were sent out to serve. President and Sister Cook presided over the first mission in Mongolia until June 1996, when President and Sister Cox arrived to continue their work. The following entry was made in the mission historical records:

27 June 1996, President and Sister . . . Cox arrived in Mongolia to become the new mission president and president’s wife. The next three days were spent meeting government officials, reviewing building sites, and discussing visa, EIL, and Foundation issues, as well as many other related and relevant topics of interest.

A tri-branch conference was held at the Children’s Theater to which 268 members and friends attended on 30 June 1996. President and Sister Cox both bore short testimonies and were very warmly welcomed. . . . President and Sister Cook both gave their farewell talks, and in closing, bore testimonies in Mongolian. Tears flowed as members bade farewell to their friends, the Cooks.[60]

Notes

[1] “Conversation with the Asia Area Presidency,” Ensign, June 1995, 76–77.

[2] Dugarsuren Munkhtsetseg, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou, 20 February 2018, Salt Lake City, UT; “Members Celebrate 20 Years of Church in Mongolia,” Church News, 19 May 2013, 8–9.

[3] Britsch, From the East, 314.

[4] Brough, Life Is a Collection of Stories, 110; “M�DzԲ��DZ�����,” Church Almanac: 2013, 525–26.

[5] Richard E. Cook, Mission Historical Summary 1995—Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission, Church History Library Archives, LR 2013223-3.

[6] “Members Celebrate 20 Years of Church in Mongolia,” Church News, 19 May 2013, 8–9.

[7] Cook, “Mission Historical Summary 1995.”

[8] Cook, “Mighty Change in Mongolia,” 75–76.

[9] Cook, “Mighty Change in Mongolia,” 75–76.

[10] Batbold Khishigdorj, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

[11] Khishigdorj, interview.

[12] Khishigdorj, interview.

[13] Khishigdorj, interview.

[14] Khishigdorj, interview.

[15] Khishigdorj, interview.

[16] Dina Markhashkhan Karakas, interview by Matt Heiss, 10 September 2001, Darkhan, Mongolia, James H. Moyle Oral History Program, Church History Department, OH 2728.

[17] Karakas, interview.

[18] Karakas, interview.

[19] Karakas, interview.

[20] Karakas, interview.

[21] Karakas, interview.

[22] Karakas, interview.

[23] Karakas, interview.

[24] Karakas, interview.

[25] Karakas, interview.

[26] Karakas, interview.

[27] Karakas, interview.

[28] Karakas, interview.

[29] Allsop, Harold C. Allsop Journal, 1995–97, Church History Library Archives, MS 18289.

[30] Allsop, Harold C. Allsop Journal.

[31] Allsop, Harold C. Allsop Journal.

[32] Tserenbat Jamiyan, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 20 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Translated by Ariunchimeg Tserenjav.

[33] Jamiyan, interview.

[34] Jamiyan, interview.

[35] Karakas, interview.

[36] Karakas, interview.

[37] Cox, “Mission Historical Summary 1996.”

[38] Davaatseren Damdinjav, interview by Michael N. Landon, 10 September 2001, Darhan, Mongolia, Church History Department, OH 2797.

[39] Karakas, interview.

[40] Ganbaatar Dunkhig and Nergui Dorjpalam, interview by Matthew K. Heiss, 10 September 2001, Darkhan, Mongolia, James H. Moyle Oral History Program, Church History Library and Archives, OH 2729, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.

[41] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[42] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[43] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[44] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[45] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[46] Dunkhig and Dorjpalam, interview.

[47] Britsch, From the East, 313.

[48] Tselmegsaikhan Sodnomdarjaa, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

[49] “M�DzԲ��DZ�����,” Church Almanac: 2013, 525–26; Batchimeg Magsar, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Soyolmaa Urtnasan, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

[50] Magsar, interview.

[51] Magsar, interview.

[52] Cook, “Mighty Change in Mongolia,” 75–76.

[53] Magsar, interview.

[54] Urtnasan, interview.

[55] Magsar, interview; Cook, “Mighty Change in Mongolia,” 75–76.

[56] Batchimeg Magsar, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Soyolmaa Urtnasan, interview by Po Nien (Felipe) Chou and Petra Chou, 19 June 2018, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

[57] Urtnasan, interview.

[58] Cook, “Mighty Change in Mongolia,” 75–76.

[59] “M�DzԲ��DZ�����,” Church Almanac: 2013, 525–26; Cox, “Mission Historical Summary 1996.”

[60] Cox, “Mission Historical Summary 1996.”