Note: As is common with persons of
Chinese heritage, Elder Tai's first name is his surname or family name,
with the remaining names being his personal or given names.
The following biographical sketch is adapted from
the "News of the Church: Elder Tai Kwok Yuen of the Seventy" published
in the Ensign for September of 1992 on the occasion of Elder Tai's
call to the Second Quorum of the Seventy.
On the wall of the Tai living room hangs a scroll inscribed
with Chinese characters that read: “But as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15.)
Ever since his baptism in 1959, Tai Kwok Yuen, recently
called to the Second Quorum of the Seventy, has endeavored to follow that
scriptural admonition.
“This is our family motto,” Elder Tai says. “This
scripture has reminded us constantly of the importance of serving the Lord.”
Tai Kwok Yuen first heard about the gospel when a
neighbor invited him to attend sacrament meeting. By the time he had heard
all the discussions, he knew the gospel was true. However, his aunt, who
reared him after his father was killed during wartime, refused to give
the seventeen-year-old permission to get baptized.
Finally, after a year of pleading by young Kwok Yuen,
she consented and he was baptized in the swimming pool at the mission home.
“I never dreamed that thirty years later, I would move into this same site
to start my calling as a mission president,” Elder Tai reflects.
Born in Hong Kong on 30 June 1941, Elder Tai first
met his future wife, Hui Hua Lai, in church while he was organizing a branch
choir. The Tais are the parents of three children.
Their family has lived in Taiwan, England, and the
United States while Elder Tai has worked in chemical marketing.
“The business training and management experience,
coupled with the exposure to different cultures, has helped me tremendously
in fulfilling my church callings,” Elder Tai says. “I believe in the Lord’s
timetable—if we live worthy lives by following gospel precepts, we will
feel the guidance of the Lord. I know that Jesus Christ lives and directs
this church, which is the only true church of Christ on the earth. Through
Christ’s atoning sacrifice, mankind may return to live with the Savior
and Heavenly Father for eternity.”
On October 4, 1997, Elder Tai was honorably released
from the Second Quorum of the Seventy having fulfilled his five-year calling
thereto.
