I Will Never Forget that Day

日本語の記事はこちら

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of Newsroom articles that will highlight individual and family spiritual journeys that help reveal the “hand of the Lord” as we commemorate 125 years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan. This first story is shared by Seiji Tokuzawa of the Machida Ward, Tokyo West Stake.

In August 1975, my family and I were at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, having traveled from Kanazawa to attend the “Japan Area Conference” and see the living prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball.

During the conference’s landmark session on Saturday, August 9, President Kimball announced that a temple would be built in Japan.

My parents and many other Saints wept with joy, but at age ten, and with four younger brothers, I could not comprehend the significance of their tears.

Today, however, I understand those feelings deeply.

The Tokyo Japan Temple was dedicated on October 27, 1980, and on May 4, 1988, I was sealed there to my beloved wife for eternity.

Then, on June 11, 2000, the Fukuoka Japan Temple—the second temple in Japan—was dedicated, and my parents were called by President Gordon B. Hinckley to serve as temple president and matron in 2003. Through temple service and family history work, I was blessed to share many sacred and memorable experiences with them.

I especially treasure these words from President Kimball’s dedicatory prayer for the Tokyo Temple:

“Stir the youth of Zion with a desire for eternal marriage in Thy holy temple.”

Just as that prayer expressed, our beloved children have found wonderful companions and entered into eternal marriages in the Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and the rededicated Tokyo temples.

Today, our family has grown into a large family with six children and nine grandchildren. When we gather together, there are more than twenty of us, and we meet regularly. This summer, we are once again planning the annual Tokuzawa Family Summer Festival, with our grandchildren serving as primary organizers. Because it is held during Obon season, we often include activities such as family history quizzes and opportunities to learn about our ancestors. In some years, we also combine the event with a temple visit.

I offer my heartfelt gratitude for the Lord’s abundant love and grace, which continue to bless families from one generation to the next.