Elder Wendell Loh, 21, (left) is preparing to serve as a full-time missionary in Lyon, France for the next two years. Elder Thaddeus Ng, 22, has been serving in Singapore and West Malaysia for the past 19 months.

How much do you know about the diversity of faiths in Singapore? In this series, Yahoo News Singapore explores the lesser-known rituals and branches of religions in the country.

Not many people would warm to the idea of giving up an additional two years of your life after completing National Service. But that’s exactly what Elder Wendell Loh, 21, is gearing up for.

Loh, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), will be serving as a Mormon missionary for two years in Lyon, France. His family is steeped in the tradition, with his parents and elder sister also previously serving as missionaries for the faith.

“I guess you could say I was egged on to go on a mission,” said Loh, looking like a schoolboy in his neatly trimmed hair, spectacles and the ubiquitous short-sleeved white shirt, tie and name tag of Mormon missionaries. “I’ve had people telling me it’s a waste of time. But for me, it is the same way I viewed NS as an adventure.”

Loh has signed up for a tough, almost monk-like existence. He will be assigned a companion, who will be within sight of him almost 24/7. Among the rules: no TV, social media, secular music, reading the news or even swimming. Every single day will be spent almost exclusively in the study of scripture or proselytising.

For the likes of Elder Thaddeus Ng, 22, who has been serving in Singapore and West Malaysia for the past 19 months, it has been a test of faith. Asked if he had ever contemplated quitting, Ng took a long pause before saying, “There have been difficult times on missions where I have gone down on my knees and cried. But quitting, that thought never entered my mind. (God) gave me those trials and challenges for me to grow, that everything that happens is for my own good.”

There are currently 21 Mormon missionaries from Singapore serving in 15 countries. Four hundred have been sent out from the Republic in the last two decades, while the LDS Church here receives an average of 15-20 applications annually. According to LDS leaders, there are around 3,400 Mormons in Singapore currently.

While not compulsory, young people in the LDS Church are encouraged to serve as missionaries: two years for men, 18 months for women. They undergo a rigorous application and interview process, and their destinations are determined by prophetic inspiration. Their missions are self-financed, but the church does provide assistance via a global and local fund.

‘We prefer to be called Latter-Day Saints’

While Mormons believe that Jesus Christ is the founder of their church, the LDS Church was officially established in New York on 6 April, 1830, a date Mormons call the restoration of the church. The American Joseph Smith is considered the prophet of the restoration.

The present-day LDS headquarters, the Salt Lake City Temple, is located in Utah. The first Mormon missionaries came to Singapore in 1969 and established the first branch of the church in Singapore.

Elder Leonard Woo, 61, oversees the faithful in Pakistan, Cambodia, Vietnam, West Malaysia and Singapore. He explained that in addition to the King James Bible, LDS members are also led by an additional Testament called the Book of Mormon. “The name Mormon itself refers to an ancient prophet who lived on the American continent and was instrumental in recording a lot of the events in the Book of Mormon. That’s why a lot of people in the world call us Mormons.”

The Book of Mormon, also known as Another Testament of Jesus Christ, claims to be an account of God’s dealings with the inhabitants of ancient America. It includes a visit by the risen Jesus to the Americas. It was written by Smith after he had a vision of the angel Moroni, who led him to golden plates with inscriptions that he eventually translated into the Book of Mormon.

There are also two additional scriptures: Doctrines and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, written by Smith and other Mormon prophets via divine guidance. Among other beliefs and practices, Mormons are forbidden from consuming coffee, tea, tobacco or alcohol.

It is an article of faith that the new Zion, or Jerusalem, will be established on the American continent. The dead can be baptised by proxy, but only in certain sacred venues. Contrary to popular belief, the LDS church no longer practices polygamy – it was stopped in 1890, though some fundamentalist branches still practise it.

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