There are only five state-sanctioned religious associations in China, all under the strict control of the Communist Party. Others are walking a delicate legal tightrope, with the threat of repression still hanging over their heads. While the government tolerates foreigners practicing their religion and attending services together, it takes a hard line against anything approaching proselytism or missionary work, a ban that the Mormon Church takes seriously.
"We need to ask if they have a foreign passport to attend," said Jason, a life member of the Church who worked in Shanghai for almost a decade before resettling in the United States in 2018. "I have often been that person looking at the doors and on many occasions, I have unfortunately had to refuse Chinese citizens who wanted to worship with us."
And it's during the good times. In recent years, the Chinese government has tightened regulations on religious worship, launched crackdowns on underground churches, and imposed new restrictions on denominations operating in the gray area catering to foreigners only.
The Church claims it won't change anything, but the idea that an American church with expanding DNA could open an official temple in China is likely to be controversial - and may not be authorized by Beijing. Already, authorities in Shanghai have suggested that the announcement was made without their prior approval, although experts said the Church would likely never have revealed the plans without a green light.
In Salt Lake City, Utah, the spiritual seat of the United States-based Church, Jason "could barely believe" the news.
"I couldn't imagine that we would ever have a temple in Shanghai right now," he said. "Immediately, our WeChat started to light up as we all expressed joy and excitement with our Chinese friends."
Jason is a pseudonym. Like several other current Church members interviewed for this story, he requested anonymity to speak about how it worked in China without the permission of Church leaders.
In the beginning
As the true size of the church is debated (some say they include members who are no longer active), one thing is clear: the massive growth of the Church has been achieved through the work of thousands of missionaries.
This is how the Church came to China over a century and a half ago.
It was not until 1949 that the Church established a permanent presence in Hong Kong, with the intention of using the city again to establish itself in China.
Despite this apparent lack of progress, Church leaders say they have established a solid relationship with the Chinese authorities and in 2010 announced measures to "regularize" their activities in the country.
Build trust
Two are considered national religions - Buddhism and Taoism - while the others are foreign religions, with different historical pedigrees in the country, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism, although Chinese Catholic organizations operate separately in Rome.
"The Chinese government is very wary of religion as a vehicle for potential political opposition," said William Nee, a Hong Kong researcher for Amnesty International.
"Now the message is clear: either accept state control, surveillance and restrictions, or face state hostility," he said. "The goal for Christian activities is to put the house churches and the underground Catholic church under control."
Regarding unofficial denominations, the Mormon Church may be the gold standard for such a group in China. Current and former members, as well as outside observers, have agreed that the Church is scrupulous in following Chinese law and avoiding anything that could be considered proselytism.
Nee contrasted this with "other forms of Protestant Christianity or evangelical traditions from the United States that have a much more aggressive or covert strategy for spreading the faith."
Sarah, a Mormon who worked as a university professor for several years in China, said that she "did not tell people what church I belong to or even if I belong to a church."
"Some friends asked me if I was a Christian. I would say yes (but) we don't talk about it in China," she said. "They nod and agree. It's as far as the talk goes."
Marcelo Gameiro, a member of the Church living in Shanghai, said he does not speak of the church "because it is against the law".
"But I don't hide (that) I am a member of the church," he added. "When I was in Huzhou, I went to the Hangzhou branch, it took me three hours to get there, and people started to notice that I went somewhere every Sunday wearing a tie, so I told them where I was going without any problem, I did not preach the gospel to anyone. "
Sarah said she "would occasionally see Christian religious groups who would come in and rather openly flout the rules of China." American students would get scholarships in China and then try to convert their classmates.
"Several times I talked to them about it, asked them if it was the right thing to do, make a good example for yourself," she said. "I heard Chinese people who got angry because people came from other countries and distributed Bibles and started conversations about religion, and they would say that we are not allowed to talk about it in China."
Play long game
Another former Mormon, Bryce Bushman, who lived in China for nearly four years, where he worked as a town planner and designer, said: "Mormon doctrine says that the LDS Church will eventually cover the whole Earth."
"It is considered a prophecy, something that will certainly happen at some point in the future," he said. "It gives the church organization and church members a kind of patient confidence that ultimately every nation on earth will allow Mormon missionaries to proselytize and establish church congregations."
This patience allows the Church to play the long game in China, convinced that one day it will be able to transmit its message to the vast population of the country.
Josh Steimle, a practicing Mormon who lived in the Chinese city of Shenzhen for two years, said it "would have been so easy to pass the URL of a Church website to someone who was curious , or give them a Book of Mormon, or a pamphlet on the Church. "
"It was very difficult because we are a Church that believes in sharing what we believe, and we are always encouraged to be good missionaries, then to move to China and tell us not to say a word about it. which we believe to be contrary to everything we have learned, "he added. "But it is a long-term and short-term issue. If we shared our beliefs in violation of Chinese law, a few people could join our Church and then the Church would be closed and expelled from the country."
Temple Doctrine
On paper, a temple should not be too heavy for the Chinese authorities to bear.
In her description of the proposed temple in Shanghai, the Church is clear that this does not represent climate change, and the Chinese temple will look nothing like the large white stone buildings that dot many American cities.
He said entry will be limited to Chinese members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - those who converted overseas and returned to China - adding that "does not represent a change of legal status "or the missionaries' ability to operate in China.
While the Church seems to downplay the importance of a potential temple, all current and former members interviewed by CNN have agreed that this would be a major achievement.
Steimle said it was "difficult to express how important it is to me, personally, the other members of the Church who have ties to China, and really with all of the members of the Church in the world. It will be a very small temple, but it is a huge thing for the Church. "
The office denied knowledge of plans to build a temple in Shanghai, saying it was "wishful thinking of the Mormon Church in the United States."
Vendassi, the expert on religion in China, said that despite this apparent denial from the authorities, a temple may still open at some point in the near future.
"If an LDS temple was announced in Shanghai, I think it means they have probably had the" green light "from the Chinese authorities to do so," said Vendassi. "Even if the government says it is a unilateral declaration - it actually has no interest in making a bilateral declaration, as that would send a message of religious openness."
Amnesty researcher Nee said that even if there was no reason on paper for the Chinese authorities to oppose a temple, he doubted the officials "would be ready to understand the nuances of the religions and their theologies "to enable such an institution.
Romney is not alone in criticizing Beijing, but as the country's highest-ranking Mormon, his words may carry more weight with Chinese leaders when considering the position of the Church there.
Change in China
If the Mormon Church needs to be more patient before opening a temple in mainland China, what are a few years or decades after a century and a half?
Quoting from the Mormon Scriptures, Oaks added that God "will carry out his purposes to be realized in this great nation" in his time, and in his own way, and according to his own will. "
Mormons who lived in China spoke of the country with great tenderness, despite restrictions on how they worshiped there. Jason and Sarah stay in touch with Chinese friends on WeChat and hope to do so in the future.
Sarah saw many parallels between China and the Mormon people, emphasizing in particular the importance of worshiping ancestors in Chinese culture.
"My ancestors are special to me," she said. "Many of them joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when our first leader, Joseph Smith, was a prophet. Like the Chinese people who did the (long walk), my people also traveled a continent in search of their dream. "
Two of Jason's four children were born while the family lived in Shanghai, and the children went to local Chinese schools. Jason and his wife made a concerted effort to integrate into Chinese life more than many other expatriates around them, doing "a lot that few foreigners live in China".
"We didn't speak Chinese when we arrived but we did when we left," he said. This brought him closer to both locals and other members of the foreign Mormon community who were not as comfortable operating in China.
"I can't start counting the number of people we had for dinner, the people we took shopping because everything the supermarket didn't know, how many people we helped just get one Chinese phone number and to sign up for WeChat, both for our Church members and those who weren't. "
Both were optimistic about the future of the Church in China, but stressed the need for patience, an opinion shared by Steimle.
"Great progress usually does not happen in a straight line," he said. "Although there have been repressions against religion in China, the obedience of our members and the trust and friendship that our Church leaders have built over the years by working openly with the Chinese government will help maybe to open doors. "
