Frequently Asked Questions

We met through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at a linger longer dinner hosted by the Singles Ward (the local unit of the worldwide church) in 2022.

Yangzi already left the building after church to accompany another friend who was not feeling well. After learning her friend was much better, she felt that she needed to go back to attend the ward linger longer.

She ended up sitting next to Marcus as there was one seat open. Marcus heard Yangzi sharing her testimony previously in church, and (later she learned that) she made it onto his "interested" list.

They talked about their mutual interest in playing and watching tennis, and their different opinions about which Star Wars movies are the best.

They began watching lots of tennis matches and lots of movies from then on. And it hasn't stopped!

Marcus proposed in Pando, which is the largest living organism in the world. Pando is an Aspen tree 9000-12000 years old and covers over 100 acres. Read more about Pando here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)

We believe that a relationship is living and growing, like this Aspen tree, which requires loving care and nourishment.

Marcus always told Yangzi during their dating journey that "we don't find a good relationship, we create a good relationship". We cherish the opportunity to create and grow a lasting relationship for time and all eternity.

*The funny thing is that our private engagement lasted for about 10 minutes. Not so romantic since the mosquitos were rampant at sunset. But the next day we knew for sure the engagement happened because we were itching everywhere, having each received 10+ bites.

That being said, we recommend you visit sometime since it is beautiful and next to a lake! :D

Marcus grew up in Fruit Heights with his goodly parents and 5 siblings, who are so kind, loving and fun to be around. He loves serving others and being a good brother and friend.

Marcus loves anything electronic and enjoys making robotics since he was a young child. He loves movies, music, pepperoni pizza, maths, chess, and reading fiction. He hates running, eating mushrooms and tomatoes.

Marcus served a mandarin speaking mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Vancouver, Canada. He later did an internship in Taiwan and a study abroad with BYU in Tianjin, China. One of his favorite experience was riding bikes through the deep forests on Hainan Island with a group of BYU friends.

Marcus studied mechanical engineering at BYU. He later worked for a few wonderful software and media companies with great coworkers. His favorite thing about his work has always been his coworkers and teams. He is taking a break from work but will start working again after the wedding and honey moon.

Marcus is a supportive friend and a great listener. He cherish the most his good times, fun experiences and relationship with his close friends, family, coworkers and former classmates and SA/YSA friends.

Yangzi is a convert and immigrant from China. She became a China-US cultural exchange student when she was 15 years old. Her host family (Angela, Paul, Mariah, Ethan, Dallin and London) introduced her to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through their loving words, examples and deeds.

Before she got to the US, she was very sad after her grandparents passed away and began asking some existential questions: "what is the purpose of our life if death is the end? why do I need to work hard so hard in school? why do we need to be kind and moral? why do we even have children and families...if death just wipes out everything?" Her dad had no answer and sent her to the US since Americans look happy.

The restored Gospel of Jesus Christ provided answers to all those questions. She learned that she was a child of God, and the Plan of Happiness God has for each person on earth. She was so inspired by the goodness and love of her host family and host relatives, her church friends, her young women groups, and her missionaries, etc. She understood purpose of life, desired to be better, and joined the church to follow Jesus Christ.

After her exchange year, she was determined to return to the US so she can go to church regularly, and she can study two of her favorite things about America: entrepreneurship and law. She studied entrepreneurship and marketing at Babson College (and spent two semesters as a visiting scholar at University of Virginia studying Ethics and Human Rights, UN Sustainability Goals. After her mission on Temple Square with 220 lovely sister missionaries, she studied corporate and tech law at Cornell Law School (and spent a semester as a visiting scholar at BYU Law on religious freedom).

She worked for two large law firms with incredible attorneys, and a marketing consulting firm in Utah. Now with the support of Marcus and her family in China, she is pursuing a degree in Masters of Applied Positive Psychology at University of Pennsylvania. She hopes to understand the science of wellbeing, human flourishing and development, and the importance of spiritual communities, education and wellbeing.

Her hobby is collecting testimonies and conversion stories. If you have one to share or recommend someone, please contact her through this webpage: https://www.patternsoflight.org/testimonies

We prefer to invest in our lifetime education, wholesome experiences and spiritual enlightenment, over having more material possessions. We have everything we need already and thank you for your kind donations to our education and travel funds.

Three main reasons for your context:

1. Yangzi is a convert and a first generation immigrant from China. Confucius lived true to his famous phrase: “读万卷书，行万里路”, which can be translated into English as “read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles”. When Yangzi was 9 years old, her dad shared with her this noble goal. Yangzi's mom and my dad worked so hard, sold their house and gave up possessions and positions in life so she could afford to study entrepreneurship, law, and religious freedom in the US. Since Yangzi was greatly blessed by teachings of Jesus Christ when she was 15 years old, she had a dream of promoting spiritual education and wellbeing. She will be studying this practical issue while pursuing a Master of Applied Positive Psychology with University of Pennsylvania. She appreciates your donation to the Education/Learning Fund.

2. Marcus grew up in the church with goodly parents. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we learn through holy scriptures in Doctrine & Covenants: “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection”; thus all men and women are encouraged to “gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through diligence and obedience”. Marcus loves the gospel of Jesus Christ and is always learning. He has studied many subject matters including mechanical engineering, computer programming, robotics and science. He has taught himself to operate neurofeedback programs, music production, gardening and recently became interested in bamboo biology.

   Marcus’ parents are currently serving faithfully as mission presidents leading the Texas Dallas South mission. They are true examples of charity, sacrifice, diligence and obedience. How they live their lives inspires and teaches others to turn their hearts to Jesus Christ.

3. In our marriage, we will soon have double the amount of "stuff", such as kitchen or household items. We hope to practice Simplicity in living and “Less is More” in terms of material goods.

   We ask that you help support our education, lifelong learning and meaningful experiences in life, if you'd like to.

Together, we hope to continue the beautiful cultural traditions and religious commitments that mean so much to our hearts, our parents and our ancestors.

Theme: Consider the Lilies (Matthew 6)

We are inspired by the simplicity of Christ's teaching that we should not worry about what we shall eat, drink or wear, and appreciate the beauty and lessons from nature.

Our wedding theme is a reminder for us to slow down to ponder His words, find peace and joy in the present moment, and always remember our Savior Jesus Christ.

We hope you take a moment to pause and enjoy the beautiful song "Consider the Lilies" from Tabernacle Choir on our web page below!

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints get married, or "sealed," in the temple for time and all eternity, not just "til death do us part."

If you want to know what a temple wedding is like, please watch this video:

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2018-12-1200-what-is-a-temple-wedding-like?lang=eng#

Come as you are.

If you prefer guidelines and want to match for pictures, here are our favorite wedding colors that can be found in Nature:

• Green: like the forests and plants

• Blue: like the skies and oceans

• Brown: like the earth and deserts

• White: like clouds, snow and lilies of the field

Food & Beverages

*may be subject to changes

• Food: Light Chinese food snacks, desserts, fruits and cake.

• Drinks: A variety of juices, soda, and other non-alcoholic drinks.

Marcus' uncle and aunt kindly allow us to use their backyard for the wedding.

Parking is limited. We strongly recommend carpooling with friends or family. Please park on one side of the Haven Lane following community courtesy rules and local laws.

For any wedding day details, our dear friend Tom Wang (1-385-865-9688) and Emily Peterson (1-435-214-6230) will help you. They are both English and Chinese speaking.

This is a domain that Yangzi purchased for her passion project to collect conversion stories and testimonies, and promote spiritual education and religious freedom.

To save trees and resources, she is temporarily using this site to host a wedding page for paperless wedding invitation and planning.

Here is her permanent project site and testing Youtube channel if you want to check out:

Testimony Channel

https://www.youtube.com/@PatternsOfLight2024

Testimony Webpage

https://www.patternsoflight.org/testimonies