A Voice of Gladness!

This past week I learned that my beloved step-father’s 21 year-old great-granddaughter, Anna (Annie) Schmidt, has been missing since she embarked upon a hike in Oregon almost two weeks ago. I also learned that the wife of a very dear friend (best man at my first wedding) is not expected to live more than for a few more days. Perhaps she is already gone.  This friend and his wife also lost their daughter to cancer just last year.  To lose those closest to us seems almost unbearable. This I know personally.  As I’ve thought about family relationships - relationships which can and should be so loving that we ache to the very center of our being to be separated - I’ve also reflected upon our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness for His children. The good news, the glad news, the joyful truth is that it is a plan of happiness precisely because it is a plan for creating and nurturing and bonding families – forever! 

Our stake conference was a beautiful family experience.  We rejoiced in the families we saw there.  Where once there were few families and many single persons, we saw family after family, some of three generations sitting together.  We arrived early to find a good seat in the large hall rented for the morning. A sweet sister who had been saving an entire long row for her family insisted, as she moved coats, that we sit with and be a part of her family.  She stretched out both of her arms indicating the entire room of people and said, “We are all family!” As her married children and their families arrived, she waved them over to “her” row, greeted each and every child and grandchild with a big hug and introduced them to us – children, children-in-law and grandchildren.  Such happy demonstrations of love!  And yes, they filled the entire long row of seats. Talks of that session and the night before were inspired and moving.  I thought about how each one of them was designed to help us be better sons and daughters of God, and better family members within our earthly families, all of which brings us joy.  A beautiful musical number was performed by teenagers who filled the stage Sunday morning as they sang.  (BTW I love teenagers).  I thought, “The gospel in Ukraine is secure – the Ukrainian church will be in good hands as these young people assume positions of leadership!”

The joyous message that families are meant to be together forever is to be declared to the entire human family, which is to say to all of our Heavenly Father’s children who dwell upon the earth. Revelation 14:6: And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people.  Not only shall it reach each nation, but it will be preached in the language of each nation.  Alma 29: 8:  For behold, the Lord doth grant unto all nations, or their own nation and tongue, to teach his word, yea, in wisdom, all that he seeth fit that they should have…..”  During the Sunday morning session of Stake Conference we heard talks by our dear friends, Vyacheslav and Zoya Gulko.  They were critically important in bringing the Gospel to the Ukrainian people in the Ukrainian language.   

When Howard served as mission president here, the gospel was taught exclusively in Russian because there were no scriptures or other gospel materials in Ukrainian.  There was a great desire on the part of the brethren to translate these things into the Ukrainian language.  The first thing to be translated was the Book of Mormon. The brethren insisted that the translator be a member of the church so that he or she would have the gift of the Holy Ghost to assist.  Howard soon realized that there was no member in Ukraine qualified for such a task so he and the missionaries prayed in faith, and then they were directed by their mission president to go and find and baptize the right person.  The missionaries found a Jewish couple, Vyacheslav and Zoya Gulko.  He was a nuclear physicist and she was an English teacher.  Just two and 1/2 months after their baptism, Zoya was called to be the translator of the Book of Mormon.  She was very humbled by the task which was beyond her capabilities, but she had faith and the Holy Ghost helped her as she worked every night after working at her regular job all day.  All of her holidays and weekends were devoted to the translation as well.  The translation was finished in January 1994, only 18 months after it was started.  This translation was more rapidly accomplished than almost any other translation, except for Joseph Smith’s own translation.  The Ukrainian Book of Mormon was printed in 1997.  This is an especially beautiful and literary translation of the scriptures. Brother Gulko then led a translation team to translate the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, the Liahona, other missionary materials and the hymn book.  Having materials, especially the scriptures, in the Ukrainian language has been an especially important step in establishing an Ukrainian identity in the church in these latter-days.  This permitted the Gospel to go forth with power into western Ukraine, which is now directed by the L’viv Mission of the Church.  The Gulko family is another example of the blessings the gospel brings to families.  Their daughter, Kyra, who has a strong marriage sealed for eternity has three children – making three living generations so blessed.

Sunday afternoon we had the great privilege of attending the baptism of Irina Osipenko at which Howard had been asked to speak. With or without a speaking invitation, we would have been there with “rings on our fingers and bells on our toes!”  Such a joyous day, one for which her son waited for 25 years!  Irina is the mother of Vasil Osipenko, an early convert to the church and one of the “stripling warriors” sent by Howard to Odessa to take the place of the foreign missionaries who had to leave the country. Howard later sent Vasil on a full-time mission.  Vasil knows the sorrow of losing a spouse to death.  He and his lovely second wife flew in from the US for the occasion and Vasil was able to perform the ordinance. We wept with joy. Irina’s face literally glowed with the Spirit of God as she bore her testimony. In his testimony, Vasil explained how his father, then not a church member, had supported his decision to serve an LDS mission and give up his career as a professional tennis player. After his father’s death, Vasil performed the saving ordinances for him in the holy temple of God.  It was after these ordinances were performed for the father, that Vasil’s mother began her own spiritual journey which started with a yearning to be an eternal family with her husband and children.  Next year temple sealing ordinances can be performed to bind this family together forever.  

During our temple service, last Thursday, we participated in temple ordinances to bind families together for eternity.  What a blessing the restoration of the Priesthood and the sealing power has been! What happy news! The whole world needs these glad tidings! Through the atonement of our Savior and the exercise of His keys of authority to bind on earth and in Heaven, our loved ones are not lost to God’s family or to our own families.  Our stake president, Kirill Pokhilko, brought with him into the sealing room, the names of his own ancestors, for whom proxy baptisms had been done earlier.  He knelt at the altar to act as proxy for many of his ancestors as husbands were sealed to wives and children sealed to husbands. Howard was so aware of the presence of these people who had lived on the earth before our day.  The room was filled with them as they attended as a family this important event in their eternal destiny.  The feeling of joy was palpable.  Howard was so keenly aware of these wonderful people that he could declare that they were a choice people of the Lord who had waited for centuries for the gospel to come to their land, and then for a temple to be built where these sacred ordinances could occur.  How happy they were for the wonderful son they had in Kirill, who really epitomizes the gospel promise.  He is raising a righteous family in the gospel who will continue for generations to come; he is helping other families do the same thing; he is also connecting his present family with his family generations back so all can rejoice together in the kingdom of our Lord.  Malachi 5 - 6: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heat of the children to their fathers …..”

Yes, we all have and will continue to experience heartache and loss.  But, such grief is temporary and the Spirit whispers peace.  We can look forward to the day when the Lord will wipe the tears from our eyes and we will rejoice with our families with Him forever.  I end with a portion of the beautiful testimony of Annie Schmidt.  “He [our Heavenly Father] has never and will never have a single selfish motive. Everything He does is for others. God is joy. The human soul yearns for acceptance, connection, to be loved, to be recognized, to be admired, to be accepted. The human soul yearns for family, eternal family. God is constantly reaching outward, connecting, -humble, trusting, trustworthy, sacrificing His all for the ones he loves - you and me, His family, His eternal family. God is love.  I promise He is waiting for you. Oh how He loves you! How beautiful the day will be when we see Him, dance with and kiss Him. Sing! And when we sing, praise and rejoice together as an eternal family.  Lovers of goodness, peace, love, and joy, lovers of God, let us rise up and play our part in this grand plan of our Heavenly Father.”

From left to right: 

Liz Osipenko, Vasil Osipenko, Irina Osipenko, Howard Biddulph, Laurel Biddulph

Enduring

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Odessa.  I say wonderful, not because the city is beautiful, which it is, but because of what we felt as we met with the saints there.  It was cold and rainy and windy – not the best time to visit a beautiful tree lined city on the Black Sea.  In spite of the weather, our hearts truly burned within us as we heard and pondered the testimonies given by the earliest of the members in that city.  We came to speak at a fireside, hoping to uplift, and left edified and uplifted by the examples of steadfastness and faith we observed.

Branch President, Oleg Chernikov, along with the Elders’ Quorum President, met us at the airport.  On the way into the city, Howard asked Pres. Oleg how long he had served as branch president.  This was because he had been branch president when Howard had finished his missionary service in Ukraine 22 years ago.  Pres. Oleg replied that he had served only 1 ½ years so far, except that this was his fourth time in that calling!  Pres. Oleg was the very first person baptized in Odessa and obviously has remained a faithful servant of the Lord ever since that time.  Other long-time members greeted Howard with joy. 

The fireside was not what we expected at all, but it was amazingly wonderful.  All of the branches met together for the fireside in which they commemorated the birth of the LDS Church in Ukraine. The saints acted out the beginnings of the Church in Odessa and read Elder Boyd K. Packer’s prophecy which he gave at the country’s dedication for the preaching of the Gospel.  Then each of the early first members told of their own conversion story and bore their testimony.  As they each finished their part, they placed pictures symbolic of the prophecy on a map of Ukraine, showing that at a future day, there will be stakes and temples all over the country. The Spirit was as strong as I’ve ever felt it.  Howard and I were to follow this wonderful outpouring.  We both cut our planned talks short and responded to the theme of the evening.  Howard was able to do so in Russian.   I had a wonderful translator to help me.

Our talks emphasized how important it is to endure to the end.  Enduring to the end doesn’t mean just waiting around until we die. It means staying true to the covenants that we have made with the Lord - covenants of faithfulness and service. It means doing our best for our entire lives.  For me, Howard is a living sermon of enduring to the end.  The saints in Odessa are also such sermons and we commended them for it.  Many other saints have moved from the area because of the war or for better work opportunities.  An entire branch moved some years ago to rural area hard to access.  Young people leave for schooling opportunities or to be married.  And yet in Odessa, there are stalwart members who are enduring to the end, faithfully holding church meetings in small branches and serving over and over in leadership positions.  Mission President Kenneth Packer spoke briefly at the last, relating stories about his grandfather, President Boyd K. Packer, who loved work and taught his posterity to work.  An original work of art by President Boyd K. Packer depicting draft horses pulling a plough was used as a visual aid to encourage the saints to press forward.  Said Mission President Packer, “The foundation has been laid. Let us press forward in bringing to pass the fulfillment of the prophecy given at Ukraine’s dedication twenty-five years ago.”

I have to relate my feelings the next morning as I partook of the Sacrament.  We sat in the back and I could see the members receiving of the emblems of the Lord’s Atonement.  I was overwhelmed with love for them and wiped tears from my chin as the Spirit taught me.  I understood what was happening as week after week these good people accepted the Atonement into their lives and invited the Spirit to sanctify them.  The Spirit whispered to me “These are my people; these are of the blood of Israel; I am sanctifying them.” 

On a lighter note, I’ve had some experiences that have required me to “endure” patiently.  A week ago last Saturday, I asked our driver to take me and a young sister I met at church in Kiev to her grandmother’s house located in a village outside of Kiev.  I had no idea how far away it was until we had driven nearly 200 kilometers!  When she had first entered the car she said, “Now we go pick up my brother.”  After we found her brother, she said, “Now we go to father’s house.” My driver and I kept exchanging glances which seemed to say, “Hmmmm… this is very strange.”  We finally left Kiev and drove the 200 kilometers.  Upon entering the village, she said, “Now we go to cemetery.”  At that point I learned that their mother had died of lung cancer 2 months before and she and her brother wanted to visit her gravesite.  I was grateful that I had been patient, even when not knowing what was planned.  After visiting the cemetery, we finally went to grandmother’s house.  It hadn’t been lived in for 8 years – at least not by humans.  It was a very old house in the center of which was a gigantic oven which almost completely filled the room.  I saw the place where grandmother would sleep on the oven in the wintertime because it was the only source of heat.  Several hours later, after brother and sister had harvested fruits and vegetables, we were on our way home.  I helped as much as I could, but I was completely frozen and had to eventually retreat to the car.  My driver pointed out to me while we were waiting and wondering what in the world we had gotten into, that the vegetables weren’t worth nearly as much as I would be paying him for being with us the entire day.  As we later left brother and sister at their apartment, I suddenly felt the warmth of the Spirit testifying to me that I had done well.

Another such experience happened today.  Howard and I set off on foot to find a post office.  We left before 3:00 pm and arrived home at dusk - because the line inside was sooooo slooooow!  I was third in line and we were there for well over 2 hours.  At one point a man cut in line.  He had probably 30 - 40 pieces of mail, each of which the clerk carefully weighed and on which the patron carefully placed many small stamps.  We waited for him – the line cutter - for well over an hour.  I like to think of myself as a patient person, but I definitely was not a happy camper.  By the end, I confess that I was not enduring very well at all!  However, on the way home, an old woman approached us.  She showed us her empty medicine package and told us that she needed medicine and had no money.  She showed us her shabby coat and said it cost so much to live and her pension was too small.  (It’s a good thing Howard understands Russian)!  I gave her several small bills and one larger one.  She returned the larger one, as she wanted only what she needed for medicine.  She cried and kissed our hands over and over.  I put my arms around her, so thankful that we had been delayed at the post office long enough to encounter her.  Howard told her in Russian, “God loves you and will bless you.”  And so He does.  And so He will.  

Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.  2 Nephi 31:20.

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Some pictures from Odessa follow.  

These are two mission presidents: the first one and the current one, along with their wives.  They are standing next to a map of Ukraine decorated with symbolic pictures of Ukraine's spiritual future.

 Brother Howard and 4th Time Branch President Oleg Chernikov

Odessa fireside

Wondering how we can possibly follow such wonderful testimonies

Some of the faithful first members in Odessa

Sunday morning

For Such a Time as This

Howard and I have been overwhelmed with gratitude many times over the past several days – gratitude so intense that we’ve wiped tears again and again.  As we’ve explained in previous blogs, it truly is a miracle that we are here in Ukraine.  We have sacrificed much and the Lord has blessed us even more – many times more.  It has been confirmed to us that we do, indeed, have a mission to perform and that we can and are making a difference in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.  In many ways, it seems as if this is a culmination of the events of our lives, all of which have prepared us for this moment in time.  Perhaps we have been prepared for such a time as this.

Yes, we know that we are special. We are children of the Heavenly King. And so are each of you. You, too, have been prepared for such a time as this.  You are special children of the Heavenly King reserved to come forth at this time in the world’s history.  This is a time of turmoil, strife and darkness –a time when it seems sometimes that the Prince of Darkness has gained the upper hand. This is the time when our Father has sent in the ones he knows can combat darkness, hopelessness, faithlessness and despair.  We will not be victorious alone, but with His help, we will!  Covenant sons and daughters of the King can and will light the way and show others the source of true hope, peace and joy.  That source is our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.  And there is no greater joy on this earth than to know that because you have suffered well with faith and hope, your life can offer an example of hope in Christ to others who are also struggling.

Yesterday we had the amazing privilege to meet in our home with three special persons who were prepared to assist in the Lord’s work at just the time they were needed.  Howard loves these three, and many others like them, to the depths of his soul.  Each of them was of great assistance in establishing a foothold for the Church in Ukraine in the early 1990s when Howard served as mission president. One of these, a brother, was somehow always able to find and procure what was needed for the mission to continue to operate when Ukraine was just gaining its independence and when commodities, such as means of transportation and fuel, were scarce to non-existent.  Another, who became the driver for the mission home, was ready to protect his precious human cargo with his own life, if necessary, when going into territory infested with the terrorists of that time.  He, too, was able to procure fuel when it seemed impossible, sometimes waiting in line for it for 3-4 days at a time, even in the winter months.  What service! What faithfulness!  No wonder Howard loves them so much.

I’ve saved until last the sister who worked in the mission office. She miraculously was able to get missionary visas and renew them when the government was denying them to foreigners.  Miracle after miracle occurred in this process.  She also remembered with Howard the time when she was able to get permission – the first ever from this region which had been dominated by 

Soviet control – for church members to leave the country for religious purposes.  They went to the Freiberg Temple for their temple ordinances and had to receive not only permission to leave Ukraine, but also permission from Germany, along with names of individual German families willing to sponsor them.  Germans invaded Ukraine during WWII and Ukrainians considered them great enemies, and yet the miracle of permissions and sponsorship occurred with the help of this good sister who was prepared to serve in such a time of need.  We surely love her too!  

We loved hearing this sister's conversion story.  She had been an atheist, but when examining the world, including especially under a microscope, she discovered such order that she knew that God must exist.  She had searched for a church with the answers she sought and had even tried Eastern religions.  When I asked her what it was that had attracted her to the LDS Church, she said, “It was their eyes.  When they taught me, I could see in their eyes that what they were saying was true.”  She was referring to Sister Gamble and Sister Vihavainen.  They radiated the light of the Gospel and the Holy Ghost carried the message into the heart of this good sister.  These sisters, and many elders and sisters like them, do just that.  They are prepared for such a time as this.

These three wonderful Latter-day Saints have, for almost 20 years, been away from the Church.  Our meeting with them was filled with the Spirit as they shared their conversion stories with us.  We know their hearts were touched as they felt the Spirit who witnessed truth to them once again.   The mission president has asked us to help the missionaries collect the conversion stories of the saints in Ukraine as part of a history of the church.  We will be publishing the resulting stories and calling them “A Cloud of Witnesses.”  We pray that as others relive their conversion stories, they too, will again feel the Holy Spirit and their lives will be greatly blessed.

Another event that filled us with gratitude occurred on Sunday evening.  We were asked to be the speakers at a stake fireside.  I told our story of how we came to Ukraine in the context of how to receive answers to prayers.  I also talked about the blessings that come when the Lord answers in ways we do not expect or initially desire.   I testified that Howard had been inspired to deliver a message from the Lord.  Howard then expressed the great love that he, and our Father in Heaven and His Son have for them (in Russian, BTW).  He pled with them to endure to the end, keeping and renewing their covenants, coming back into the gospel covenant if necessary.  His theme was “To whom shall we go?”  I cannot adequately express the power of the Spirit that was in that meeting.  Many came up afterwards to express love for the Lord and thankfulness for the message they felt was made just for them.  It was gratifying to be used in that way and the presence of the Spirit filled our souls with joy, then and now as we contemplate that evening.   

Yes, we believe we are in the right place at the right time to serve our Heavenly King and His precious children.  We pray that each of you can know that you too have been prepared to truly make a difference and feel the joy that comes from the Spirit as you serve.  Esther 4:14: “…..and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  

"It Happens"

Today was the second time in less than a week that the water in our apartment just didn’t work.  It turns out this second time, that the pipes broke in another apartment and the service people couldn’t contact the owners of that particular unit.  Their solution was to turn off the water to the entire building until the people could be reached, which took more than 12 hours.  I’m sure this served to prevent further damage, but it certainly must have frustrated the many other inhabitants of the building.  I learned a new phrase in Russian, “it doesn’t work.”  It seems that phrase is a very useful one. 

I heard another common phrase as I explained our water situation to a Ukrainian friend.  She said, “It happens.”  It made me laugh because of the tone of resignation with which it was said.  Howard tells stories from his earlier mission here when he heard that phrase many, many times.  Yes, bad or frustrating, or even devastating things happen in life.  The people here appear to have learned that well. They seem to have adopted an attitude of, “Well, it’s something that can’t be helped, so endure it as best you can until things change.”  

The conversation with my friend not only helped me to wait a little more patiently for water, but to reflect upon life, its ups and downs and its purposes.  As every member of the human race can verify, less than optimal things “happen” in life.  Some of these things are far more than mere inconveniences. Very bad things often happen to even very good people.  Our Heavenly Father knew this would be the case when He sent us to experience mortality.  In fact, we knew it too!   So what do we do?  Do we wait passively until things change?  Do we allow circumstances to make us negative and bitter?  Or do we turn our hearts to the Lord as we allow circumstances to work within us to help us grow in character and spirit?

This prompted other thoughts about the way the natural world works.  It is a scientific principle (the Second Law of Thermodynamics) that when things are left alone, they deteriorate and disintegrate.  Old buildings crumble and fall; water pipes rust and break; organisms age and die.  It takes creative intelligence and effort to reverse this trend. This law seems to be universal in its effect.  What happens when we fail to do the things that helped us to gain a testimony in the beginning?  Our testimonies atrophy and die.

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” 2 Nephi 31:20.

Of course, we don’t seek just to retain the bright intensity of our testimonies, but to be granted eternal life – to be once again in the presence of our Heavenly Family and feel at home there. It takes creative intelligent diligent effort to move forward.  Happily, we are not alone in this quest.  Our Father has not only provided His Son to pay the price that we cannot pay, but He also helps and encourages us to do the part that we must do ourselves.  

We certainly received encouragement in the words of our living prophets this past weekend.  How we love General Conference!  In fact, Howard and I love it so much that we watched the sessions as they were being broadcast, which meant we began watching the afternoon sessions at 11:00 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.  As Elder Hales testified, through participation in Conference, “faith is fortified and testimonies deepened.”  It was interesting to me when Elder Ballard gave a talk on the very topic and using the very scripture that Howard used in a talk he prepared two weeks ago for a fireside we are giving this coming weekend.  “Will ye also go away?” “To whom shall we go?” (John 6: 67-68).  Great minds think alike – especially minds in tune with the greatest mind of all!

Of course, our Father doesn’t want us to endure to the end in the sense that we just hang on until we expire.  He wants us to expand our capacities, increase our joys and become like our Savior. This takes purposeful effort.  The most effective tools of all which our Father uses to help us to continually make the right kind of effort are the covenants which we make in the waters of baptism and in holy temples, all of which are renewed during the weekly Sacrament ordinance.  Does the fact that we are commanded to renew them weekly tell us anything of our natural man tendencies if not acted upon by intelligent, creative effort and power?  I am not sure any of us can completely comprehend the power of the temple ordinances and covenants in exalting mankind, but we received a heavenly glimpse in the blessings that were pronounced upon us as we were set apart as ordinance workers in the Kyiv Ukraine Temple.  We both enjoyed being with Colleen during these Priesthood blessings.

I observed a striking example of the transforming miracle of the power of God. While I was sitting near the temple recommend desk, I saw an older man enter the temple.  He was dressed in very humble clothing. I thought he was one of the many people who come in from the street asking if they can tour the temple. Instead of approaching the desk, however, he disappeared into a small room and emerged dressed in the white clothes of an ordinance worker.  Later that day, we participated in sealing ordinances and this humble man was the sealer.  What confidence and power he exuded!  He seemed full of light.  I’ve reflected upon this miraculous transformation again and again because he symbolizes to me what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do for all of us if we continue to partake of the Lord’s marvelous power and do our part to come unto Him. 

This past week we were asked to head a project that will be designed to reach out to those of God’s children who, for whatever reason, have let the natural man tendency to succumb to the law of deterioration affect their testimonies and activity in the church.  We are excited about it and will probably later share more about what we are doing in this regard.  We are sure this is the reason we came to Ukraine in the way that we did, rather than as official missionaries.  Also, we hope many of you were able to read the Church News article which President Pohilko and I co-authored.  It was published last Saturday and described the Ukrainian 25 Year Anniversary Celebration.

Yes, “it happens.”  Life happens.  Rather than passively accepting the inevitability of deterioration and decay, let us press forward towards the prize we so covet.  Let us lay hold of the good gifts offered to us by a loving Father and Savior.  We love them with all of our hearts and are so very grateful for their bountiful blessings.