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.

The Pure in Heart

This past week certainly wasn’t as busy or as eventful as last week, but how could it have possibly been?!  Jubilee anniversaries only come every twenty-five years after all!

I have struggled a bit to find the right words to describe the feelings we’ve had as we’ve thought about and interacted with wonderful Ukrainian Saints this week.  Last night at a fireside, Temple President Frank Trythall put it into words for us.  He addressed the local Ukrainian temple workers, along with the temple missionaries serving from abroad.  He, while expressing great love for these Saints he’s served for so many years, identified them as the “pure in heart.”

We have experienced the pure hearts of the Ukrainian Latter-day Saints as they continue to express their love for us wherever we go; we’ve watched them express their love for one another; we’ve heard of their great love for, and service to, refugees from their own country displaced by war.  They are amazing and we love them.

Many Latter-day Saints have fled war ravaged parts of the country and come into Kyiv without knowing beforehand what they would do.  They were frightened that they would be rejected by the Kyivian Saints because they came from parts predominantly Russian.  But these Saints who are so pure in heart, opened their hearts and homes. They helped find housing and jobs for their brothers and sisters.  We met some of these displaced Saints on Sunday when we visited the Voskresenskyi (Ressurection) Ward.  They are full of faith and testimony – truly impressive.  They hold leadership positions and are fully integrated into the wards and branches in Kyiv.  We also met members who, for a time, had chosen not to join regularly with the Saints in sacrament meetings, but who had come back into full activity.  They, too, were fully integrated into the ward, loved back into activity.  What an example of Christ-like love!

Our hearts ache for Dmitry and others like him.  He was one of the first of the Ukrainian young adults called to serve as local missionaries when, during Howard’s time as mission president, the government sought to restrict the activities of foreign missionaries.  He, a husband and father of young children, has lost his business in Donetsk because of the war that has decimated that city.  He is living in Kyiv seeking enough income and a situation where he can bring his immediate family, along with his extended family, from Donetsk into safety.   Despite of all of this, he continues to faithfully pay tithing.  He also continues to serve unselfishly, including many offers to help us.  Yes, a pure heart indeed.

Bishop Slava Prach of the Voskresenskyi Ward asked us to bear our testimonies in Sacrament Meeting when we visited.  It amazes me how the Spirit is still able to work when one must speak in short sentences and wait for a translator before going on, but the Spirit was strong.  Howard was able again to bear his testimony in Russian without a translator.  Bishop Prach and his wife were once among the group of young members called by President Biddulph to fill the places of foreign missionaries during the time that the government curtailed the activity of foreigners.  They, like many of the others so called, went on to serve as full-time missionaries for the Church in other parts of the world.  Howard is understandably overcome with joy to see them again and to realize how they have matured in the gospel.  Stake President Kirill Pohilko was among this group.   

We spent another two days in the temple.  Words can’t describe the peace and love we always feel there.  I absolutely love what President Trythall said about the temple.  He said, “We check recommends as you enter the temple; we do not check passports.”  He referred to the temple as the Lord’s home where His children gather; all are welcome there, no matter nationality.  That is especially wonderful to contemplate as saints from all parts of Ukraine mingle lovingly with saints from Russia and other nearby countries.  This is especially impressive, given the war that threatens Ukraine’s borders.  But it is truly an example of the pure in heart.

I’ve written before about the Kyiv Ukraine Temple’s uniqueness in being the first (and so far, only) temple in the former Soviet Union.  It is a testament to me of the inspiration and revelation that guide our Church leaders.  There were many suggestions for the site of this temple, suggestions outside of Ukraine.  At this moment in time, it is abundantly clear that Ukraine was the right place, as Ukraine enjoys a freedom of belief and religion not enjoyed by other countries which were once part of the Soviet bloc.  Saints from all nations can come to the House of the Lord right here in Kyiv and enjoy the blessings they long for at home.  I often say (and laugh at myself when I do), “the Lord is so smart!”  He knows the beginning from the end.  We can trust Him and His leaders.

The following is Elder Holland’s answer to a question put to him by an Ukrainian Saint, during a recent Face to Face interview, who asked about members who have or are seeking to leave this country.  One can hardly blame those who seek a life away from war and from the very depressed economy created by the war's destruction of some of the more industrial parts of the nation.  In spite of that, Elder Jeffrey Holland said, “Anciently, Zion was a place, a destination. In our day, Zion is a way of life, wherever we live. You've had many challenges in the Ukraine, while the whole world has been watching. I certainly believe that the members of the Church, few as they may relatively be, can be a guiding light to political and economic stability in that wonderful nation. Remember, you do have a temple - the ultimate sign of Zion.” 

I would add that these members have sacrificed much for the gospel’s sake and they have been transformed by the Holy Spirit of God.  They are the pure in heart, which is the definition of Zion. 

Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice – yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command – they are accepted of me.  For I, the Lord, will cause them to bring forth as a very fruitful tree which is planted in a goodly land, by a pure stream, that yieldeth much precious fruit.  D&C 97:8-9.

And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. D&C 97: 15-16.

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.  1Nephi 14:14.

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I’ve added a few pictures of Kyiv I took while we did a mini-tour of the city on Saturday.   This first one is of one of the buildings of Shevchenko University.  Howard taught a course here a few years ago.  The second one is taken in the Taras Shevchenko Park near where the bench once was where Howard received inspiration that (15 years later), the people of Ukraine would have the opportunity to hear the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

These next pictures are of Zolaty Vorota or the Golden Gates of the ancient walled city of Kyiv.

Next is the front side of St. Sophia Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in Europe, part of it having been built in 1050.  There are pictures from the backside in one of my previous postings.  

Ah yes, and now these are pictures of the Statue of Volodymyr the Great where the dedication of the land of Ukraine by Elder Boyd K. Packer took place in 1991.  It took place at the base of the statue on the southeast corner.

Next is the Statue to the Motherland.  I took it from a great distance from a car window.

And finally, we have a statue honoring the founders of Kyiv, Three Brothers and Their Sister who sailed up the Dnieper River to settle Kyiv.

A Stone Cut Without Hands

 As the events of this past week have unfolded, the prophecy contained in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream recorded in Daniel 2 has repeatedly flooded my mind: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.  Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold: the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” (Daniel 2: 44-45).  This stone cut from the mountain without hands (the latter-day kingdom of God) will one day fill the whole earth.  This prophecy is unfolding in our day, and a wonderful example of that is found right here in Ukraine.

We spent most of two days in the sacred Kyiv Ukraine temple reviewing ordinances and participating in them.  It is quite an experience to participate in Russian, and the process of having to think deeply about what was taking place gave me new insights into the endowment we receive in holy temples of God.  The Spirit is always strong in the temple, and we felt a special one as Colleen joined us in the Celestial Room.  It was also a thrill to meet with temple missionaries and with local members serving there.  We ran into members from Minsk (Belarus) and L’viv (Ukraine) who recognized their former mission president and were anxious to visit and relive their conversion stories.  What a treat to see the spiritual maturity of these members who were once babes in the Gospel! 

Our meetings with Kyiv Mission President Kenneth Packer, Kyiv Temple President Frank Trythall, Kyiv Stake President Kirill Pohilko, and Area President Elder Bruce Porter were so very uplifting.  We felt blessed that they took time to meet with us amidst their busy schedules and thankful for their direction and support for what we are doing here.  They were so gracious, welcoming and encouraging!  These are the heavy lifters moving the work forward here at this time.

A very important event this week was a two-day conference celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the establishment of the religious studies program in Ukraine under the direction of Anatoli Kolodny, who founded and directs the Department of Religious Studies of the Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences.  It was no coincidence that this department and program was established in the same year that the land of Ukraine was dedicated for the preaching of the Gospel, as both occurred in the year that Ukraine became an independent nation after the fall of the USSR.  Professor Kolodny and his wife, Professor Luidmyla Filapovych, have been wonderful and important friends of the church. They were critically important in getting the LDS Church registered in Ukraine, and later in getting approval to build a temple here.  

Howard was asked to write a scholarly paper that was published, along with others, for this event, and he and I were asked to present it on the second day of the conference.  The paper is entitled “Toleration of a New Faith in Ukraine: A Study of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”  In it, Howard relates the historical events that occurred (many of which he witnessed and participated in) and analyzed the factors (from a political science point of view) which made possible the freedom to blossom here that the church has experienced in the past twenty-five years.  

In the second day of the conference a whole session was devoted to the LDS Church’s jubilee anniversary.  The head of the Department of Religion & Nationalities in the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, members of the Church Public Relations Department, President Pohilko and others attended the session devoted to our church.  Professor Kolodny gave the most amazing talk about the church and its doctrine.  I have never heard someone who is not a long-time member of the church demonstrate such a grasp of the doctrine – and such a defense of it.  Professor Filapovych gave a heart -felt talk about the goodness of the people of the church and how they have touched her life.  She, later that night at the 25^th Anniversary Concert, gave a tribute to the church on the stage of the Opera Theatre. 

Later that night, the Ukrainian Latter-day Saints celebrated their Jubilee Anniversary in a Gala Concert held in the Opera Theatre.  I wrote an article for the Church News about this, which follows:  

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Ukrainian Saints Celebrate 25^th Years of LDS Church Membership

On the evening of September 17, 2016, Latter-day Saints, their friends and Ukrainian government officials gathered in the famous Opera Theatre of Kyiv to celebrate the dawning of gospel worship in Ukraine just 25 years ago.  The building was filled to capacity.  Attending were Area President Elder Bruce Porter, Kiev Stake President Kirill Pohilko, members of the LDS Public Affairs Office, the Head of the Department of Religion & Nationalities in the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, Kiev Ukraine Mission President Kenneth B. Packer and his family, Temple President and former mission president Frank Trythall and his wife, Nancy, former mission president Howard L. Biddulph, former missionaries, current missionaries, members from Ukraine, Belarus and surrounding countries.  The program was organized by Katerya Serdyuk and consisted of outstanding performances by a professional orchestra and LDS members and missionaries.  Featured performers were Igor and Vesna Gruppman, world renowned violinists.  Vesna is a native of Serbia in what was then Yugoslavia; Igor is a native of Kiev, Ukraine, and is principal conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square and Concertmaster of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.  The next evening the Gruppmans also gave a fireside.  One hundred ninety-six missionaries participated in the concert.  Local members also gave outstanding professional quality performances.   Projected images of the church’s history in Ukraine accompanied the music and dance numbers.   

From very small beginnings has come a mighty work of joyous salvation, including temple worship in this land where Christianity was first introduced by Prince Volodymyr the Great in 988 AD. The first LDS baptism in Ukraine (of Valery Stavichenko by Elder Ivan Stratov) occurred in the icy Dnieper (Dnipro) River in November 1990 during the time Ukraine was part of the Austria Vienna East Mission headed by President Neuenschwander.  Several baptisms followed and a small branch of about 40 members existed on September 12, 1991 when the land of Ukraine was dedicated for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a service conducted by Howard L. Biddulph, mission president of the newly formed Ukraine Mission.  Offering the dedicatory prayer was Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve; also participating in the event were Elder Dallin H. Oaks and Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander.  Today there are 12,500 members in Ukraine; 3 operating missions, a Stake in Zion – the first stake organized in the former Soviet Union- and a Temple – the only temple in east Europe and the former Soviet Union. 

Deeply involved in the year-long celebration is Kyiv Mission President Kenneth Boyd Packer, grandson of President Boyd Kenneth Packer who dedicated the country.  As part of this year’s celebration, President Packer gathered missionaries and local members at the base of the statue of Volodymyr I and recreated the original dedication.  Sister Crystal Close, Purchase Award Winner of the 2016 LDS art competition, and current missionary in Kyiv, used this reenactment as an opportunity to create a painting of the event.  President Packer is has deep personal feelings for the people of Ukraine stemming from his grandfather’s many involvements with the region.  He and his wife, Cari, feel it a great blessing to be called to preside over the mission during this momentous time in the history of the country.

Also deeply involved in the celebration is Kyiv Stake President Kirill Pohilko, one of the first members of the church in Ukraine.  He serves as the Ukrainian Public Affairs Director and as Temple Recorder, as well as Stake President. 

The lovely Kyiv Temple was dedicated in 2010 and is serving members of the church in nine Russian speaking countries.  It is currently the only temple in the former Soviet Union.  This temple is part of the specific prophecy of Elder Boyd K. Packer when he dedicated Ukraine to the Lord 25 years ago and is a great symbol of the faith, dedication and spiritual maturity of the Latter-day Saints of Ukraine.

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This posting wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the uplifting fireside we attended last night given by Igor and Vesna Gruppman.  What wonderful examples they are!  They spoke of the Lord’s love, His miracles in their lives and the privilege we all have to be instruments in the hands of the Lord.

Yes, the church has grown so much here in just a short twenty-five years.  It is miraculous and has happened according to the prophecy of Elder Boyd K. Packer in his dedicatory prayer and the prophecy quoted at the beginning of this post.  Just think of the kingdom that fell, allowing Ukraine and other countries to become independent nations where the Gospel is spreading.  Yet, there is still much to be done before it fills this land and the entire world.  We, who are blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, have the amazing privilege and opportunity to participate in the great work of the Lord unto the complete fulfillment of prophecy wherein the kingdom of God will fill, not just opera theatres, but the entire world.

One by One

Sometimes I feel like Alma when he declared “Oh, that I were an angel….!”  I so want to be more effective.  I wish that I had the energy and stamina of an angel and didn’t need to sleep – or take the time to prepare and eat meals!  So much to do!  I feel an urgency to make our time here really count, especially after so great a sacrifice to be here.  But alas! I do have to sleep – and eat- and struggle to get things done when I don’t speak or read the language here.  Then I review the week and realize that we’ve made a difference in a few lives – one by one.

We enjoyed a meeting in the home of the very first person baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here in Ukraine – Valery Stavichenko.  He chose to be baptized in the Dnieper (Dnipro) River in November 1990.  He talked about the ice floating there at the time.  This was the place where over a thousand years ago Prince Volodymer orchestrated the baptism of the populace of Kyiv because he had converted to Christianity (and of course, his people did too).  It was at the Statute of Volodymer that Ukraine was dedicated by Elder Packer for the preaching of the Gospel in 1991. Howard conducted that historic meeting where Elder Oaks and Elder Neuenschwander also spoke.  Valery’s sweet wife, Tetyana, shared pictures of some of the events and people in the early days of the church here.  What memories for Howard!

Last Sunday we met with Bishop Ruslan Lapshin and learned the names of many of those who no longer meet regularly with the Saints.  We set out to contact them – one by one.  After many no answers, wrong numbers and dead ends, we found a few who were delighted to hear from the former President Biddulph.  This coming Saturday evening we will be attending the Gala Concert celebrating the 25^th Anniversary of the opening of the Ukrainian Mission and will be either taking with us, or meeting there, some of these people.  It was interesting to me to hear each of them reminisce with Howard their conversion experiences.  We experience this at church too.  Many come to greet us and reminisce about the experiences they had with Howard and the “his” missionaries.  I believe it is a good reminder for them and makes me contemplate my own conversion.

As I picture the two of us pouring over these names, Howard squinting through a magnifying glass, and me trying to sound out the Cyrillic letters, I can’t help but think of how the Lord goes to great lengths to reach each one of us individually.  One of my favorite scriptures teaches us how He ministers to us one by one.  3 Nephi 17: 21:  “And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.”  I know that each of His children is precious to Him and that our Savior died for each of us individually.  How important is each child of God – and how vital it is that we reach out to reunite in love with those who, for whatever reason, have lost their way.

The Kyiv temple has received its first outside cleaning since it was dedicated six years ago.  It has also been thoroughly cleaned inside.  We had some wonderful one-on-one interviews with Kyiv Stake President Kirill Pohilko and Kyiv Temple President Frank Trythall inside the temple, who each took the time to meet with us.  It was a spiritually moving experience for Howard to see again the rooms he and Colleen viewed together at the time of the temple’s dedication.

   

Church meetings today were wonderful.  We could feel the Spirit from the moment we entered. The Saints here are mature in the gospel.  It is truly a miracle that has occurred over the past 25 years.  We met a visitor from Logan, Utah, by the name of Mark Bennett, who was visibly moved by this miracle.  He had studied here in the late 1970s and it seemed then that the oppression and spiritual darkness of that time would never lift.  Yet now, there are scores of Latter-day Saints who love the Lord who meet each week to renew their covenants and strengthen one another.  They talk about the strength they receive during times of adversity through their faith, they speak of His love for them, and they speak of their love for one another. That love is palpable. How I wish you could hear them sing! They do it with great enthusiasm and with the Spirit.  It is truly wonderful to hear and feel it, even though the words are foreign to my ears, the melodies and the Spirit are not.

The Aaronic Priesthood holders had not prepared enough water cups and ran short by just four.  We all quietly waited while more were prepared, blessed, and administered to the last four persons.  I loved this experience.  I pondered the importance of each one of us to our Heavenly Father and His Son and how much they desire for us to covenant with them and stay within their protective care.  Howard and I had a similar experience in the hospital when one Sunday two Saints came into Howard’s room to administer the Sacrament to just us.  I was moved to tears by that experience and renewing my baptismal covenants each week since has taken on great meaning as I contemplate the way in which we are blessed individually – one by one.

Love is the Universal Language

We arrived in Kiev (Kyiv) Monday evening, August 29, 2016.  From the very beginning we were surrounded by kind, loving people.  We had help getting from the airplane through visa check, with getting our baggage and getting it to the cars that were waiting for us.  Zoya and Slava Gulko had arranged for a car and driver for us, and because we had so much luggage, President Pohilko also sent a car and driver for us.  Zoya was there to meet us and accompanied us to the apartment that she and Slava had arranged for us to rent.  She had also thoughtfully purchased a few items of food so that we could have a light dinner and breakfast the next morning.  We really love the apartment.  It is beautiful and it is located near the Parliament building, the Marinsky Palace and just two blocks from the Marinsky Park.

Among the loving people who have gone out of their way to make us welcome and comfortable are:

Zoya and Slava Gulko made many arrangements for us ahead of time.  Zoya has spent a lot of time helping us with banking and with shopping.  She was the translator of the Book of Mormon into Ukrainian for the Church and Slava directed and/or translated other important books and materials for the church.  Slava was one of the first local Ukrainian church leaders here.  Both continue to serve in many capacities. 

Ivan Shpilevoy:  He has made himself available every day to drive us wherever we need to go.  He is devoting his spare time to learning English so that he can communicate with us.

Luidmyla Filopovich and Anatolyi Kolodny.  We wouldn’t be in Ukraine without their help.  The invitation allowing for our long-term visas came from their important organization.  Anatolyi is a great friend of the Church, having played a critical role in getting it registered in Ukraine and in getting the building of the temple approved by the Ukrainian government.  They, and the organization they head, The Religious Studies Department of the Philosophy Institute of the National Academy of Sciences continues its important role in fostering a plurality of religions and religious freedom in Ukraine.

President Kirill Pohilko, President Frank Trythall, Bishop Ruslan Lapshin, Brother Yevgeniy Shmurak, Sister Tatyan Pedvodova and Sister Angela Shkvarko, all have gone out of their way to help and welcome us to Kyiv.  

Last night we had a most enjoyable evening.  We started with a little sight seeing, then dinner at an elegant Ukrainian restaurant in the ancient Rus' fashion, and an amazing concert at the St. Sophia Cathedral.  This cathedral was built in 1050 AD, the most ancient of cathedrals in the country, and perhaps all of Europe.  While waiting for the concert to begin, I made friends with the woman sitting next to me.  She was very interested in us and offered the fact that she had a copy of the Book of Mormon.  She was excited to learn that Zoya, sitting next to Howard was the translator.  She accepted our invitation to attend the 25th Anniversary Celebration Concert to be held in two weeks. The concert of last evening was extremely moving.  We enjoyed the orchestra and guest performers very much.  Thank you Luidmyla for arranging for this lovely evening!

Today was fast and testimony meeting.  We felt such an outpouring of love from the members and the Spirit was especially strong.  I was amazed at Howard’s ability to confidently bear his testimony and express his great love for the members.  He spoke Russian fluently and without a stumble – better than he is able to do even in English!   I also bore my testimony of the Savior’s love, which Yevgeniy was kind enough to interpret for me.   I may not be able to speak or even understand either Ukrainian or Russian, but I certainly could feel and understand the many expressions of love – hugs, kisses, smiles, touches.  We certainly do feel welcome.  Love really IS the universal language!