Beauty From Ashes

We were privileged to spend November 24th (the American Thanksgiving Day) with the full-time missionaries here in Kiev at a wonderful zone conference.  Our hearts were filled with gratitude for the amazing young and not-so-young persons who have dedicated two years of their lives to serving others.  We were so inspired by President and Sister Packer’s instruction.    Additionally, Sister Packer had planned and, with the help of senior missionaries, served a delicious noon-time dinner complete with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, salads, and deserts.   A few hours later, Americans sat down to a similar dinner to give thanks for the hand of the Lord in preserving their forefathers who settled North America. 

   

While Americans were celebrating Thanksgiving, Ukrainians were commemorating Holodomor Remembrance Day.  On this day especially, Ukrainians remember the unimaginable suffering and death of many millions of their forefathers who were intentionally and systematically starved to death by Josef Stalin in 1932-33. Although I have always loved history, this horrific event is something of which I was unaware.  Conquering nations have a habit of rewriting history to fit their narrative. Some in the West combine coverage of this mass murder together with the collectivization of the farms in the Soviet Union.  But this was more, much more.  Proletarska Pravda in 1930 wrote that the collectivization in Ukraine was intended to “destroy the social basis of Ukrainian nationalism.”  Once the farms were collectivized, Stalin sought to destroy Ukrainian culture, traditions and yearnings for independence.  Not only was the countryside stripped of grain, but of anything else that was remotely edible.  All farming tools and cooking utensils were confiscated and the borders were sealed to prevent food from coming in and people from going out.  This happened in Ukraine and also in the parts of Russia adjoining Ukraine where there were large Ukrainian populations.  Genocide was the intention.  Entire villages disappeared.  Estimates range up to ten million victims.  Russia then colonized portions of Ukraine where the population had been decimated.  When media outlets mention people of Russian ethnicity living in Ukraine, this is why. 

The spirit of freedom has always burned brightly in Ukrainian souls, and in 1991 they choose freedom as an independent nation and withdrew from the Soviet Union, catalyzing the dissolution of the USSR.  The current leadership in Russia is now seeking to rebuild an empire. Realizing that there has never been such an empire without Ukraine, (the bread-basket of Eastern Europe with rich soil and ports on the Black Sea), Russia has sought to reclaim Ukrainian territory as its own.   I’ve seen western media reports which claim that the ethnic Russians here want to be reunited with Russia.  And indeed, those still living in cities where armed Russian soldiers are stationed do say that, presumably for their own protection.  But those who descended from the Russians transplanted by Stalin into Ukraine with whom I’ve personally talked, claim now to be Ukrainian in nationality and allegiance.  They love the freedom enjoyed here and have no desire to lose it.  As a result, there are in Kiev hosts of refugees from the Crimea and Donbas areas. 

You can imagine the distress felt by Ukrainians as they contemplate the 55,000 Russian troops stationed on their borders.  They are further distressed by media reports of the American president-elect’s friendly attitude toward Russia.  No wonder, with such a tragic history behind them, Howard didn’t often see smiles on the street 25 years ago.  (He actually saw cheering when independence was declared).  No wonder I don’t see smiles on the street now!   But, don’t let that fool anyone – underneath the stern exteriors lie hearts with the capability of a full range of emotions.  This is abundantly clear with those who have embraced hope in Christ through covenants made in the waters of baptism.  Such love expressed to one another!  Such smiles and hugs!  Such love expressed within families and among close friends!

The depth of emotion felt by Ukrainians, and not just by those of our faith, is also abundantly clear in their music.  An amazing number of people here show unusual musical talent which we enjoy at almost every event.  Howard and I were deeply moved by a Rachmaninoff concert we attended.  (Yes, I know Rachmaninov was Russian). Three members of the L’Viv Philharmonic orchestra performed the entire Second Concerto on piano, cello and violin.  We barely noticed the hard upright seats and were disappointed that it had to end, so beautiful and full of passion was the performance given by these talented Ukrainians.  Two days later, we attended a concert of Ukrainian folk dancers.  Oh, my goodness!  I could never have imagined anything so amazing and wonderful!  The costumes!  The music! The colors!  The happiness! The athleticism of the dancers!  No words can come close to describing it.  Attached to this post are pictures, which don’t do the experience justice. 

It has been my experience that deeply held emotions, even joy, arise from suffering, and that the height of our joys can be measured by the depth of our sorrows.  I was asked to speak to a group of LDS sisters last Saturday evening about how I had survived adversity and still retained my ability to be happy.  The event went very well.  Several sisters told me that I spoke directly to their hearts and lives.  I spoke of the blessings that come from adversity, the most important of which is that we can come to know the Lord personally and deeply when we experience the most profound distresses, but only if we truly turn to Him in our anguish.  I used examples from my own life to illustrate the concept.  I have lived through much adversity and I have never failed to acknowledge the Lord’s critical role in strengthening and helping me through all of it.  However, I have always taken it a challenge at a time.  It wasn’t until after the speaking event that the totality of the things I’ve suffered hit me.  I could visualize the events transpiring over the length of my life.  It was quite overwhelming, not just the realization, but the gratitude that I feel for the Lord and His love.  What a paradox!  It is impossible to survive severe adversity on our own without becoming bitter, but if we accept the Lord’s help to successfully navigate the deep waters, He loves us for our faithfulness in coming through not only intact but transformed by Him.   Oh, how wonderful that is to me!

Not only can the Lord use adversity to shape our individual character, but He can use it to transform a nation.  Adversity can soften hearts and prepare them to receive divine tutoring.  I think of the way in which a farmer harrows his fields to prepare them to receive seed.  Perhaps Holodomor prepared Ukraine to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I hope that this thought doesn’t trivialize what happened, because, like what is happening currently in Aleppo, there are no words to describe the horror.  In spite of that, I believe deep in my soul that the Lord, who does not cause, or even condone such inhumanity, can and does use even horrific events to bless.  There is not one soul who turns to Him who will not feel His love and transformative power, if not in mortality, then in the hereafter.  In 1991 when Howard and his little band of missionaries arrived in Ukraine, the people were seeking for truth.  Many were prepared through dreams and other divine intervention to receive the glad message.  The harvest was bountiful.  It was common to see more than 100 baptisms a month, more than all of the European missions combined.  It was a true miracle.  The first stake in Zion formed in the former Soviet Union was organized in Ukraine – and the Kiev Temple is the first, and only, temple operating in the former USSR. 

Our Father is truly a God of miracles, a God of love, a God of mercy!  The reach of His power and compensatory blessings is seen in individual lives, and collectively in a people prepared to receive them.  Truly He creates beauty from ashes. 

Ukrainian Folk Dancing concert.

                                    

Zone Conference

Off the subject, but above is a picture of a protest taken from the window of our apartment. The white edge at the bottom is our window sill.

Rachmaninoff Concert: 

Far right is the violinist, third from right is pianist and the one with the beard is the cellist. 

Who is My Neighbor?

Winter has arrived in Ukraine, along with icy sidewalks and roads.  I’ve had a couple of experiences that have made me smile, but have also made me consider the question posed by the Savior “Who is Thy Neighbor?” 

On our way home from shopping, we drove onto a road that had an uphill slant (not super steep).  We were at the end of a fairly long line of cars.  Nothing was moving. We waited for nearly half an hour and our driver was calm and unquestioning about the wait.  I poked my head out of the car to see what was holding up the line, only to see that front car was unable to make it up the slippery hill.  Wheels were spinning and snow was flying.  The poor driver finally solved his own problem and the line was able to move.  I was dumbfounded!  Had even a couple of people left their cars and pushed, we would have all been on our way in no time at all.  Instead, everyone just patiently waited.  Our driver said, “It happens in the winter.”  There is was again – “It happens.”  While I think that is a great attitude when there is nothing that can be done to change the situation, it certainly seems odd to me to take that attitude and do nothing when something can be fixed or helped.

Two days later, I was waiting on the street outside of our apartment building for someone who was coming to see Howard.  He was having a hard time finding our address, and because I knew that even when he found the building, he wouldn’t know which of the many entrances led to our apartment, I went down to direct him, telling him that I was not wearing a coat (an unusual sight during this time of year), but that I was wearing a grey sweat shirt.  While I was waiting, a car was spinning its wheels, stuck in the snow between the sidewalk and the road.  Without a second thought and without being asked, I planted my feet in the slushy snow and pushed the front of the car with all my might as it slowly backed out of the slippery mush.  The visitor arrived while I was doing this and recognizing that I must be Howard Biddulph’s wife (an American woman in her 60s in a sweat shirt), he said (without helping), “Why are you doing that?” “Because he needs help,” I replied.  “I don’t care about that guy,” said he.  “Well, I do!” said I very emphatically.  (BTW, I wonder what that driver thought)!  

Why did I care about that guy and others seemingly didn’t?  I suppose that it is partially cultural.  It has been only twenty-five years that Ukraine shook off its communist overlords and became an independent nation. During communist years, Ukrainians, and I assume those in other communist ruled countries, were not only discouraged from helping one another but were actually prohibited from becoming involved in welfare service activities.  That was the domain of the state. Even religious organizations, when tolerated, were only to administer religious sacraments and no more.  I imagine that people helped those in their own families, but it did not go beyond that.  It takes a long time to change a perception of what one’s obligation is to those around him/her, especially if someone or something else (the government) is perceived as responsible for the relief of suffering.  Howard tells stories of how his missionaries undertook service projects, such as cleaning up the filthy hallways inside, and the courtyards outside, their apartment buildings to the absolute amazement and disbelief of those observing their service.

I have also observed the lack of communication or even acknowledgment as people pass one another on the street.  I most often pass people with a smile and a greeting.  I NEVER get a smile in return, just a stare and a quick looking away like I am some kind of crazy person. One time, when I held a gaze with a smile, the woman finally asked me what was wrong.  This contrasts starkly with a beautiful story we received about one man’s introduction to missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He wrote, “I went for a walk in the park the next morning.  It was summer.  I was walking along the river pondering over my life problems and my religious search.  Deep in my thoughts I noticed two young men dressed in white shirts and ties, they were still far away. I thought those were students and wanted to continue in my pondering, but there was something special about them that had caught my attention.  I didn’t quite understand it at once therefore I took a closer look at them.  Then I saw the reason of my interest—their faces were shining with happiness and joy.  I felt it!  I wanted them to be my friends so much! I wanted them to share with me the secret of that joy.”

Also contrasting are the ways in which active members of the church treat and help one another.  They are being changed by the gospel. They greet the ones they know like beloved family members.  They have welcomed refugees from Donetsk with love and critically needed assistance.  I watch each week as several members take turns signing for a deaf and mute sister.  This attitude towards others was not always so, and it is something learned after joining the church.  Howard tells me how one branch learned to love and help one another after a sister’s apartment burned.  They housed her while they rebuilt the inside of her apartment.  He tells another story about a branch that bought an accordion for a blind musically talented brother so he could support himself.  These acts of kindness were encouraged and taught by Priesthood leaders, and I marvel today at the difference I observe between Ukrainian Latter-day Saints and the other people I meet daily.  How the gospel changes lives!  And how everyone needs the gospel to be happy! The active Latter-day Saints that I know smile and show in their faces and actions the joy that good man saw in the faces of the missionaries so long ago.

So, who really are my neighbors?  Well, it is easy to be kind and neighborly to those we know.  When we know them, we love them and we naturally reach out.  But how successful are we in reaching out to those we don’t know?  How about those who serve us as we visit stores or other public places?  How about those we pass on the street?  How about those with whom we share public transportation?  How about those who once attended church with us but are no longer seen there?  How about those for whom we have been assigned to visit as visiting or home teachers, but who are hard to reach or who don’t seem especially glad to see us?  I believe that the Savior would tell us that yes, these are our neighbors.  He would plead with us to show kindness and compassion to all those with whom we come in contact.  He would especially ask us to seek after His lost sheep and bring them back to the fold – back into the love we feel in the presence of good friends – back into the joyful presence of our Savior.  I love our good bishop who is seeking to teach our ward members this important lesson in compassion.

Why did I care about that guy?  It’s because over the many years of making covenants with my Heavenly Father, the Lord has helped me to see his children, not just as my neighbors, but as my brothers and sisters.  

When All is Said and Done

To follow the mainstream and social media in the USA, you’d think the world is at its end.  In my inconsequential opinion, however, the things that really matter – well, they still matter. Imperfect people are still good. Good people can differ in opinions and remain friends. God is our Father. And Jesus is Lord.  When all is said and done, what really matters are the loving relationships we foster between ourselves and our God, our families and our fellowman.

We’ve had some great experiences that make us optimistic about the future, not only in our own country, but also in the spot in the world where we currently live and love.  Before I get to those here in Ukraine, I need to rejoice just a little (amid tears) that Annie Schmidt’s body was found.  She lost her footing and fell from a place high above a steep incline covered in rocks and undergrowth.  It is evident that she died from the fall and didn’t suffer from pain, fear, cold, exposure or dehydration and starvation.  She was found only through the intense and unrelenting efforts of many people, most of whom didn’t know her or her family.  Her family credits their success in finding her to the many prayers offered from those across the country and the world.  What an outpouring of love and service!  If you have lost faith in your fellowman, this should bolster it.

Another lesson gleaned from the Schmidt family experience is how dear to us are our families, and how merciful is our Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness which binds us eternally with those we most love.  Extremely moving are the messages of love, gratitude and comfort extended to all of us by Annie’s parents.  They demonstrate the peace that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings to families, especially during times of extreme distress.  They know that Annie is theirs to love and cherish in their forever family – they will be with her again as mother, father, daughter, sister – because they were sealed together in a temple of our God, bound together as a family with cords that even death cannot sever. 

Some of our most cherished experiences in Ukraine have been watching members come to the temple to seal their families together by the power of the Priesthood of God restored to earth in fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy:

“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 heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4: 3-4 

      

This past week, in addition to latter-day saints from Kiev, we have welcomed to the temple members from Rostov-on-the Don, Aksai, Donetsk, Minsk, Saratov and Crimea.  Crimea, although a part of Ukraine, is currently under the control of Russian-backed troops.  An elderly lady presented herself to the temple after walking long distances past the soldiers on both sides of the conflict.  We were amazed at her courage and fortitude.  All of these saints who travel for long distances and at great sacrifice bring with them the names of family ancestors so that they can perform proxy ordinances for them.  They bring so many with them that they are disappointed when they can’t do all of them before it is time for them to return home again.  Our time serving in the sealing room is especially wonderful, as the veil is gossamer-thin and we often sense families from both sides of the veil there together.  Children’s hearts are turned to their fathers.   And the fathers (and mothers) are close to their families here upon the earth, providing heavenly assistance.

One very interesting temple experience involved meeting Brother Picard from France.  He is in Kiev often as the Deputy Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre, located in Vienna, which organization is working to peacefully resolve the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.  It was heart-warming to see the saints from Aksai, where he had served his LDS mission, hug him and greet him with love and joy.    It reminds me of how long-time members greet Howard.  It seems we really love those who brought the good news of the Gospel to us.  And missionaries truly love those with whom they have had the privilege of sharing in their spiritual journey to Christ.

We have asked the members to record their spiritual journeys.  These stories will be compiled into a book of remembrance – a spiritual history of Ukraine’s first 25 years.  As these stories are written, hearts are again touched by the Holy Ghost who brings all things to our remembrance.  We’ve already received some of these wonderful stories.  A week before yesterday, we taught in the third hour a combined class of both women and men.  Our focus was to encourage the members to write their stories and to reach out to the less active through the sharing of spiritual stories.  Our good bishop is doing all in his power to move this program forward.  I don’t understand all of his words (yet), but I understand his humble and willing spirit and I am moved with awe and love for him.  He is such a good man.  He spoke in Sacrament meeting yesterday and later led the elders and high priests in considering what it really means to love and nurture those for whom we are responsible to home teach.  Oh, and yes!  We were called and set apart as missionaries!  We are official!

That each of us will have and remember our spiritual journeys into the baptisms of water and the Spirit is the desire of true followers of Jesus Christ.  As we enter into sacred covenants with our God - covenants of obedience, sacrifice, service and consecration - we become covenant sons and daughters of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  We promise to bear one another’s burdens and mourn with those who mourn.  We feel a kinship with others of the covenant, regardless of nationality, race or culture.  We are family.  And families not only strengthen one another, but they have fun together too.   

What fun we had as we attended an event of the Kharkovsky Ward family!  It was a wonderful cultural celebration of happy Ukrainian music, varenniki, a (staged) marriage, dancing and food.  The kindness with which the members treated us and each other is a testament to their covenant relationship with God and to their spiritual brothers and sisters. I smile every time I think of it. I have attached some pictures and videos at the end so you can catch a glimpse.  I have to say that it was quite an experience traveling to and from the event via the metro.  I marvel that man could construct such a thing so far beneath the surface of the earth!  We never would have been able to manage without the help of our dear friend, Yevgeniy Zaryugin.  Howard isn’t steady enough on his feet to jump on and off the (extremely long) escalators or the trains by himself, as they move so fast.  We were quite a sight with Howard in the middle and Yevgeniy and me on each side! 

We also enjoyed a “family home evening” with the senior couples serving here in Ukraine.  We shared stories of our holiday traditions. What struck me the most was that all of the traditions shared centered around strengthening family ties and teaching children about the goodness of our Father in Heaven and His Holy Son.  And really, after all is said and done, isn’t that what really matters?   Isn’t this the true desire of our hearts -- that through the mercy and goodness of our Father and Jesus Christ we can return home to our Heavenly Family, not alone, but with our earthly families and with all those whom we encompass with our familial love?

To end this epistle, I want to share a poem Howard wrote and which he dedicated to me in anticipation of my birthday in a few days.  I know positively that I don’t deserve such high praise, but I am thankful for a husband who demonstrates his love for me and for faithful, covenant-keeping children.  I count the successful raising of them, despite difficult circumstances, the greatest achievement of my life.  Howard insists that I include pictures of me and my children to go with the poem.   When all is said and done……  

For Laurel (and her children)

Your ark,

            like Jochebed’s reed cradle on the Nile,

Prepared a progeny

            to come forth of the water and a burning bush,

Allegiant to their true identity,

Although apprenticed in strange lands that bow the knee

            before Osiris, Ashtoreth, Minerva’s owl.

Striplings your chrysalis formed

            like Ammonites of old,

Whose armament near Antiparah

                                    was their mothers’ faith.

            Howard L. Biddulph  

Kharkovsky Ward Event:

Come to Zion!

We just returned from an amazing trip to L’viv.  My interest in history was totally stimulated and to top it off, my sense of the Holy was keen as we attended a District Conference of the L’viv Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We traveled by train across Ukraine – an eight hour trip, on which we saw small farming villages clad in Autumn oranges and golds.  (I’ve even chosen in which one of them I will hide out after the US election J).  The trip gave me a perspective of the country as a whole. My experience with the saints in L’viv left me again pondering the creation of Zion. 

L’viv, the largest city in western Ukraine, is a fascinating city, an eclectic mixture of Polish, Jewish, Armenian, Hungarian and Ukrainian nationalities, culture, architecture and history.  It was the historic center of Galicia.  Because it is really in the cross-roads of several cultures, L’viv has a history of foreign domination and influence.  At various times in its history, it has been ruled by the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and the Soviet Union.  It was the last area to be incorporated into the USSR and was liberated at its fall.  L’viv is passionately loyal to Ukrainian independence, figuring importantly in the Ukrainian people’s quest for an independent nation and for freedom of belief and religion.  It is just 43 miles (70 kilometers) from the Polish border and looks much more European than do the other cities in Ukraine.

I can’t leave the subject of diversity within L’viv without mentioning the Jewish population which existed before WWII.  Fully one-third of the population at that time was Jewish.  We saw the spot on which the major synagogue once stood and heard the horrific story of the extermination of the Jewish population when the city was occupied by Germany.  One hundred thirty thousand (130,000) Jews were reduced to only one thousand (1,000)!  Such a terrible price extracted because of great prejudice against religious belief!  Man’s inhumanity to man is beyond what one wants to even contemplate!  It stands in stark contrast to the concept of Zion – a place and a people of one heart and one mind who love and care for another and for our Maker – a place whose only ruler is the all-powerful, all-loving Redeemer of us all.

An important characteristic of L’viv is that it is predominantly Catholic.   Both Greek and Roman Catholic churches are plentiful (and very beautiful and historic).  Other regions in Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox, some governed by the Kievian Patriarchate and others by the Moscovian Patriarchate.  Because there are three primary religions with large followings in Ukraine, none of which can claim a majority, and because in the past when a president favored one above another it led to violence, the government has now taken the role of fostering the toleration of all faiths in Ukraine, even small minority ones like the LDS Church. This leads to civil tranquility.  Unlike other nearby nations, Ukrainian identity is not tied to a single religious persuasion.  Ukraine stands out in this regard, and it is evident to me that revelation directed the erection of a Temple of God here and not elsewhere.

Missionaries were first assigned to western Ukraine after the Book of Mormon was published in Ukrainian (1997).  Ukrainian, not Russian, is the language used in the western part of the country. I’ve written about this translation and the translator (our dear friend) in my last blog.  Despite not having a branch or missionaries in L’viv until then, faithful members who had been baptized elsewhere helped to establish the church there.  One of these is Anatoliy Malonos, the first baptized member from L’viv who left Ukraine because he felt directed to go to Germany to find truth about God.  There he encountered missionaries and joined the church.  For a long time, he was the only member in L’viv.  Howard recommended him for full-time missionary service and he served an honorable mission.  He, along with his wife and children, now live in L’viv because, as he says, “God wants me here.”  He is a true pioneer and stalwart member.  Another such early member is Brother Chemizov, who was the second baptized member in L’viv. 

Malonos family

Although Howard wasn’t able to open L’viv as mission president, because no materials were yet available in Ukrainian, the saints there were so very warm and welcoming.  It was a joy to be with them.  We enjoyed a district conference over which L’viv Mission President Stephen Rizley presided.  Seven branches came together for the conference, many members traveling together by bus for hours overnight.  In President Rizley’s talk, he urged the saints to do something about the things they had learned from previous speakers.  He outlined three things they (and we) can do to become a Zion people: 1) Remember that the Sabbath is the Lord’s day; 2) make the Book of Mormon a daily part of our lives; and 3) seek to be unified as a people, reconciled with all, including the Lord.  As the closing hymn, “Come to Zion,” was sung, Howard leaned over to me and said, “Do you feel it  - the spirit of Zion?”  And of course I did.

The church meeting was followed by a dinner and then a joyous celebration concert.  I have been so amazed at the musical talent of the Ukrainian saints wherever we have traveled, and L’viv was no exception.  Howard spoke at the beginning, but the rest was musical and so very lovely.  I thought again and again during the performances of these diverse saints who had come together from great distances to celebrate the Gospel and how they represented Zion in the making.  We love them!

********

I have attached pictures below and also a short video consisting of a collage of pictures of the celebration which was done by Ludmila Shepeleva.  Be sure to click on the link for a fabulous peek into what we experienced. 

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?”