26 March 2013

Tuesday evening.  About 20 and clear.  This is the first day we have seen the sun in about a week.  It has snowed constantly since Saturday evening.  But life is good.  The Area Presidency will head toward America tomorrow in preparation for general conference.  That should allow me the opportunity to get caught up.  I certainly hope so.

It has been a month since I have added to the pollution in the blogosphere and I feel overdue.  Thomsen has been pestering me for more pictures and since I have now become so obedient and compliant I can do nothing except comply.

I must mention Joclynn, Nathanael's wife.  We almost lost her about a month ago.  She went into the ICU with acute respiratory problems, spent three weeks in the ICU and then two weeks (instead of a predicted two months) in in-hospital therapy.  She has been home for about five days now and is doing remarkably well, compared to where she was five weeks ago.  Marlene and I thank you for your prayers and fasting in her behalf.  We give praise to God for her life.


Please try to make it to the end.  There are pictures of a Baptist church where Elder E.T. Benson spoke on October 1, 1959 to a protestant congregation and preached the gospel to them in the midst of some of the worst of the Soviet-times, as our Russian friends call them.  We visited the church last Saturday afternoon.

Here is a Russian child, somehow finding herself transported into our living room, giving the 'loser' signal to  her dad.
I'm quite surprised because it has been reported to us that she liked her dad.
I think she is wearing some of Connie Thomsen's cloths which are now too big for her.

Some senior citizens at dinner at Dr. Smart's apartment.  Smart/Sonda, Jensen's, Walker's, Jones', Johnson

We were in the Metropolis mall, looking for a Wendy's hamburger and came across a 3-on- 3 basketball tournament.  You can't have basketball w/o cheerleaders, even in Russia.

This is Oksana Mayorova  leading the festivities for Men's Day.  Our other secretary is Oksana Kodirova in the black blouse, and then Sister Lawrence.
We had to differentiate the two Oksana's so we  call the first one Oh My, and the second O.K.

A corner of the American Embassy where we went for a ward party.  It really was a taste of America.

More eating at the Smart's on a different day.  I got Marlene to take the picture because Dr. Smart has fallen in love with her rolls so he has his wife make the dough whenever he can get her to do so.  That fancy loaf of bread is Marlene's roll dough made into a loaf of bread.

Fruits and nuts.

I am setting up for the 'Area Presentation' which is a video conference that includes the Quorum of the Twelve and the Presidency of the Seventy in SLC and my Area Presidents in Moscow.  The meeting starts about midnight Moscow time in order for the brethren to be able to have a decent start time in Utah.
Is sit out of sight of the camera on top of the TV and try to make sure nothing goes too badly wrong.  I also try to avoid making any gross noises.

The mall near our flat has a food court and it is often crowded.  We shared a table with Angelic, who was very nice and spoke a lot better English that we speak Russian.

This is now Women's Day, a much bigger deal than Men's Day, as you might imagine.  That is President Malm and Sister Malm having a laugh about something.  They are Swedes so it's unusual to see them laughing, right Dave Peterson?
Speaking of Dave Peterson, I think he is a cousin to President Malm, the only GA from a Nordic country.

President Lawrence introducing me just before my stem-winder speech praising the sisters.

Marlene, Sister Malm and Sister Lawrence.

I worked three quarters of one Saturday and I had to have some kind of a break so Marlene and I went to Sokolniki Park looking for ice sculptures for which the park is supposed to be famous.
We came upon this group of folks in the park, dancing on a piece of concrete cleared of snow.
It was mostly old women, a few old men, and a few younger couples.
This is what passes for a good time in Moscow in the winter.

More dancers.  I think that is Connie & Dave Peterson in the middle of the picture.

Marlene has just made it out of an ice maze.  She was lucky to find her way out.

A fish that I thought I had seen previously outside the back door of our office building.

Our next apartment unless we can get the kids to chip into our missionary fund.

Free outdoor heating station.

A crystal ball, predicting more cold weather.

The center of the ice sculpture exhibition.

Rachael posing for her own sculpture in Moscow.

Skull.

Sister J. with Marilyn

Sister J. in love.

Me or Axe man.

The opposite of heated seats, but finally a chair worthy of me.

How many amusement parks in America run in February at 20 degrees?

More fun in the sun.

The Fitzgerald's who had us to dinner.
The other gentleman is from the ward they left in Provo.  He is now the bishop in that ward.

Some babe who just had dinner.

Walking home from work about a week ago.

A women's  conference on a Saturday in the Central Building.

O.K. being squeezed by Sister Murray.

Back to Gorky Park, looking for the killer.

Actually they Ruskies are celebrating pancake week, or Bliny week.

Two bliny lovers.

Stuff for sale, none of it any good.

Another cute kid.

There was a  pretty good band, playing under a cover.  These folks are doing some kind of folk dance.
I think it might be call The Bliny.

The Ruskies can't let bad weather stop them from partying because if they did they would never party.

The band, making lots of noise and some fun music.

A couple looking to be photographed.

A lady with hair to die for.

A lady with a hat to die for.

It's not enough that they can all skate.  Some of them have to show off.
American Christmas music was playing.

The Ruskies have not heard that you are not supposed to wear fur.

Andy Warhol is coming to town, or came to town.

Child labor.

For Rachael.

For Carley.

Yet more pictures.

Chloe, a friend of Sherice Lyman's from near Seattle.
Chloe is here studying with the Bolshoi Ballet.

Snow piled outside the back door of the of the office building.

Coming home from Sunday dinner.  You can't see it very well, but it is snowing and blowing.

Boo hoo.

One of our Russian PA men had to bring his daughter to work last week so she got to entertain herself with a little help from Marlene and Oh My.

We attended a Russian folk music concert last Thursday evening.  Pretty good if you can't get rock n roll.

We are about 50 yards deep into the Metro tunnel entrances.  These pigeons are looking for a little warmth.

This is Andrey Filimonov, whose daughter you saw just above.  He has led us to the Baptist church were Elder Benson spoke in 1959.
He explained that at that time this was the only non-Orthodox church the Commies allowed to operate, so while it is a Baptist church all sorts of Protestants worshiped there.
He said there was a place set aside in the church for for the KGB monitor to sit and listen to what went on to make sure there was nothing done that the State needed to worry about.

We are about to get inside.
It was Saturday so Andrey had to arrange/schedule our visit around the services for the Seventh Day Adventists.
We met some and they were very gracious.

It is a lovely building, much prettier than the black and white picture below would lead you to believe.
We are looking toward the front of the building.  The pulpit is in the middle of the picture.

There was a very nice choir practicing on the mezzanine level.
The man in the blue shirt is playing a keyboard, not the lovely organ in the background.

The podium from which Elder Benson spoke, 53 years ago in 1959.

This is the stained glass window immediately behind the podium.
Bog Ect Lubov, God Is Love.
You can see this window in the picture below of Elder Benson at the podium.

The first picture in the article is, of course, at Red Square near the Lenin (what?  mortuary?  grave?) display case.  In 1959
Stalin was still in favor and so I think he and Lenin shared the limelight, so to speak.
(By the way, there are no train tracks in Red Square any longer.)

The reference in the article below to the Greek Orthodox church is wrong.  It should read 'Russian' Orthodox church.

The picture of Elder Benson at the pulpit was taken from the place where the choir was practicing in one of our pictures above.

When we were there last Saturday there were several old women in the pews.  We heard they were gathering for a musical presentation for widows.  As you know, there are a lot more widows alive in Russia that there are widowers.
It struck me that some of these women could have heard Elder Benson.  If they are 80 years old now they would have been 27, 53 years ago.  In any event it is evident to me that there is deep in the heart of most of us a yearning to touch God somehow.
Even the Commies, the most totalitarian and brutal government that ever existed could not destroy that urge in some of  these people, in spite of having 75 years to work on the project.

It was a privilege to be in their building and to meet some of them.

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Ezra Taft Benson at Moscow Baptist Church

June 29, 2009 in Religion | 7 comments

Earlier this month, the LDS Newsroom published a reprint of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson’s visit to Moscow’s Central Baptist Church in the midst of the cold war. According to an office memo from Grant Salisbury and Warren K. Leffler, the writer-reporter team who reported on this event:

THE NIGHT we left Moscow to fly down to Kiev, Secretary Benson literally took us to church.

Many of the reporters laughed about it on the way, because Mr. Benson, who is a leading Mormon, had arranged for us earlier to attend a service at the Latter-Day Saints Church in West Berlin, but all the newsmen found one excuse or another for not going. In Moscow, we had no choice because the cars picked us up at the hotel and stopped at the church on the way to the airport. It was around 7:30 o’clock on the chill, rainy evening of October 1.

As the cavalcade of cars arrived at the Central Baptist Church, on a narrow side street not far from Red Square, somebody wisecracked, “Well, boys, you’re going to get to church whether you like it or not.”

It turned out to be one of the most moving experiences in the lifetime of many of us. One newsman, a former marine, ranked it with the sight of the American flag rising over the old American compound in Tientsin, China, at the end of World War II.

The small church was packed, with people standing wherever they could find room.

Secretary Benson and his family were ushered to the rostrum. After a hymn, sung beautifully by the congregation, Mr. Benson began to talk, drawing on his experiences as one of the leaders of the Mormon Church in America. Watching the Russian congregation, you could see tears welling up in the eyes of people as the Secretary’s words were relayed to them through a translator.

“It was very kind of your minister to ask me to extend greetings to you,” Mr. Benson began. “I bring you greetings from the millions and millions of church people in America and around the world.”

A soft, fervent “amen” came from the congregation. The Secretary continued, “Our Heavenly Father is not far away. He can be very close to us. I know that God lives. He is our Father. Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the World, watches over this earth. He will direct all things. Be unafraid, keep His commandments, love one another, pray for peace and all will be well.”

By now there was scarcely a dry eye in the church. Even the few young people were weeping openly.

“This life is only a part of eternity,” Mr. Benson went on. “We lived before we came here as spiritual children of God. We will live again after we leave this life. Christ broke the bonds of death and was resurrected. We will all be resurrected.”

At the mention of the promise of life hereafter, muffled sobs could be heard in the small church. These people, after all, were sacrificing their chances of participating in the gains of the Communist society of Russia. Though worshipping God no longer is forbidden in the Soviet Union, those who do so usually find themselves cut off from advancement.

Communism in Russia remains avowedly atheistic. In Moscow there is one other Baptist church; there are 23 Greek Orthodox churches, two synagogues and one Moslem temple. In a city of 5.4 million people, it’s a comparatively tiny crack in the godless society. The dedicated Communists, when talking to visitors about religion, usually claim that those Russians who do go to the few churches in the city do so out of curiosity – much as they would visit a museum – and not because of their devotion.

“I leave you my witness as a church servant for many years that the truth will endure,” Mr. Benson concluded. “Time is always on our side. God bless you and keep you all the days of your life. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.”

As the Secretary returned to his seat, the congregation broke into the familiar hymn, “God Be With You Till We Meet Again.” They were still singing and waving their handkerchiefs as we followed Mr. Benson out of the church. All the way along the crowded aisle, hands were outstretched to shake our hands.

On the drive to the airport one of the interpreters – a young Russian girl who has never known any life save that under Communism – said, “I felt like crying.”¹

As backdrop to this event, some 21 to 22 years previous, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics sought to eradicate the influence of religion in the country.

During these years [1937-1938] the authorities sought the “complete liquidation” (to use their own expression) of the last remaining members of the clergy. The census of January 1937 revealed that approximately 70 percent of the population, despite the pressures placed on them, still replied in the affirmative when asked “Are you a believer?” Hence Soviet leaders embarked on a third and decisive offensive against the church. In April 1937 Malenkov sent a note to Stalin suggesting that legislation concerning religious organizations was outdated, and he proposed the abrogation of the decree of 8 April 1929. “This decree,” he noted, “gave a legal basis for the most active sections of the churches and cults to create a whole organized network of individuals hostile to the Soviet regime.” He concluded: “The time has come to finish once and for all with all clerical organizations and ecclesiastical hierarchies.” Thousands of priests and nearly all the bishops were sent to camps, and this time the vast majority were executed. Of the 20,000 churches and mosques that were still active in 1936, fewer than 1,000 were still open for services at the beginning of 1941. In early 1941 the number of officially registered clerics of all religions had fallen to 5,665 (more than half of whom came from the Baltic territories, Poland, Moldavia, and western Ukraine, all of which had been incorporated in 1939-1941), from over 24,000 in 1936.²