Within a couple of hours after they arrived in Dresden Aug. 26, President Thomas S. Monson of the First Presidency and his wife, Frances, were out visiting sites of significance to the Church in the former German Democratic Republic.

President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, showed interest in two sites in particular. The first was the grave of a missionary, Elder Joseph A. Ott, who died on Jan. 10, 1896, shortly after he arrived in Dresden. The second site President and Sister Monson visited was a hillside overlooking Dresden where he, on April 27, 1975, offered a dedicatory prayer on the German Democratic Republic (DDR).At Elder Ott's grave in St. Paul cemetery, President and Sister Monson stood in light rain, speaking in soft tones with Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf and his wife, Harriet. With them were Dresden Stake Pres. Siegfried Sacher and Frank Apel, former president of the Dresden stake.

The tombstone marking Elder Ott's grave recently had been removed to be cleaned and had gold leafing applied to the inscription. The replaced tombstone, a near-white stone obelisk, is distinctive in the cemetery where most markers are of darker stone.

At the grave, President Monson talked of the first time he visited the site. Noticing how well-kept it was, he had asked about who cared for it. It was then that he learned of Tobias Burkhardt who, as a young deacon, decided to care for the missionary's grave as a service project. Tobias, who thought he would never get to go on a full-time mission, was among the first group of young members who were given permission in 1989 to leave the DDR to serve missions in other countries.

On the hillside overlooking Dresden, President Monson spoke with the small group about the occasion when he offered the prayer of dedication upon the German Democratic Republic 20 years ago. "It was a cold, rainy day," he said. "I felt impressed that I should offer a dedicatory prayer, realizing that as the DDR had become a new nation with the division of Germany at the end of World War II it had never been formally dedicated."

On that occasion in 1975, President Monson and some other Church members went to the hillside. When he revisited the site on Aug. 26, he said, "As I said the words, `May this be the dawning of a new day for the Church in this land,' we heard a rooster crow in the valley below. A church bell began to chime. Then I felt warmth on my hands and face. After I finished the prayer, I opened my eyes and saw that the clouds had parted and a ray of sunshine was streaming down on the spot where we were standing. Before we could return to our automobile, the clouds had gathered and it began to rain again."

As President Monson spoke, Brother Apel and Gunther Schultze, a long-time member and local Church leader, who had joined the group, wiped tears from their eyes as Elder Uchtdorf translated President Monson's comments into German for them.

After spending about half an hour with the group on the hillside, President Monson asked to be left alone for a few minutes to look over the site and to contemplate the significance of all that has transpired in the former DDR in the past 20 years since he offered the prayer of dedication over the land.