History-making trip — Church leader in Russia
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
MOSCOW, Russia — The arrival here on Sept. 10 by President Gordon B. Hinckley fulfilled the feverish anticipation of members who grasped the historical significance of the first Church president to walk on Russian soil.
Others felt a kinship with the man who served as prophet at the time of their baptism. All seemed to sense that his visit validated their membership in the worldwide Church.
Often characterized for their robust and expressive nature, these Russian members erupted in applause as President Hinckley and his wife, Marjorie, stepped onto the stage. He acknowledged their response with a smile and a wave of his cane. Later, the congregation applauded again following President Hinckley's remarks.
"They know he extended himself to be here," said Elder Keith K. Hilbig of the Seventy and counselor in the Europe East Area presidency. "With some here who have only been members for a few months, they wanted to show their approval the best they knew how."
As he looked out over the large congregation, President Hinckley observed: "I never dreamed I could come to Moscow, Russia, and see a congregation of this kind." Nearly 1,500 members, missionaries and investigators gathered in the conference hall of the Cosmos Hotel while another 700 were assembled in overflow rooms where proceedings were broadcast.
"We are glad to be here," President Hinckley said in greeting. "You look so good."
The size of the congregation also surprised the members. One, Gatis Senkans of Regis, Latvia, was in Moscow studying law in 1992 when he met the missionaries and was baptized. He attended a branch of some 200 members. Now, 10 years later, he couldn't believe the dramatic growth of the Church. He "could hardly find a place to sit," he said. "What impressed me most about President Hinckley was the power and authority with which he spoke."
"The prophet is very handsome," said Anna Volkova, a teen from Moscow who shivered with excitement when she first saw him. Anna was scurrying down the hallway toward the conference hall, fearing she was too late for a seat, when President Hinckley suddenly walked past her through a secured area as he entered the building. She exclaimed in surprise, drawing a wave and a smile from President Hinckley as he walked by.
President Hinckley's visit drew members from across Russia. Some parents living in the city of Saratov in southern Russia didn't have bus fare to send the entire family to hear him. So they sent just their children to Moscow, sacrificing their desires with the hope that a few minutes with the president of the Church would give their children a lifetime of fond memories.
With a change of clothes in one bag and food for three days in another, they and other members in Saratov, like members across Russia, gathered at their branch meetinghouses Monday night where they set out on a 15-hour bus ride.
In his comments, President Hinckley highlighted the honest, decent, hardworking citizens that members of the Church are in Russia, and how missionaries become Russia's greatest ambassadors when they return home.
President Hinckley first visited Russia more than 20 years ago as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve at a time when there were no missionaries and no members in the country. Elder Francis M. Lyman of the Quorum of the Twelve dedicated the land in 1903.
Now 13 years since foreign missionaries were allowed into the country, Church growth has been steady and includes members in all regions of this vast and historically rich country, as well most of the other countries in the Europe East Area.
President Hinckley's visit marks a turning point in the maturing of the Church in this land from an era of infancy to one of stability and more capable leadership, said Elder Hilbig. "It has also been a wonderful opportunity for us to know these people of great faith. These are marvelous people."
E-mail: shaun@desnews.com
