Marvelous work in Spain, Portugal
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In an address to members gathered May 21 in stake conferences throughout Spain and Portugal, President Gordon B. Hinckley reminisced about the growth of the Church worldwide and, in particular, in these two western European nations.
Joining President Hinckley in addressing members via a satellite broadcast that originated in Salt Lake City were Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve; Elder
Gary J. Coleman of the Seventy; Sister Julie B. Beck, first counselor in the General Young Women Presidency; and Brother Dean R. Burgess, first counselor in the General Young Men Presidency.
President Hinckley said that he first visited this part of Europe in 1955 as he and his wife, Marjorie, stopped in Italy, Spain and Portugal as they returned home after the dedication of the Swiss Temple.
"On that occasion we did not find a single member of the Church in any one of these three great nations," President Hinckley said. "Spain was still suffering from the effects of its terrible civil war."
He spoke of missionary work, which began in Spain in 1969 when four missionaries, among whom was one of his sons, Clark, were sent from Argentina to open the work there.
"That effort marked the beginning of 'a marvelous work and a wonder' in this part of the world," President Hinckley said. "From that time the work has grown in a most miraculous and wonderful manner. We now have 15 great stakes of Zion in these two nations. We have beautiful buildings and strong leaders. We have a magnificent temple in Madrid. We have seminaries and institutes, and all that the Church has to offer its people anywhere in the world.
"I have been among you a number of times," he said, adding that he has had an audience with the king and queen of Spain on two occasions at their residence in Madrid. "I was there to find a temple site and later to dedicate the temple. Now we are anxiously awaiting the promised official recognition of the Church in Spain."
President Hinckley was the first president of the Church to visit Spain. He went to break ground for the Madrid Temple on June 11, 1996; he returned March 19-21,1999, to dedicate the Madrid Spain Temple.
During the satellite broadcast, President Hinckley addressed a number of topics, including the Divinity of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, the restoration of the gospel, the principle of tithing, the purpose of temples and the power of the priesthood.
President Hinckley spoke with respect and love for the Prophet Joseph Smith, "the founding prophet of this work," and bore his testimony.
Elder Hales outlined the history of the Church in Spain and Portugal, having been an eye witness to much of those beginnings. He said that about 40 years ago, he and his family were living in Seville, Spain, when the Spanish Liberty Law was passed allowing the Church to be recognized. The first branch was established in Madrid in 1968, with some 40 people attending, including Spanish wives of American servicemen and other Spanish-speaking members and investigators.
The first mission in Spain was organized in 1970. By 1974, the membership had grown to 619 members. The first stake was organized in Madrid in 1982, followed by a stake in Barcelona later that same year, and a stake in Seville in 1988.
"Establishing the Church in Portugal has a similar history as that of Spain. In 1974, David M. Kennedy, ambassador at large for the Church, went to Portugal to determine if missionaries could be sent there. Portuguese government officials gave their permission within an hour, and the first mission was established in the same year," Elder Hales said.
"In 1979, when I became the Executive Administrator of Europe and the Church was growing with over 1,000 members in Portugal, we expanded the missionary efforts from Lisbon to Porto. In 1981, the first stake was organized in Lisbon.
"Today, from those beginnings, there are nearly 80,000 members in Spain and Portugal with nine stakes in Spain and six stakes in Portugal, all participating in this satellite broadcast today.
"Many of you are pioneers in Spain and Portugal, coming out of the world and going through the gate of baptism into the kingdom of God. May I express our appreciation for your devotion and faithfulness to serve in Church callings to build and strengthen each other. Let your light so shine as to be a beacon among the people of the nations of Spain and Portugal."
Delivering his address in Spanish, Elder Coleman of the Seventy spoke of the four corners of the Church:
1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the only way to salvation.
2. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and Joseph was a prophet of God.
3. The priesthood is God's authority to perform His ordinances and obtain salvation.
4. The Book of Mormon is another witness of the divinity of Christ and further evidence of the works of God.
Elder Coleman then spoke of President Hinckley's challenge last year to read the Book of Mormon. "I am a convert to this Church and the power of the Book of Mormon changed my life. Forty-three years ago I was able to read this special book and receive a testimony of its truthfulness, and I was not a member of the Church at that time," he said.
Elder Coleman also spoke of the blessings that can be found by receiving a patriarchal blessing and learning of one's divine inheritance.
"This is the Church with the power and authority of God to receive those sacred ordinances that gives us the right to dwell in God's kingdom with the Father, His Son and our families for eternity."
Delivering her address in Portuguese, Sister Beck, who lived in Brazil as a girl and learned of the history of Portugal in school, said that her family began to be closely connected in 1973 with the history of the Church in Portugal and Spain.
"When President Spencer W. Kimball was sustained as the president of the Church in 1973 he gave a prophetic message to the General Authorities. He said that the Lord was going to work a miracle in opening the doors of more nations in the world for the preaching of the gospel. The first country to open doors after that message was Portugal."
In November of that year, her father, William Grant Bangerter, was called to serve as the first mission president in Portugal. (Elder Bangerter later served as a member of the Seventy and in the Presidency of the Seventy.) Three of her brothers served as missionaries in Portugal, one served in Spain and another served as a counselor in the first stake presidency in Portugal.
"I have heard many stories about the faith of the members in Portugal and Spain," Sister Beck said. "My family was in Sintra the day President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the country of Portugal for the preaching of the gospel. It was an historic day in April 1974. I have read the account of that day and also the prayer that was given by President Monson, and it is a prophetic prayer. I know that the prayer to dedicate the country of Spain was also inspired."
Also speaking in Portuguese, Brother Burgess quoted Doctrine and Covenants 4:2-3, and said, "I have always thought about this sentence: 'If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.' "
He quoted Alma's teaching about the "desire of our heart" at the waters of Mormon, while teaching the baptismal covenants (see Mosiah 18:10-11). "The desire to serve God comes from a feeling deep-rooted in our heart when we begin to truly understand our baptismal covenants," Brother Burgess said. "The desire to serve God is the desire to bless the lives of other people. When we have this desire to serve God within us we start a wonderful life of altruism, of help and service to the children of our Heavenly Father."
Further, Brother Burgess said, "Our desire to serve also increases when we are obedient to the calling to serve. . . . In searching for opportunities to serve our brothers and sisters we show that we 'are willing to bear one another's burdens.' Our desire to serve others qualifies us to being true disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ."
