'The dawning of a new beginning'
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President Thomas S. Monson stood on the edge of a wooded hillside overlooking the Elbe River valley near Dresden, East Germany, on Aug. 27, 1995. For him, this was sacred ground. At his side was Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then of the Seventy.
Twenty years earlier, on April 27, 1975, Elder Monson had from this "sacred ground" blessed the land of East Germany, then under brutal Communist rule, for the advancement of the work of the Lord and "the dawning of a new beginning." The saints had trusted the promises given that day by an apostle of God. One by one they had been fulfilled. President Monson credits the divine intervention to the extraordinary faith of the East German people.
President Uchtdorf later pointed out to President Monson that the singular location on the hill east of the Elbe River was connected to names of a street and a building. "The street leading to the spot has the name Sonnleit which translates into guided by the sun," he noted. "The closest building to the spot is called Friedensburg, which translates into fortress or castle of peace. I know that the fulfillment of your blessing has brought healing rays of sunlight and peace to our people and another testimony that, 'Surely the Lord God will do nothing but, he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.'"
Germany had been a stronghold for the Church in the first half of the twentieth century, third in membership behind the United States and Canada. With the division of Germany after World War II, nearly 4,500 saints were cut off from the world and the Church by the Berlin Wall.
Elder Monson regularly encountered on his visits "informers in the audience, fear in the hearts of all citizens, the presence of Russian troops in full military regalia and East German police with their machine guns at their side and their Doberman dogs straining at leashes." Yet, in his 20 years of supervising the cordoned-off-country, he saw in the saints "a shining faith not diminished in its luster by worldly pursuits." These saints "lived to fulfillment the proverb, 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.' "
Edith Krause with her husband, Walter, a counselor in the Dresden mission presidency, had been present that day of dedication. She recounted the universal devotion of the East German members saying, "We tried to do what the Lord wanted us to do." When Elder Monson pronounced the blessing of dedication it was indeed "a new day" for the beleaguered people. "We could feel it," said Edith. "These were not only words ... you feel stronger and you feel thankful and you feel humble to the Lord who is so great and so dear to you."
"I remember when I first got into my hands the dedicatory prayer of this country and I wondered, 'How can these things happen?' " recalls President Uchtdorf.
At the time, a stake president in Frankfurt, Germany, President Uchtdorf carried a copy of the prayer in his notebook and over the years, checked off the promises as they came to pass — that their Father in Heaven would be with them and their posterity; that the members would serve with all their hearts; that the full program of the Church would be available to them including the establishment of wards and stakes; that the saints would receive and live worthy of their patriarchal blessings; that all the blessings of the temple would be theirs (the Freiberg Temple was dedicated in the Communist country June 29, 1985); that nonmembers would be touched in their hearts by the examples of the members; that the Holy Spirit would touch the hearts of those in government regulating the worship of the saints; that missionaries would return to the land and missionaries go out from their land to countries around the world.
Beyond anyone's expectation, a divided Germany was reunited when the Berlin Wall came down.
"I knew Germany would be reunited at one time," states President Uchtdorf. "I knew it in my heart and in my soul. But I thought it would happen during the lifetime of my grandchildren or my great grandchildren.
"Overnight it happened because of the many things President Monson did after giving the blessing."
— Heidi S. Swinton, a former member of the Relief Society general board, is author of "To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson."
