Friday, April 9, 2021

Thomas S. Monson's Personal Revelation in November 1968 Concerning the then-future Temple in East Germany

 

 

Sunday, November 10, 1968

 

Met this morning with the German Saints in the Dresden District—my first meeting with the Saints in the German Democratic Republic. A marvelous spirit prevailed. My, how the German Saints can sing the hymns of Zion! One of the songs was especially beautiful and so meaningful when one considers the humble circumstances of these wonderful people . . . I was touched by the sincerity of these wonderful Saints. I was humbled by their poverty. They have so little. My heart filled with sorrow because they have no patriarch, they have no wards or stakes—just branches, they have few teaching materials. They cannot receive temple blessings, neither endowments nor sealings. They are forbidden to leave their country. Yet they trust in the Lord with all their hearts and lean not unto their own understanding.

 

I stook at the pulpit with tear-filled eyes and a voice choked with emotion and made a promise to the people: “If you will remain true and faithful to the commandments of God, every blessing any member of the Church enjoys in any other country will be yours.” Although this was a dramatic promise, I believe it was inspired by our Heavenly Father and will be fulfilled under His direction as the Saints in the German Democratic Republic continue to demonstrate their faith. (Faith Rewarded: A Personal Account of Prophetic Promises to the East German Saints—From the Journal of Thomas S. Monson [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996], 4, 5)