When in Czech : Karelštejn -- 24.7.16

Hello and Good Evening!

SHOUTOUTS:

Welcome home Elder Nilson! Glad to see that you arrived safe and sound. :)

Happy Pioneer day to Utah! It's pretty cool, because Karelstejn shares the same day.

Last week of July... Soak it all up!

Sydney Comer! I am so proud of you! Congratulations on the engagement!

CBUD CHARMS:

---> CBud is known to be one of the flattest cities. So.. EVERYONE is on bikes here.

They LOVE their bikes. Even the grannies. haha It's awesome!

---> Čsad is the name of the local public transportation

---> Sestra Hill and I witnessed a dog getting ran over while trakting. hahah Trakting NIGHTMARE. Mostly because the dog belonged to the person we were speaking with.

B.O.M. INSIGHT:

I was studying in 2 Nefi 2 today and found these verses.

17 And I, Lehi, according to the things which I have read, must needs suppose that an angel of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven; wherefore, he became a devil, having sought that which was evil before God.

18 And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind.

29 And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down tohell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.

To me it was interesting the part concerning the adversary's kingdom and his goal to reign over us. The Earth is known to be the kingdom of the adversary. And the Natural man in us wants to dwell there with him. But our spirits have a greater desire to dwell with God and Christ.God has given us safe havens here on Earth where our spirits can find peace from the storm. Our homes, and the temple. How important it is for us to strive to create a place within our homes where the spirit can dwell, and be worthy to hold a current temple recommend so that we may remain strong and well to fight off the natural man and temptations of he who is the most sad of all.

KARELSTEJN:

So this week the email is going to be a little more on the informational side.

The next bit is from the Novy Hlas, the letter Prezident Pohoricky sends to us weekly. The first part was prior to Karelstejn and the second part after.

Enjoy the history. :)

PART 1:

This week commemorates an important historic event for the Czech/Slovak mission.

On July 24th 1929 Elder John A. Widstoe from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the former President of the European mission, dedicated the land for the proclaiming of the Gospel. The Dedication took place on Priests Hill at Karlštejn . On that same day the church also organized the Czechoslovakia mission. At that time seven members lived in the country. The church had embedded roots in Czechoslovakia but he coming of World War II changed everything. Normal missionary work was interrupted as the country was occupied by the German army and missionaries were evacuated. In the year 1946 missionaries returned to Czechoslovakia, but the communists taking power in the year 1948 again halted official missionary work in this country. Public church activities were banned on April 6th 1950. For more than 40 years members of the church maintained their faith in silence, without being able to publicly profess or even have regular contact with the church beyond the borders of Czechoslovakia. The church was again officially recognized on February 22nd 1990 and in May of 1990 missionaries again returned to Czechoslovakia. In that time there were 345 members in Czechoslovakia.

Today, in the Czech/Slovak mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has almost 2,700 members. We can see that the lord never forgets his children, he sends messengers who proclaim his truth at all times. At this time you are those messengers, and you bring hope to those who still have not had the opportunity to here this message. They are many, and through the Spirit you can recognize them and bring into their lives happiness and meaning. When other people around us decide how they react about what we believe, we cannot forget that moral free agency is an essential part of Gods plan for all of his children. When they reject your message, don’t be sad, let us just do our work and fulfill our calling.

When every one of you decided to go on a mission you said to Heavenly Father the same sentence as Jesus Christ said. “Here I am, send me” and now you are here to be the light for those who need to come out of darkness. We are, with President Pohořelický grateful and we very much

appreciate your decision to work on the lord’s errand.

PART 2:

This past weekend, missionaries and members gathered at the site where Elder John A. Widstoe of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles offered the July 24, 1929 dedicatory prayer of what was then Czechoslovakia. The dedication site is on Priest Hill, near the Karlstejn Castle. It is a small, beautiful, hidden spot where members and missionaries have gathered for many, many years. Elder Widstoe described the spot as a natural temple. For all those who attended this weekend's festivities, being at the monument site very much felt like being in the temple.

MY TESTIMONY:

I had the sacred opportunity to share my own personal testimony as we were gathered together, almost 80 on the Czech side of the mission. I was overwhelmed by the spirit with gratitude and love. I am beyond blessed to be a part of the work here. I know that the Czech pioneers, like John A. Widstoe are right along side us moving the work forward. I love the Czech people. Sometimes I believe that they have served me more than I have actually served them.

It is my hope and my prayer that we can all find a way to be pioneers in our own lives. We must all take part in paving the way for those to follow in us! Let us be diligent unto the end!

My love and prayers are with you always.

S laskou,

Sestra Fred 🌻

The Dedication site on Priest Hill