A Temple in Italia
I know Conference happened a month ago but I still wanted to comment on the outstanding announcement of the Italy Temple! For those of you who don't know, I served my mission in the Italy Padova mission. Almost every conference I have been hoping and expecting to hear that the Italians would be blessed with a temple of their own. Finally, it has happened. I am so excited! I am copying the following 10 points and details from my MTC comp's blog (thanks Gallaci) to give more details on this great country and their history with the church:
"1. The first missionaries went to Italy in 1850 and among the three that went was Elder Lorenzo Snow.
2. Proselytizing ceased in the early 1860's due to opposition and a request from church leaders for Italian saints to emigrate to the United States. There were 221 members at that time.
3. The mission tried to re-open there in 1900, but legal permission was refused.
4. The story from the Church movie "How Rare a Posession" about the Italian man, Vincenzo di Francesca, finding a half-burned Book of Mormon is true. He did gain a testimony, and did get baptized in 1951.
5. In 1964 there were 229 members living in Italy.
6. 20 missionaries were granted permission to enter Italy in 1965.
7. The church was not legally recognized as a "church" by the Italian government until 1993.
8. When I served in 1996, there were about 170 missionaries in my mission. There were 4 missions in Italy.
9. When I was there, there were three stakes in the whole country. Today there are six. There were just over 14,000 members and today there are over 22,000.
10. And most importantly, the closest temple was in Bern, Switzerland. For most of Italy, that was at least a long day's train ride, just to get there.
When I entered the Mission we were given a painting that I think was done in the 1970's that portrayed Italy with churches dotting the country and it also had a Temple around the middle of the country. This was the vision of the members, to someday have a temple of their own. Many of the churches in the painting had come into existence (I served in 4 areas, 3 had church buildings of their own and in Vicenza we met in the upstairs of a hardware store) but the Temple had not been realized.
Last year, my MTC comp received an e-mail from another member who served in Italy years before. A special fast was being planned for all the members in Italy and anyone who felt compelled to join them. Many fasted that the hearts of those government officials involved might be softened, that permission might be granted to proceed with plans for a temple.
I loved my time with the Italian people! This Temple is truly a miracle for this country and for the member's there! I know that it is because of the faith of many people that hearts have been turned. I am so excited to be able to see this work move forward, it really is a marvelous work!!
"1. The first missionaries went to Italy in 1850 and among the three that went was Elder Lorenzo Snow.
2. Proselytizing ceased in the early 1860's due to opposition and a request from church leaders for Italian saints to emigrate to the United States. There were 221 members at that time.
3. The mission tried to re-open there in 1900, but legal permission was refused.
4. The story from the Church movie "How Rare a Posession" about the Italian man, Vincenzo di Francesca, finding a half-burned Book of Mormon is true. He did gain a testimony, and did get baptized in 1951.
5. In 1964 there were 229 members living in Italy.
6. 20 missionaries were granted permission to enter Italy in 1965.
7. The church was not legally recognized as a "church" by the Italian government until 1993.
8. When I served in 1996, there were about 170 missionaries in my mission. There were 4 missions in Italy.
9. When I was there, there were three stakes in the whole country. Today there are six. There were just over 14,000 members and today there are over 22,000.
10. And most importantly, the closest temple was in Bern, Switzerland. For most of Italy, that was at least a long day's train ride, just to get there.
When I entered the Mission we were given a painting that I think was done in the 1970's that portrayed Italy with churches dotting the country and it also had a Temple around the middle of the country. This was the vision of the members, to someday have a temple of their own. Many of the churches in the painting had come into existence (I served in 4 areas, 3 had church buildings of their own and in Vicenza we met in the upstairs of a hardware store) but the Temple had not been realized.
Last year, my MTC comp received an e-mail from another member who served in Italy years before. A special fast was being planned for all the members in Italy and anyone who felt compelled to join them. Many fasted that the hearts of those government officials involved might be softened, that permission might be granted to proceed with plans for a temple.
I loved my time with the Italian people! This Temple is truly a miracle for this country and for the member's there! I know that it is because of the faith of many people that hearts have been turned. I am so excited to be able to see this work move forward, it really is a marvelous work!!
so, I feel pretty honored that you copied my post! Sure is exciting... now comes the saving of money and planning for a fabulous vacation to Italia in about 3 years, right? :)
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! How your family has grown. Your children are beautiful, and you look great! Sounds like life is crazy busy for you too.
ReplyDeleteKeep in touch!
Mjika
I think the announcement of new temples will always be exciting news to me. How wonderful to be getting one in Italy.
ReplyDelete