A Good Day's Work

Frederiksberg Ward Chapel

Frederiksberg Ward Meetinghouse

Temple attendance this week has been wonderful, thanks to the Copenhagen Stake Presidency and High Counsel on Thursday evening and the Aarhus Stake Presidency and High Counsel on Saturday together with a couple of Relief Society groups mixed in toward the end of the week, to say nothing of the Young Adult Conference baptismal session on Saturday for 35 participants.  Coordinating such large groups in a small temple like ours is a special experience.  Normally on Thursdays I wouldn’t have enough Temple Workers to officiate for so many patrons, but this week “the Lord provided”.

Following the Temple sessions on Saturday we went to the Frederiksberg Chapel to help with the annual Frederiksberg Community “Golden Days” activity  (Norma did most of the helping).  Frederiksberg is the governmental community segment of Copenhagen where we live.  Each year they devote a weekend to what is called “Golden Days”.  The theme is different each year and this year’s theme is “beliefs”.  The community committee asked the Frederiksberg Ward if we would be interested in hosting anyone from the community who would want to visit and learn more about our beliefs.  Of course, being asked to explain our beliefs is a “dream-come-true”.

House from "The Good Old Days"

The building was divided into several presentation locals where the visitors could learn about: how we worship, what the Church is, the importance of families, why and how we do family research (genealogy), temples vs. meeting houses, the history of Mormons in Denmark, etc..  A member of the Stake Presidency (a professional scholar of religion) has just finished a book on the history of the church in Denmark, from Erastus Snow in 1850 to the present.  He gave three half hour lectures which were VERY interesting.  Wonderful refreshments were provided and reading material, including the Book of Mormon of course, were available at the exit door, and most everyone took some materials home.  There were almost two hundred visitors.  We pray that the seeds which were sown will grow quickly.  As a sideline, the church population has stayed the same for many years.  The baptisms just keep up with the deaths.  No wonder, generally, outside the Church, the Danes see themselves as too intelligent to lean on the “crutch” of religion.  Paul had something to say about that. “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  2 Timothy 3:7  This is not meant to paint a negative image of the Danes.  It’s just a part of most of them, and should be understood in order to form associations.

House from "The Good New Days"

That’s enough for now.

We love you,

Mom and Dad

Ældste og Søster Larsen