M E R I D I A N     M A G A Z I N E

What President Hinckley Told the Russian Saints
Moscow, Russia
September 10, 2002

I never dreamed that I could come to Moscow, Russia and see a congregation of this kind with this hall filled…

My dear friends, my brothers and sisters, how wonderful it is to be with you to look into your faces and speak with you. You look wonderful to me. I never dreamed that I could come to Moscow, Russia and see a congregation of this kind with this hall filled and those in the other rooms in the building.

May I thank you for your presence. Many of you have traveled long distances to get here, and we’re grateful for the effort that you have made. I’m so thankful to be with you. It’s just been a wonderful day to be here in this great city, this great and ancient city, where so much has occurred in history. I’m just happy to be here.

I want to invite my wife to come to the stand here for a minute. This is my babushka. [everyone laughs]. We’re both getting old. She’s nearly ninety-one, and I’m ninety-two. She’s the mother of five children, a grandmother of 25 children, a great grandmother of 35 great grandchildren, and the end is not yet. Well, I just want you to take a look at this dear, elderly lady to whom I’ve been married for 65 years. We’ve had a good marriage, and we hope that it will go on. We have our daughter with us, our youngest daughter. She came along to take care of her mother, and her mother came along to take care of me.

I want to say a few words to these young people first. There are many, many young people here. You are the future of this church in this land. You are the pioneers, you boys and girls. We count on you so much to live the gospel, be the kind of people that you ought to be, clean in your lives, strong in your faith, acquiring all the education that you can, serving the Lord in every way.

You young men ought to prepare yourselves to go on missions. The Church will help you if you will try to do so. It will do something wonderful for you. It will not be easy. It will be difficult. It will be hard, but it will be wonderful.

As a young man I served a mission, and I think those two years had greater effect upon my life than any other two years of my life, and so, I urge you, prepare yourselves; live the kind of life you ought to live. We live in a world where there are all kinds of evil around us. It’s on television. It’s in the magazines. It’s everywhere. Rise above it. Stand tall and clean. Be Latter-day Saints in a very real way.

When the time for marriage comes, marry a girl who’s a member of the Church. You’ll be happier if you do so. There will not be conflict in your home. You will have the same understanding of things and your lives will be filled with happiness. God bless you my dear young friends. You have a marvelous future ahead of you, a wonderful future. Now is the time to prepare for it. It will not be a sacrifice. It is never a sacrifice when you get back more than you give, and when you serve a mission, you invariably get back more than you give. Your lives will be improved. You will learn many, many things, and you will become men of faith and men strong in leadership and men of great capacity.

Now I’d like to take a text from the scriptures from which I’d like to speak for a few minutes. I go to St. John, the 20th chapter, to the 25th verse. Jesus, following his resurrection, returned to the apostles and Thomas was not there. Therefore, the apostles said unto him, “We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days, again the disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.”

Be not faithless, but believing. My brothers and sisters that’s what I am going to talk about for a few minutes. Believe in God. Believe in God, the Eternal Father. He is the great governor of the universe, but he is our Father and our God to whom we may go in prayer. We are his sons and daughters. Have you ever really thought that you are a child of God and that you have something of divinity within you? Believe in God and be not faithless. Work with him in spirit and in truth. Believe in him. Read his words and follow his teachings.

Believe in Jesus Christ of whom these brethren have spoken this evening. He is the Son of God who came to earth, who left the royal courts on high and came and dwelt among men and gave his life for each of us, for you and for me. And it is through him that we approach the Father. Be not faithless, but believing in the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer of the world.

Believe in the prophet Joseph. It was to him that they came, both the Father and the Son in a vision that was incomparable and beautiful. After centuries of time the curtains were parted, and they spoke to him, and he spoke to them, and he knew after that who they were, and their form, and their substance

Believe in the Book of Mormon, this precious volume which contains a testimony of Him. I cannot understand why the world will not accept the Book of Mormon. It has come forth as a witness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and I would think that everyone who believed in Jesus Christ would accept this second witness of his divinity and his reality.

Believe in the priesthood of God which has come again to the earth under the hands of those who held it anciently. And the keys of that priesthood which are exercised in the temple of God binds together a family not only for this life but for all eternity.

I was at the dedication of the London temple years ago, and thousands of people came and went through that temple before its dedication, and I went over to help the missionaries at that time, and there came out of the temple one evening a young man and his wife, and I stepped up and said, “Can I help you? Do you have any questions about what you saw in that sacred building?”

And the young woman said, “What is this business of marriage for eternity? In one of those rooms it spoke of marriage for eternity. What do you mean by that?”

I said, “I suppose you believe in eternal life, that you believe that after you die you will go on living?” and she said, “Yes, of course.”

I said, “Can you believe in eternal life without the companionship of this young man whose hand you hold?” She said, “No.”

I said, “I suppose you were married by the vicar, and he ended that marriage ceremony with these words, ‘’til death do ye part.’ Do you realize that when he married you, he also pronounced your divorce?”

And she said, “What do you mean?”

I said, “He said, ‘’til death do ye part.’ That’s as far his authority went. Now when Jesus was on the earth, he laid his hands upon the twelve apostles and said to them, “I will give unto you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” That same authority, which he gave to them has been restored by them in this dispensation, and when the young men and the young women kneel at the altar in that temple, they will be married not only for time, not only for this life, but for all eternity.” And they very soberly stood there, finally walked off, thinking of what I had said to them.

Be not faithless, but believing in the power of the everlasting priesthood, my dear brothers and sisters. Be not faithless, but believing in your capacity to do something great and good in each and every responsibility that comes to you in this Church. This is a Church of lay leadership. All your congregations are presided over by a Russian brother who serves without compensation in the great service which he gives, and when a man has served as branch president for five years, he may be released and another man called in his place. But during those five years, he will have learned wonderful things, principles of leadership which will make it possible for him in his daily life to improve himself, to be of greater worth to his employer. It is a difficult thing to be a branch president as I said concerning serving a mission. It is not a sacrifice to serve. It is an investment, because of the growth that comes to a man.

Be not faithless, but believing in your capacity as a parent. You have no greater responsibility in this world than to be a father or mother, a parent who brings into the world children, to rear them in righteousness and truth. When life is over and you look back, you will not take any money with you. The only thing that will give you satisfaction is what you see in the lives of your children, and you will have an understanding that comes of the gospel that these children are also our Father in Heaven’s children, and that you have been given responsibilities for their rearing. Rear them in love. You don’t have to beat children. You just rear them in love, and they will be grateful to you all the days of their lives.

And now by brothers and sisters, that’s my message to you this night. Be not faithless but believing in the great principles of the gospel. Believe in your capacity to reach out to help others, to be a good neighbor, to be a good friend, to be a good companion, to be a good citizen of the nation and live a life that contributes to the blessing and good of all mankind.

Now my dear brothers and sisters, live the gospel. Live the Word of Wisdom. Pay your tithing. You may say, ‘I can’t afford to pay tithing.’ I’d like to say that you cannot afford not to pay tithing. The Lord has made a wonderful promise, found in the Bible in the book of Malachi to those who pay their tithes. Unto those He will open the windows of heaven and pour down blessings that there shall not be room to contain them. Take the Lord at his word. The Church will go on whether you pay your tithing or not. It is sustained in this part of the world by funds that come from the United States for the most part. Your tithing may be ever so small, but you take the Lord at his word and pay your tithes and offerings, and God will bless you.

A Prophet’s Blessing: I leave a blessing upon you that as you will walk in faith and faithfulness, there will be food on your tables, and clothing on your backs, and a shelter over your heads. There will be peace in your homes and peace in the land, and for this I pray.

Now my brothers and sisters, I cannot speak much longer. I have about lost my voice, but I want to tell you that I love you. I mean that. You are my friends. You are my brothers and sisters. I know that you pray for us, and I thank you for your kindness. I want you to know that we pray for you, and God will bless you. And I leave a blessing upon you that as you will walk in faith and faithfulness, there will be food on your tables, and clothing on your backs, and a shelter over your heads. There will be peace in your homes and peace in the land, and for this I pray. Now brothers and sisters, I thank you for coming tonight. Thank you for the opportunity to meet you.

I want to express my appreciation to the government officials and others who are with us and thank them for coming. Say to them that you people are good people. You are good citizens of Russia. The gospel teaches you to be good citizens of Russia, and you are better people because you have embraced the gospel. May heaven’s blessings rest upon you is my humble prayer as I leave my love and my blessing with you, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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‘Til We Meet Again

Since it was impossible for President Hinckley to shake everyone’s hand, the Russian Saints had all been instructed to bring white handkerchiefs to wave goodbye to the prophet as he left. As the meeting ended, they burst into singing “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again.” They waved handkerchiefs at him, and he in turn waved back at them, while tears coursed down many faces.

President Hinckley went to the overflow rooms to wave at the Saints who had been viewing his talk on a screen.

President Hinckley continued waving at the crowd, sometimes stopping to talk to little children.

Well-wishers line the way President Hinckley will walk, waving. It was a poignant scene for those who had waited so long for him to come.

“I loff you, President Hinckley,” shouted the woman in blue, “I loff you very, very much,” throwing kisses and clapping.

The prophet’s last moments with the eager Saints in Moscow. He is visible in the back seat of the car as the crowd presses forward for a last, fond farewell.

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