A Day in Provence
This week we had to visit southern France
is one of the oldest in France.
with one of the pioneers of the Cannes Ward.
the small village of Salles La Source.
where Vincent Van Gogh created many of his famous works of art.
CHURCH HISTORY MOMENTS
As I study the history of the church in France, I am impressed with amazing women and men who are making a remarkable difference in the world. Here are two examples of women with very different lives but with testimonies of the same gospel:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Annie was studying to be an engineer when she met her future husband, Gerard Giraud-Carrier. After they were married, the young couple joined the church. Later, she had a successful engineering career, two small children, and a nanny, when she heard the counsel of a prophet that when possible a mother should stay home with her children. At that point she made up her mind that she needed to quit her job.
Annie never regretted that decision, and over the years her seven
children loved having a mother at home with them. One day her daughter was
worried, saying “my friends’ mothers all go to work but maybe you don’t know
how to do anything, because you stay home.” The daughter was reassured to hear
that her mother did have a profession, but considered her children to be more
important.
Annie served in many branch, ward, and stake callings, and
also supported her husband Gerard in his callings as president of the first
stake in France, mission president in Reunion and Madagascar, stake patriarch,
and first president of the Paris Temple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, in another part of the world, Lilian Dinge grew up in poverty in Surinam (formerly Dutch Guiana). She learned to read and write, even though that was rare in her country. As customary in her village, she married at the age of 14, and her husband Leo left to work in French Guyana. A few years later Leo met LDS missionaries and invited them to meet Lilian. She knew immediately they were men of God, and soon wanted to be baptized. Then her life got complicated because although she and Leo already had seven children, their marriage had been according to village tradition, rather than an official legal marriage. Leo was not willing to do what was necessary to be legally married, so she was not allowed to be baptized.
After many prayers about what to do, Lilian decided her only choice
to make a better life for her children was to move to another country without
Leo, so she could join the church. She started a small food business out of her
home, and started saving money. In one year, with about $3000 saved up, she
told Leo she was taking the children on a little trip, and she left for France
without him. There she quickly sought out the church and was baptized. A few
years later, Leo joined her in France but she did not allow him back with the family until he married her legally and got baptized. Lilian’s ten children honored
her for sharing her testimony, being their role model, and raising them to be
strong members of the church.
Ulrich-Bichierri, O. and Euvrard, C. (2023). « Vous êtes les femmes qu’il a vues ! » Portraits de femmes de l’Église de Jésus-Christ des Saints des Derniers Jours en Europe francophone. (
Chapter 16 Annie Giraud-Carrier
Chapter 17 Lilian Dinge
click on the arrow or 3 lines to the left of NEVILLES IN FRANCE
then click on ARCHIVE to see a list of all posts.
