We continue to visit as many wards and branches as possible
throughout France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland.
We document their histories in
this website we created.
This month we had the privilege of visiting many
in the southwest part of France.
Perigeuex Branch has one of the most beautiful chapels,
and the branch remembers when
Elder Neil Anderson was a young missionary there
and also visited while Mission President in 1989-1992.
In a suburb of Bordeaux, the Talence Ward is home of
the first chapel built by the church in France.
Jonathan even remembered it from his mission 50 years ago.
This sign from an inner wall in the chapel says:
On 12 December 1965, Apostle Howard W. Hunter
started here in Talence the first church of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
built in France.
It was dedicated 26 March 1967 by
Theodore M. Burton, assistant to the Quorum of the 12 Apostles.
We were hosted there by STLs Sisters Weber and Campbell,
and ZLs Elders Wright and Maa
Not far from Talence,
Elders Berrett and Beadner showed off the Eysines Ward,
the newest chapel in France.
Elder and Sister Farrell finished their mission
in the Mont de Marsan Branch
Elder and Sister Oakeson are leaders
in the Montauban Branch.
Sisters Bessert and Vanderwel welcomed us to the lovely Bayonne Ward,
not far from the spectacular waterfront at Biarritz.
Elders Delbecq and Cowden are in Clermont-Ferrand.
Elder Delbecq is from Mt Pleasant, Utah
and knows Jonathan's cousin there.
We loved the Clermont-Ferrand chapel.
Here are some recent places we liked:
Place de la Loi in Versailles, a monument to the Great War (WWI)
650-year-old Astronomical Clock in Lyon
at the Cathedral de Saint Jean,
indicates the time, date, holidays,
and position of the moon, sun, stars and Earth,
plus rotating figures of angels, Virgin Mary,
animals, saints and Swiss guards.
Fountain near our apartment in Lyon
Monument to those who died in WWII,
in Parc du Tete d'Or in Lyon
Elder Neville and other senior missionaries
at the mission leaders' home.
Church History Moments
One man in the Mont de Marsan branch told his conversion story. He had once had a near-death experience where the doctors thought he would die but he heard a voice telling him "it's not your time yet, you will live." Many years later, a Latter-day Saint friend invited him to church but he told his friend he was not interested in religion, because he was an atheist. His friend insisted and kept repeating the invitation so he finally went with him to church, still feeling completely uninterested. When he looked at the priests blessing the sacrament he heard a voice distinctly saying "this is your place." It startled him because he recognized the voice as the same one he had heard years ago. He was so amazed by hearing that voice, that he listened to the missionaries and later was baptized. He always loved to bless the sacrament when he attended church.
His wife also was taught by the missionaries and loved the church but hesitated about baptism because she had an intense phobia and fear of water. Finally she agreed to be baptized, but didn't know how she would handle the fear of water. When she approached the baptismal font she was surprised to find the fear had completely left and she entered the water in peace. Later she went to the temple and was also able to do baptisms for the dead without fear.
A woman in the Lormont ward told us she would never have listened to the missionaries if they had not come in an unusual way. She was very active in her local Catholic church and agreed to teach catechism classes but asked the priest to help prepare her for the classes. He came to her house once but said he couldn't come any more, so he would send someone else to help her, from the nearby monastery where retired Catholic missionaries lived.
Shortly thereafter two young Latter-day Saint elders knocked on her door, and she invited them in, thinking they were sent from the monastery. She thought it was odd that they were young, when she expected older retired men, but she enjoyed their lessons. They came for three weeks before she learned they were not Catholics. She gained a testimony of the restored gospel and decided to be baptized. Her husband said he would wait and see her experience before deciding about baptism. In a short time he said she had changed so much, he wanted to be baptized too. They raised their large family in the church and several children served missions. Her children also raised their families in the church and at one time seven grandchildren were serving as missionaries at the same time.
To read other posts in our Mission Blog,
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.
