A pro-Kremlin youth organization in Russia has called for a ban on Mormons, whom it accused of pursuing questionable activities on behalf of anti-Russian interests. According to Radio Liberty, the Young Guard movement, which has been associated with the United Russia Party dominated by Russian President Vladimir Putin, says it will hold a demonstration on November 1st outside the Moscow headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), where they will present LDS representatives with a giant airplane ticket marked "Moscow-Washington" to show that Mormons and their organization should return home to where they came from. They plan similar protests outside LDS facilities in St. Petersburg, Samara, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok. The Young Guard believes that the LDS Church is a totalitarian sect whose missionaries seek to gather Russian intelligence and genealogical records.
More details of Young Guard's objections to Mormonism are published on the Russian-language website Mger2020.ru; you can cut and paste the article into Google Translate to obtain a different language. However, many of Young Guard's objections are either based on dated or false information, or are not particularly relevant.
-- They claim that polygamy and pedophilia are a widespread practice in the LDS Church, but it appears they fail to distinguish between the mainstream LDS Church and the breakaway FLDS. The mainstream LDS Church officially suspended the solemnization of plural marriages in 1890, and has never sanctioned pedophilia. FLDS President Warren Jeffs has had carnal relations with underage girls.
-- They claim that LDS missionaries have had direct contact with the U.S. military while also pointing out that a certain proportion of young Mormons returning to the United States after missionary work enter the service of the CIA and FBI. Well, so what if Mormons gravitate towards the CIA and FBI? Means absolutely nothing. This is just conspiracy theorizing by the group.
-- They also state that Brigham Young ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1857, and then threw John Lee under the bus years later as a symbolic atonement. This is patently false; in December 1859, Brigham Young wrote a letter in which he stated, in part, "Neither yourself, nor any one acquainted with me, will require my assurance that, had I been apprized of the intended onslaught at the Meadows, I should have used such efforts for its prevention as the time, distance, and my influence and facilities, would have permitted. The horrifying event transpired without my knowledge, except from after report, and the recurring thought of it ever causes a shudder in my feelings".
According to another account, Brigham Young somehow learned that the Fancher Party was in danger, and dispatched James Holt Haslam with a letter ordering that the emigrants not be harmed. However, by the time Haslam delivered Young's letter to Isaac Haight, who was the acting commander of the Iron County Brigade, the massacre had taken place. After the brief Utah War, when President James Buchanan implied that face-to-face communications with Brigham Young might have averted the Utah War, Brigham Young argued that a north-south telegraph line in Utah could have prevented the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Even though Young Russia is associated with Putin's party, President Putin himself is not known to have expressed any anti-Mormon sentiments; in fact, the LDS Church recently organized its first Russian stake in Moscow in June 2011. But on October 12th, 2012, Putin warned his fellow countrymen to be wary of the dangers posed by groups involved in totalitarian activities in Russia, explaining that such groups were now growing like mushrooms in the country. Furthermore, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Russia on grants from abroad could soon be officially branded as foreign agents; under a new bill submitted to the State Duma by deputies from the ruling United Russia party, the requirement would apply to foreign-funded NGOs deemed to be engaged in political activities.
Reaction: Elena Nechiporova, director of LDS public affairs for Eastern Europe, was quoted as saying that "the allegations that the Mormon missionaries are foreign agents is baseless", adding that "preaching the gospel is our main goal."
The LDS Church is obviously in no immediate danger, but the window of opportunity opened by Boris Yeltsin in 1993 is not exactly opening any wider.
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Local LDS Organization On Sakhalin Island In Russia Faces Administrative Sanction For Teaching English Without A License
The Russian website Fedpress (stories are in English) reports on September 16th, 2009 that the local unit of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sakhalin may face some administrative sanctions because assigned missionaries were teaching locals English without the appropriate license. Here's the short report from the website:
It is unlikely any penalty other than a fine would be imposed. But, coupled with the documentation situation in Guyana, it's a reminder that as the LDS Church continues to grow, it will continue to confront an increasingly diverse amount of rules and regulations anywhere its sets foot throughout the world.
As of the end of 2008, the LDS Church officially reports that there are 19,946 members of the Church in Russia, scattered among 129 congregations. In late May-early June 2009, President Dieter Uchtdorf and Apostle Neil Andersen visited Eastern Europe, including Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Moscow on their itinerary. They received a particularly enthusiastic welcome in Yekaterinburg.
Prosecution service of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk has completed investigation of activities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church, also known as Mormon Church, was officially registered as a religious organization in Sakhalin in 2000.
It has been running English-language classes for people by American missionaries. Although the classes have been free-of-charge, the church didn’t have proper license to run this kind of educational courses. The case has been forwarded to the magistrate court of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to decide upon the punishment for this administrative charge.
It is unlikely any penalty other than a fine would be imposed. But, coupled with the documentation situation in Guyana, it's a reminder that as the LDS Church continues to grow, it will continue to confront an increasingly diverse amount of rules and regulations anywhere its sets foot throughout the world.
As of the end of 2008, the LDS Church officially reports that there are 19,946 members of the Church in Russia, scattered among 129 congregations. In late May-early June 2009, President Dieter Uchtdorf and Apostle Neil Andersen visited Eastern Europe, including Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Moscow on their itinerary. They received a particularly enthusiastic welcome in Yekaterinburg.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Dieter F. Uchtdorf And Neil L. Andersen Of The LDS Church Visit Russia And Ukraine, Check Progress Of Kiev Temple, Encourage The Faithful
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' First Presidency (Second Counselor) and Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are visiting Eastern Europe to speak to church members in the area and to check on the progress of the Kiev Temple. Stories published by the Deseret News, KSL Channel 5, and KTVX Channel 4. KSL news video embedded below:
President Uchtdorf, accompanied by his wife Harriet, and Elder Andersen, accompanied by his wife Kathy, began their journey in Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday May 27th, then moved on to Russia's Samara on May 29th, Yekaterinburg on May 31st, and Moscow on June 1st. In Ukraine, the two leaders observed the nearly complete Kiev Ukraine Temple, the first LDS temple in Eastern Europe, where they received the traditional Ukrainian greeting of bread and salt. The temple was announced on July 20th, 1998, but not started until nearly a decade later due to bureaucratic difficulties, with ground broken on June 23rd, 2007. And the leaders were pleased with the progress. "The temple will be a blessing to Ukraine," said Elder Andersen, adding "people will join the church here by the hundreds and thousands."
Near the temple site, President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen visited Kiev's Automated Diagnostical Center, a medical clinic providing diagnostic services for the low-income and socially at-risk of the area, including victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The church has made donations to purchase advanced diagnostic equipment for the clinic in partnership with the Ukrainian government and other donors. The pair also met with full-time missionaries of the Ukraine Kiev Mission.
In Samara, the two church leaders visited local marketplaces, walked through gardens at a dacha and met with local members. But it was in Yekaterinburg where they made their greatest impact. An estimated 600 Church members, some traveling up to eight hours by car from distances of up 1,000 miles, showed up to see them (in contrast, LDS residents of South Jordan, Utah will have TWO temples within 15 minutes driving distance by August). President Uchtdorf did not disappoint; he said, "You are the gates to the future of the church. You are true pioneers in the best sense of the word, and others will follow. Generations to come will praise your name because you are not ashamed of the gospel and you did not have fear."
In Moscow, President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen visited a historic Baptist church where Ezra Taft Benson — then the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and later the LDS Church president — spoke a half-century earlier in what was then the Soviet Union. They are scheduled to leave Moscow Thursday for London on their return trip to Salt Lake City. It has not been reported whether or not they will visit with any senior Russian leaders during their visit; which would offer an opportunity to amend the onerous 90-day visa renewal requirement which has hindered the assignment of foreign LDS missionaries to Russia. The wisdom of bringing the German-born and bred Uchtdorf into the First Presidency is truly apparent now; Uchtdorf understands Europe first hand.
An LDS Church press release briefly summarizes the history of the Church in Russia. Current Church statistics show 19,946 members in Russia spread out over eight missions and 129 congregations, while in the Ukraine, there are 10,557 members spread out over three missions and 63 congregations. Read the blog of a former sister missionary in Russia for more insight.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
President Uchtdorf, accompanied by his wife Harriet, and Elder Andersen, accompanied by his wife Kathy, began their journey in Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday May 27th, then moved on to Russia's Samara on May 29th, Yekaterinburg on May 31st, and Moscow on June 1st. In Ukraine, the two leaders observed the nearly complete Kiev Ukraine Temple, the first LDS temple in Eastern Europe, where they received the traditional Ukrainian greeting of bread and salt. The temple was announced on July 20th, 1998, but not started until nearly a decade later due to bureaucratic difficulties, with ground broken on June 23rd, 2007. And the leaders were pleased with the progress. "The temple will be a blessing to Ukraine," said Elder Andersen, adding "people will join the church here by the hundreds and thousands."
Near the temple site, President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen visited Kiev's Automated Diagnostical Center, a medical clinic providing diagnostic services for the low-income and socially at-risk of the area, including victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The church has made donations to purchase advanced diagnostic equipment for the clinic in partnership with the Ukrainian government and other donors. The pair also met with full-time missionaries of the Ukraine Kiev Mission.
In Samara, the two church leaders visited local marketplaces, walked through gardens at a dacha and met with local members. But it was in Yekaterinburg where they made their greatest impact. An estimated 600 Church members, some traveling up to eight hours by car from distances of up 1,000 miles, showed up to see them (in contrast, LDS residents of South Jordan, Utah will have TWO temples within 15 minutes driving distance by August). President Uchtdorf did not disappoint; he said, "You are the gates to the future of the church. You are true pioneers in the best sense of the word, and others will follow. Generations to come will praise your name because you are not ashamed of the gospel and you did not have fear."
In Moscow, President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen visited a historic Baptist church where Ezra Taft Benson — then the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and later the LDS Church president — spoke a half-century earlier in what was then the Soviet Union. They are scheduled to leave Moscow Thursday for London on their return trip to Salt Lake City. It has not been reported whether or not they will visit with any senior Russian leaders during their visit; which would offer an opportunity to amend the onerous 90-day visa renewal requirement which has hindered the assignment of foreign LDS missionaries to Russia. The wisdom of bringing the German-born and bred Uchtdorf into the First Presidency is truly apparent now; Uchtdorf understands Europe first hand.
An LDS Church press release briefly summarizes the history of the Church in Russia. Current Church statistics show 19,946 members in Russia spread out over eight missions and 129 congregations, while in the Ukraine, there are 10,557 members spread out over three missions and 63 congregations. Read the blog of a former sister missionary in Russia for more insight.
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