The Book of Ruth, part II

  The Book of Ruth, Escape from East Germany                                               

Adelia, Emily Stevier, Walburger, Helmut age10

Part IIThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had steadily grown in Germany since Jakob Zundel converted to the church in 1836.  He was an immigrant to the United States where he joined the Church. He later returned to his homeland, taught the gospel and from then on, the Church had a foothold in Germany. Church members met with firm resistance from both the religious (Catholics and Lutherans) and secular authorities. This attitude remained until the demise of the German monarchy after WWI in 1918.  Even with many obstacles the membership of the Church continued to grow.       ‎1901; A schoolteacher, Karl G. Maeser, living in Dresden obtained a missionary tract‎‎ and wrote ‎‎to church mission headquarters in‎‎ Copenhagen for more information.‎‎ ‎‎ He was referred to Mission President Daniel Tyler in Switzerland. President Tyler who was well acquainted with the persecution of the Church by German authorities did not respond as he suspected the letter was a trap. ‎‎ ‎‎However, President Tyler became convinced of Maeser’s sincerity after he received several more letters. Tyler sent a missionary posing as an American student to reside with Maeser and teach him the doctrines of the church. ‎‎ ‎‎Maeser, along with other members of his family soon were converted. Eventually Maeser became the Mission President in Germany and with his understanding of the language, culture and society, the membership doubled, and two branches were formed.‎

This increased presence of missionaries may have caused German officials to increase their resolve against the Church so that by 1906 the government decreed Church teachings were subversive to morality and ordered the Church to withdraw all missionaries.  Many stalwart missionaries remained in their area and an arrest to a missionary serving in Germany grew to be a rite of passage.

It was a good thing for our family that missionaries continued to proselyte in Germany. One spring afternoon in 1932 my grandmother heard a knock on the door. This was her introduction to the Gospel, and I loved to hear her tell this story, “It was an unusually warm day, and I was not expecting a visitor. I almost did not send Adela to open the door. I could see, two young men in white shirts and ties. They looked so hot and their shirts were wet with sweat. I called to them. Please come inside for a drink, and once inside they spoke of Jesus Christ, and God the Father. Before they left, they had given me a lesson and a Book of Mormon. I knew that all they told me was the truth and after reading the Book of Mormon and a few more visits, I asked to be baptized.”

Mother rode to church meetings in a wheelbarrow. We must have been a sight with Adela, or Papa pushing mother in the wheelbarrow and the rest of us trailing behind, like baby ducks as we went through the streets. When I was little, I loved to sit with my family at church, my sisters, Adela 14 and Burga 11, would play games or hold me, so I could take a nap. Mommy loved Sundays the best when she could visit with friends and learn more of the Gospel. Church was a big part of my growing up. It was the constant that made up for other things that were difficult, like moving from town to town for Papa’s job, or the pressure of making new friends whenever we went to a different place.

Papa didn’t join the church when my mother and sisters did. But he went to church with us each week. He gave prayers in church and even gave sacrament talks. He said, “I know the church is true, but I am a weak man and cannot give up my pipe. It is one of my few pleasures.”

My sisters and I loved Sunday School and Primary. I learned about Jesus Christ and the Gospel from my teachers and grandmother. Church softened our frequent moving because although school friends changed, often church friends were the same. We frequently had missionaries to our home for dinner and I thought each missionary was the most handsome young man I had ever seen. It was a surprise when later I learned that many of the missionaries were older and married. All missionaries, in those days, were from Germany and called to work in an area away from their home. I do not ever remember attending church in a regular church building or meeting house in East Germany. We met in various homes or rented spaces, with 12 to 20 attending. We sat on folding chairs, and the children usually sat on the floor. We changed the location for Sunday meetings frequently. We did not know the location of the Sacrament meeting until Friday or Saturday. Sometimes it was like a treasure hunt to find the site. If someone was missing, we would wait to start the meeting and try to find out if they were lost. To help a person or family who could be looking for the meeting or going down the wrong road we would whistle as loud as we could, “Do What is Right,” and wait for an echo of the tune. Then we would continue to whistle to help them until we could tell they were near by. This was like ringing a church bell to invite all to join our little congregation. That’s how I learned to whistle and that was the way our Sundays went. We were a few happy members, worshiping and learning and loving the Lord.  Looking back, I now realize that changing church meeting places was a way to avoid having neighbors report us and kept our church group from being detected.