Church History in France
With the recent announced temple in Paris, France, I thought it'd be interesting to do a little research and post about the LDS Church History in France. Having served there myself, this announced temple meant a lot to me. I remember nights on my knees petitioning the Lord to help the people of this country be able to receive the temple blessings. I remember when the thought of assisting to help others receive the temple blessings I so enjoyed was the only thing keeping me going. I remember the passion I felt for my personal goal of bringing families in to the church and helping them receive the blessings of an eternal family.In 1845 an unnamed Scottish elder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints went to France, reportedly made two converts, and stated that if the gospel were “preached in the language of the country … thousands [would] embrace it. …”. How right he was!
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| Map of France, note location of temple near Versailles, and cities I served in (white) |
The first mention of France in the history of the Church is a report of a council meeting held at Nauvoo, Illinois, 6 May 1844, when it was voted to send Almon W. Babbit (an "on-and-off-again" early Church leader) there on a mission. For reasons unknown, Babbitt never fulfilled the assignment.
In a general conference of the British Mission held in Manchester, England on 14 August 1848, it was resolved that William Howells of Wales would be sent to France and Brittany to preach the gospel. He was the first LDS missionary in France. Prior to his conversion to Mormonism, Howells had served for the Baptists as a missionary in Brittany (a region in Northern France), though he did not speak Breton, and his French was very limited. Nevertheless, the fact that he had had this experience and his great missionary zeal resulted in a call to return to Brittany, this time as a Mormon missionary. Within six months following his conversion, the thirty-two-year-old Howells was asked to prepare to serve, the call made official on 14 August 1848. The French Mission was organized on 18 June 1849, and a month later, Howells arrived in Le Havre, France with a bag full of pamphlets in English and French. He experienced some frustration, but on 30 July 1849, baptized Augustus Saint d'Anna, a "single, intelligent young man." of foreign birth. A month later Howells traveled to St. Malo, where, later that same year, he baptized a man named Pebble and a young woman named Anna Browse. Browse had been ill for years and her friends feared that her baptism in the icy waters of the bay would end her life, but her illness left after she emerged from the waters and her health was restored. In February 1850, Howells traveled to Boulogne and distributed tracts with greater success. Despite political and economic upheaval in France in the mid-nineteenth century, missionary work was going well across the channel in England and it was felt that France too should be opened for the preaching of the gospel. The Boulogne-sur-Mer Branch was organized with six members on 6 April 1850. On 18 June of the same year several missionaries from Utah were called to serve in the French Mission.
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| Elder John Taylor, 1853 |
Over a period of a few weeks, Taylor held several public meetings and debates with some success before traveling to Paris. The procedures used by John Taylor to get established in new circumstances varied somewhat from those which William Howells had used. It was an advantage to come from America, a credential which carried far more weight than merely coming from across the Channel. Elder Taylor brought with him official letters and papers from the governor of Deseret. When these were presented to the mayor of Boulogne with a request to be allowed to preach the gospel in his city, permission was “granted nobly with the greatest amiability". While in Paris, the missionaries devoted their time to translating literature into French and writing new tracts including a monthly newspaper called L'Etoile du Deseret, though their fluency in French was limited. They continued to preach the gospel, but due to the difficulty with the language, the work progressed slowly. However, by November 1850 there were a few people desiring baptism, so on 8 December 1850 a branch was organized in Paris. In December 1851, John Taylor appointed Curtis E. Bolton as president of the French Mission. Though membership was small, by this time there had been four branches established: Paris, Le Grande Luce, Le Havre and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Opposition and government restrictions due to the unsettled state of political affairs under Louis Napoleon III slowed progress. The government prohibited the gathering of any more than 20 people, making it difficult for the missionaries to hold meetings.
Church members were also prohibited from publishing materials expounding Mormon doctrine. John Taylor was forced to leave the country when he defied the printing ban in 1851 with a tract entitled, "The Kingdom of God." In 1852, the French translation of the Book of Mormon, Le Livre de Mormon, was completed , largely due to the efforts of Elder Louis Adolphe Bertrand, one of the first French converts, but members were prohibited by law from distributing it. French was the third language the Book of Mormon was printed in (English, and Dutch proceeding it). The work continued very slowly over the next several years. In 1859, Elder Bertrand was called to preside over the mission, but in 1864, Betrand left France, bound for Utah. The Emperor would not allow Mormonism in France and the mission was officially closed with Bertrand's departure. The Church remained closed for nearly half a century. The later half of the 18th century was a tumultuous times in French History. After the mission's closure, several attempts were made to re-establish missionaries in the country, but none met with lasting success until the French Mission was re-organized in 1912.
In spite of the mission closure, in 1890 a unique group of Latter-day Saint missionaries arrived in France. In the spring of that year John Hafen wrote a letter to the First Presidency requesting that he and two other aspiring artists be allowed to go to Paris to pursue their training in the arts. They wished to gain the skill necessary to paint the murals inside the nearly completed Salt Lake Temple. Their request was granted and on 3 June 1890 Hafen Lorus Pratt, and John B. Fairbanks were called as "art missionaries." They arrived in Paris on 24 July of that year and were later joined by Edwin Evans and Herman Haag. They studied at the Julian Academy. They returned home in 1892 and immediately made plans to complete the murals in the garden and world rooms of the temple. The murals were completed, just in time for the dedication of the temple on 6 April 1893.
A meeting was held in Lille on 27 June 1909 by the missionaries of the French Conference. It was attended by approximately 50 members. It was the first meeting held by the Church within French boundaries since the religious expulsion of the 1860s. By 1912 there were 400 French-speaking members in Europe, most of them in Belgium and Switzerland. Twenty-eight elders were laboring among the French, and one of them, 23-year-old Edgar B. Brossard, was called to preside over the newly organized French Mission, which would encompass all of French-speaking Europe. On 15 October 1912, the French Mission was re-organized with Edgar Brossard as president. The mission, much larger in area this time, included French-speaking sections in western Switzerland and southern Belgium. Sixty-two converts were baptized that year. Only two years later, with the threat of World War I, all missionaries were withdrawn in August 1914. After the war in November of 1919, Elder George Albert Smith of the Quorum of the Twelve visited France to meet with the Saints. Not until 24 February 1924 was the French Mission formally re-organized with Russell H. Blood as president. It was headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Missionaries worked hard to build the Church's image by getting involved in the communities. Some helped by singing in groups while others played on successful basketball teams. During the 1930s interest in the Church picked up with the introduction of elders’ basketball teams. One team in 1937 supposedly defeated the Belgian team that was to represent Belgium in the Olympics. The favorable publicity, of course, paved the way for gospel discussions.
Two new branches were established in Lille and Blois on 5 August 1930. The Mission headquarters were moved from Geneva to Paris on 1 October of that year, and then from Paris to Liege, Belgium, in 1936 because the majority of the converts were being found in the Belgian District. From 1932 to 1936, branch after branch was closed because fewer missionaries could serve due to the Great Depression. The number of missionaries in France diminished by two-thirds in 1932 due to lack of progress. Golden L. Woolf, mission president at the time, made an appeal to local members to share the gospel in their own country. Many volunteered their time to keep the work progressing. Members were encouraged by an increase in the arrival of American missionaries in late 1936 and a visit by President Heber J. Grant in June of 1937.
In 1939, at the onset of World War II, all missionaries and mission President Joseph E. Evans were evacuated. This left a local leader, Leon Fargier, as the sole, active Melchizedek priesthood holder in France. With the approval of priesthood leaders, Fargier almost single-handedly conducted the affairs of the Church in France during the war. LDS members were few in number and widely separated from each other. On foot or bicycle he traveled around the country to members' homes, often across enemy lines, to administer the sacrament, bless, baptize, confirm, confer the priesthood and simply administer to the needs of the Saints. A major national daily paper at the time, Paris-Soir, noted on its front page that “Mr. Fargier, the only Mormon pastor in the free zone, has baptized fifteen of his flock in the municipal swimming pool in Grenoble.” Of Léon’s activities, his former bishop and home teacher in Grenoble, Pierre Oger, said, “[As] the only representative of the priesthood in France [during the war], he traveled many kilometers by train, bicycle, and foot to bless, baptize, present gifts or bless the sacrament. … He was often arrested by the Gestapo and many times crossed the line of demarcation [between the free and occupied zone] at the peril of his life.”
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| Léon Fargier, his wife, and membres in the south of France in the 1940's |
Two years later 80 elders and sisters were laboring there, and many programs were undertaken to combat adverse publicity the Church had received in France over the years. The elders were able to get the French National Broadcasting System to play recordings of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with explanations of the history of the choir and the Church. A missionary quartet toured 30 cities with favorable reception, and other musical groups were also well accepted.
On 13 July 1952, a mission-wide conference was held and was attended by President David O. McKay, who was en route to Switzerland to announce a temple there. Three months later, on 9 October 1952, the Church was granted status by the French Government as "Une Association Etranger" (A Foreign Society). As of 1 January 1947, when missionary work resumed after the war, there were 13 active branches in the mission, 754 members and 13 missionaries. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir also concluded its tour of Europe in 1955 with a concert in Paris.
The late 1950's proved to be especially challenging for the French Mission. It was soon discovered that a group of missionaries were studying and adhering to questionable doctrine rather than teaching the fundamental elements of the gospel. A growing number of missionaries began to foster beliefs contrary to the teachings of the Church. When mission President Milton Christensen became aware of the apostasy within the mission, he immediately notified the First Presidency. Interviews were held with the missionaries involved to discover their convictions. Apostle Hugh B. Brown "described what had happened as the worst missionary apostasy in the history of the Church and further confided that they had discussed the possibility of closing the mission". Nine were excommunicated for adherence to apostate doctrine contrary to the teachings of the church and left the mission.
In the years following, Edgar Brossard served again as mission president and under his leadership, the mission reached the high point of its history. In January of 1960, in anticipation of the new year, mission leadership set a goal of 400 baptisms, more than twice that of prior years. By June the goal had been surpassed and was revised to 800. Total baptisms reached more than 900 that year.
In June 1960, a building project was announced for the construction of chapels in Europe through the use of "labor missionaries." The Bordeaux Chapel was dedicated by Elder Howard W. Hunter of the Quorum of the Twelve on 10 December 1965. Less than a year later, on 23 October 1966, the first Latter-day Saint meetinghouse in the Paris area was dedicated. In the next decade, land was purchased and chapels were completed in Sceaux, Nogent, Nantes, Paris, Epinay, Rennes, Brest, Le Mans and Angouleme.
In 1961, the French-East Mission, later named the Switzerland Geneva Mission was organized. It covered eastern France and the French- Speaking portion of Switzerland. It was followed in 1963 by the formation of the Franco-Belgian Mission, later named the Belgium Brussels Mission. This mission covered northern France and the French-speaking portion of Belgium. In 1968–69 in the France-Switzerland Mission, tithing increased 80 percent and the mission became financially independent for the first time in history. In fact, members there were asked to contribute financially to the support of other missions. Also, with the missionaries freed for proselyting, baptisms increased 500 percent.
In 1970, the name of the French Mission was changed to the France Mission, and in 1974 to the France Paris Mission. The France Toulouse Mission, was created from portions of the France Paris and Switzerland Geneva Missions.
The Paris France Stake, the first stake in France, was created 16 November 1975. There were 28,454 members organized into seven stakes by 1996. President Spencer W. Kimball spoke to 4,200 members at an area conference in Paris in 1976.
The France Bordeaux Mission was created in 1989, and the France Marseille Mission was created 1 July 1991. They were later consolidated into the France Toulouse, my mission, and France Paris Missions in 2001.
On June 4, 1998, during a European tour to dedicate the Preston England Temple, President Gordon B. Hinckley met with about 2,400 members from two Paris stakes and three outlying districts. In his remarks, he noted, "When I came here after the war, there were so few members of the Church, and now there are 30,000 of you." He continued, "I don't want to build up your hopes, but the time has come when you deserve to have a temple among you, and we'll look for a place to build one. I don't know how long it will take to find a suitable site. I invite every one of you, my brethren and sisters, to plead with the Lord individually in your prayers to lead us to a property in this great city .... Please unite your prayers with ours, and the time will come, and I hope that it will be quick in coming, when we can construct somewhere in this area a house of the Lord, a sacred temple, into which you can go and do that work which is found only in the temples of the Lord."
In May 2004, President Hinckley returned to Paris, shortly after the dedication of the Copenhagen Denmark Temple. He met with French members, again President Hinckley expressed, "I wish I could announce that we could have a temple here, but we do not have a suitable place yet, in my judgment, to build it. And so, we will continue to look. I don't know when it will be built, but I am confident that we will have a temple for the French-speaking people of the Church sometime in the future." Continuing he said, "You are worthy of the richest blessings of the Church. You are worthy of every blessing which this Church has to offer. And there is no blessing greater than the blessing of the house of the Lord. And so, my brothers and sisters, I ask you to be patient for a time... sometime in the future a beautiful house of the Lord will grace this land."
As the April 2006 General Conference approached, hopes rose that the Paris France Temple would be announced when French media disclosed the Church's interest in purchasing a huge tract of land outside Versailles. On July 15, 2011, the Church released an official statement from President Thomas S. Monson acknowledging the Church's hope to build a temple on the outskirts of Paris.President Monson gave the official announcement on October 1, 2011, in the opening session of the 181st Semiannual General Conference. After reading a list of several new temples, he stated, "in addition we're moving forward on our plans for a temple to be built in Paris, France." The Paris France Temple is intended to be constructed just north of the renowned Château de Versailles in the suburb of Le Chesnay. The property at 46 Boulevard Saint-Antoine, Le Chesnay, France, presently is leased to Électricité de France (EDF), but representatives of the company affirmed that they would not be renewing their lease after it expires in October. City planners now have two months to verify that the permit complies with the city plan. Upon completion of the investigation, the permit will have final approval and construction can begin.
Today there are more than 35,000 Latter-day Saints in France in nine stakes, 57 wards, 54 branches, two districts and two missions, and one announced temple.
posted by Austin @ 10:47 AM
1 Comments:
Temples are such a blessing, and I'm so glad that France will finally receive one for the Saints there! :)
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