history – Latter-Day Saints

Tim Frodsham. 2 March, 2025

Every six weeks, give or take, the Athens Zone of the Greece Bulgaria Mission gather for a conference. This comprises all of the young missionaries in Greece: Four young missionaries in Thessaloniki, six young missionaries in Athens and four young missionaries on the island of Crete. Also attending are senior couples and a duo of single sisters who run the office in Athens. The conference is small, but this thin leaven does incredible things. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16

President and Sister Nelson, Hornbarger and Christensen

We start out at Mars Hill to hear from missionaries who are arriving as well as departing.

The young elders and sisters provide most of the training, focusing on precepts from “Preach My gospel”.

Our mission president Nelson focused on building branches and eventually wards and stakes in a sustainable way. After decades of missionary work in Greece, there is one small branch in Thessaloniki, and another in Athens. Several decades ago, there were five branches in the country.

Recent converts have been migrants and asylum seekers, who have been led to receive the gospel where they could not in their own country, but most are transient and bring little long term strength to the latter-day church. What is needed is strong, permanent members who serve as branch presidents, bishops, relief society presidents and other leaders. Leaders who prepare the this country for a temple.

This is The Church of Jesus Christ. We are commissioned by our Savior to spread his gospel: “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”Mark 16:15

We had the occasion to assist with a self-reliance devotional in Caen, France. The self reliance devotionals are a ward or stake wide event, where members and non-members alike are invited to hear about the churches self-reliance groups and sign up for a group appropriate to their needs.

Sister Frodsham with Gisele, a good friend taking our EnglishConnect class

We worked with the Snyders, the WSR (Welfare, Self-Reliance) missionaries who live in Paris. They also spend several days a week staffing the Paris family history center.

Frodshams and Snyders at the family history center

Caen was a major objective in the WWII invasion of Europe, Operation Overlord. Since we were already in Normandy, we took the opportunity to spend several days exploring the places of such bloodshed and heroism almost 80 years ago.

The Museum at Utah Beach

We stayed at a little bed and breakfast in Saint Clair sur l’Elle, and on an early morning walk, I went to the town square and was fascinated by a WWI statue dominating the square. It had been vandalized, arms broken off, the rifle broken, and I wondered at it’s history. An old gentlemen (and by old, I mean about my age) walked up to me to chat, and I asked him about the statue. It was built after WW1 to commemorate the soldiers who had given their life in the war from that small town. When the Germans occupied the town, they vandalized the statue, braking off anything they could without actually bringing in a truck or other vehicle to pull the statue down. The statue remains in the square as a symbol of defiance and freedom.

WWI statue in the town square of Saint Clair sur l’Elle

Our Bed and Breakfast in Saint Clair sur l’Elle

Sainte-Mère-Église, attacked by parachutists of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions, was one of the first towns liberated during the invasion. A replica of parachutist John Steele hangs from the spire of the local cathedral. Parachutists overshot their landing zone and dropped directly in the town.

In the church of Angoville-au-Plain, two medics Robert Wright and Ken Moore, treated civilians as well as American and German soldiers alike, When the town was briefly retaken by the Germans, the medics declined to leave. German soldiers honored request of the two medics and left their rifles at the door. During the conflict, a mortar pierced the ceiling, but did not explode. during a later restoration, the local members of the parish decided to preserve the blood stains on the benches.

The Church at Angoville au Plain

Robert Wright grave marker, Angoville Au Plain

The cliffs at Pointe du Hoc were scaled by the 2nd ranger battalion, who suffered a 70% casualty rate in finding and destroying guns overlooking Omaha and Utah beaches. Had these guns been brought into operation, casualties would have been much higher for the allied landing.

At Pointe du Hoc, the bomb craters from the aerial and naval bombardment proceeding the landings are still visible.

On Utah Beach where general Roosevelt stormed the beach with his men. Strong currents swept them from their landing spot. “Well start the war right here. As with the battles throughout Normandy, it was the bravery of a few men who turned the tide of the battle. Utah beach had far less casualties because of the accuracy and precision of aerial and naval bombing of the shore batteries moments before the landing.

It is in some ways reassuring to see people playing and enjoying where so much devastation and hardship in the name of freedom had occurred 80 years earlier

German batteries near Longues-sur-Mer fired at allied forces on D-Day, but were damaged by allied naval bombardment. They were captured the next day and played no further part in the war. They are one of the only remaining intact gun batteries along the Normandy coast, and a testament to the forces to be overcome by the allied soldiers.

For me, the most poignant was the cemetery at Omaha Beach and the beaches themselves. now a playground with horse trotting and skim boarding. There is still a spirit of the thousands of men to struggled here, many of them giving their last full measure of devotion. The American cemetery a testament of the sacrifice of so many young men.

The German cemetery near Omaha is a testament as well to young men who were following their leaders. The feeling at the German cemetery is much different than that of the American, a feeling of hopelessness and loss. In both, the spirit of brave men who gave their lives for their country.

Through out the Normandy battle sites and museums, the horrors of war were apparent. The evil intentions of a very few lead astray whole populations, something king Benjamin and King Mosiah warned about in the book of Mormon

Mosiah 2:18,19 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another? And behold also, if I, whom ye call your king, who has spent his days in your service, and yet has been in the service of God, do merit any thanks from you, O how you ought to thank your heavenly King!

Mosiah 29:16,17 Now I say unto you, that because all men are not just it is not expedient that ye should have a king or kings to rule over you. For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!

We may not call them kings today, but many act as such, bringing whole nations to sin and unbelief. Events in the Book of Mormon tell us of the wickedness and suffering that can be caused by one individual or a handful of people. Unfortunately, people today are looking to a leader to change the nation, leaders who will right all the wrongs in our countries. What will permanently heal our nations will come from the bottom up. It was apparent as we toured the battle sites of Normandy that is was a few who turned the tide of war. A few who let to victory operations that were doomed to defeat. The future will be shaped by fathers and mothers, teachers and leaders changing our world one family at a time, which is why we are here serving a mission.