Our 1st Baptism

December 18, 2010

The baptism was in Malmo, which is about 20 miles from Lund. (It is the 3^rd largest city in Sweden) To get there we took a train to Malmo and then walked to a bus stop, caught the bus then walked several blocks to the Church. We went past the BRIO Offices. All the buildings have lights in their windows. Almost every house has the lights in all of their windows too. This is the only Christmas decoration they do. No such thing as colored lights on the outside of the homes. No fancy decorations on their lawns just very simple and nice. The lights can be seen in the windows of homes that are way back from the road it is very pretty to see all the lights in the windows as we traveled on the train.

 

Elder Webster and Elder Winegar taught Michael Okafor and so we attended his baptism. He was a very nice humble man and was so excited to be a part of the church.

Elder Webster, Michael and Elder Winegar

(Elder Webster is a grandson to Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the 12)

I will tell you about religion in Sweden. Most Swedes are atheists. They are not interested in any church. We have talked with some on the street and even our postman and they all say the same thing. They do not believe in God or religion. They only believe in themselves and in their families. The Lutheran Church is the Church of Sweden so some might have their babies blessed at the church and then they never go back. They are very happy good people but totally without religion. Our neighbor who is studying to be a Lutheran Priest said that Japan and Sweden are the 2 most atheistic countries in the world. That really surprised me.

So with that said most of the baptisms in Sweden are immigrants who are hungry for the gospel. Some have never even heard of Jesus or even the bible. They are very humble and teachable. It takes time for them to learn because they are starting from scratch.

Another little fact about Sweden, most Swedes do not get married, they just live together. They have children and are good parents, but they do not like to get married. I will have to find out why! But this is what is interesting. It is almost impossible to adopt a child in Sweden. Whether you are married or not they keep and raise their children. So most all children are wanted when they are born. They teach birth control in the schools and are all for sex just as long as you protect yourself so they give them what they need!! They are not embarrassed about not being married. We know a couple that cannot have children and would like to adopt but they will probably have to go to another country to get a baby.

 

Our pretty tree in front of the Grand Hotel