In June after our mission ended and we went on a lovely Norwegian Cruise,we flew home from Copenhagen Denmark instead of Berlin. My whole mission I had wanted to go to Copenhagen. There were a couple of reasons for that. There was a beautiful temple there that was only 4 hours away via ferry and train.
The actual statue of the Christus that the Church uses and is in the Temple Square visitors center in Utah is located in a church there.
The oldest amusement park in the world, Tivoli, is located in the middle of Copenhagen.
And most importantly to me the famous 19th century Danish religious painter Carl Bloch had most of his famous paintings of the Savior we have all come to know and love displayed there.
They are housed in the Fredericksborg Castle, a little out of the city. So, finally that day arrived . We awoke Monday, determined to get to the Castle where I could finally see these pictures! It was a beautiful day, the castle was huge and there were a ton of tourists as it is quite a landmark and is also Denmark’s National Historical Museum.
We of course asked about the Carl Bloch paintings as soon as we entered and were directed to the chapel area which was stupendous in itself as those European churches are. The organ was playing which Gentz loved and as we walked we eagerly looked for the display we knew was there somewhere.
Finally we reached the Carl Bloch room! It was at the end of the chapel in a tiny room which served mainly as a walk through from the church to the rest of the castle. It was dark…you could barely see the paintings.
There was no place to sit, to ponder as one looked at these masterpieces and the beauty of them and of the Savior who they all so beautifully expressed. The whole story of the main events of the Savior’s life were there ending with His ascension into heaven after the Resurrection. There was the woman at the well that hangs in so many Relief Society rooms and many others! Oh how I loved seeing them! The originals!! Yet, These spiritually moving paintings were in a walk through and people hurried past barely sending a glance towards these magnificent portrayals of the Savior and His life and death.
All throughout the rest of the castle there were huge pictures of other dead kings, long forgotten and a whole beautiful room dedicated to the royal family of Denmark.
Yet the King of kings, living still, barely had his own room, just like in His life…no room for Him at the inn…no room for Him at the castle, no room for Him in our hearts. We know that someday every knee shall bow..yes, even the knees of kings and every tongue confess that He is the great Messiah, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords. He, the living Christ, will then certainly have everyone’s attention. But for now, He remains tucked away, waiting for the humble and meek to find Him, to bring Him out of the obscurity of their hearts and make Him the center of their lives. All he asks is a broken heart and a contrite spirit and a desire and willingness to follow Him and keep His commandments.
How this summed up what we saw on our mission….the people who were the most humble stopped and looked, listened to the message of peace and beauty that the missionaries brought. But most hurried past, not a glance and hurriedly looked away if they did glance. I never could understand how anyone could turn those missionaries, so honest in heart and light in their countenances and full of goodness and love away.
Can’t they see? I wanted to cry out….here is the answer to your problems….the complete true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Listen!! This will change your life, rock your world and put you right were you need to be..on the pathway home..the covenant path. “Look to God and LIVE!” STOP for a minute! Consider. Open your minds. But on they go…hurrying to the next bus stop and whatever problems of life await them. Are we who know better and have this rich wonderful Gospel the same? Do we stop and seek the Lord early and often when a challenge presents itself? Do we seek answers from the world or self help books rather than from the very book itself written by the hand of God that will answer any question or problem and at the very least bring us the peace that we and so many others seek when faced with difficulties?? Is Christ tucked away into a tiny corner of my heart like in that castle? I want to bring Him into the royal room where He deserves to reside..front and center in my life. I want to give Him the time that is needed for me to learn more of Him…to seek Him and to receive the peace and love He is so willing to give to those who He loves. We have been counseled to go to the temple often, to feast upon the scriptures, to seek our our kindred dead, to minister to others. All these are ways we can bring the Savior to the center of our hearts where He belongs. “Look to God and live.”! How simple yet how very true!
I echo the words of the prophet Jacob from the Book of Mormon…. “Oh, how great is the plan of our God!” How great indeed!! He has a plan for each of us.. His children wherever in the world we might be. May we live according to that plan as we get on our knees and ask and then listen and then act as we minister to others. I cannot thank Him enough for His love and support and for the sacred privilege we had in serving Him whom we love and revere these past 18 months. I only pray that we did some good and that our service was acceptable to Him, imperfect though it may have been.
Thank you for traveling this journey with us.
