Midnight Mass at Vor Frue Kirke

After enjoying a wonderful Christmas eve at the Andersons we drove the sister missionaries home and dropped them off and then came home to our apartment. 

It was about 10:45 when we got home so we quickly changed clothes and walked down to Vor Frue Kirke (Our Lady Church) where the Christus Statue is to attend the Christmas midnight mass. It was pretty special, there is something about that Church with the Christus statue that makes you feel you are on sacred ground.

After Christmas mass at Vor Frue Kirke

Prior to the service, we met the people sitting on both sides of us. The couple on the left of me were both from the United States but have  been living here for a number of years. In our conversation the wife mentioned that she initially came here to learn more of her roots. At the end of the service we visited with them some more. So as we were leaving I got the impression to go back and offer to do a family history fan chart for her. We were still so new that I didn't have our danish phone number memorized or the name of the street where we live. I ended up giving them my email address. I am hopeful we hear from them. 

The family sitting on the right side of Linda were from Bornholm which we have heard is pretty scenic. The lady just happened to have a bunch of pictures of Bornholm on her phone. The Senior Couple serving before us visited there with their family so we will see if we find a  similar opportunity. Here is a little descriptive information of the island:

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea off the south coast of Sweden. In its north are the clifftop ruins of Hammershus, a medieval castle. By the jagged Helligdomsklipperne rocks near the town of Gudhjem, Bornholm Art Museum shows the work of painters attracted by the island’s natural light. West, in the port town of Rønne, Bornholm Museum reflects 10,000 years of local history, including the WWII occupation.

Christmas Eve Dinner

A brother Kenneth Anderson invited us for Christmas dinner. He is actually an American who served a mission here and later met and married a girl from Denmark. After graduating from BYU he got a job with GE and after working in the States for a while, got transferred to Denmark. He has basically lived here and raised his family here ever since. So most of his children and grandchildren were there for the Christmas dinner. They open all their gifts on Christmas eve and dance and sing around the Christmas tree. So after a wonderful meal they opened gifts and danced and sang around the Christmas tree and then opened more gifts. They served a variety of very tasty homemade chocolates. They may have even overdid what Linda does.  They were overly generous, they had gifts for us as well. They gave us several books, a danish flag and a box of candy. It was a very enjoyable evening.

The Kenneth Anderson Family with children and Grandchildren

Same Family with Sister Shultz and Sister Young in bottom Left

Invitations for Christmas Dinner

In Denmark they celebrate Christmas over 3 days, the 24th, 25th and 26th. We were invited to dinner for all three days. Christmas Eve dinner is very traditional. Duck and flæskesteg (it's a pork roast with crispy pork rinds), as well as boiled potatoes, caramelized potatoes, brown sauce (gravy) and pickled red cabbage. I really like the flæskesteg. We have not been served duck yet. For dessert they serve rice putting with Cherry sauce on top. The rice putting has almond pieces in it and one whole almond. Who ever finds the whole almond in their serving gets an extra prize or present.

This is the Danish rice putting

flæskesteg

The rest of the traditional Christmas dinner

Sunday before Christmas Sacrament Meeting

The Sunday before Christmas was our first Sunday here on our own. We had been assigned a Ward that required driving. So this was to be my first time driving in Copenhagen and I was a bit concerned about finding my way around and my ability to drive in traffic and watch out for the bicycles. As it turned out the GPS got us there just fine and there is less traffic on Sundays so it all worked out. The ward only met for an hour and had their Christmas program. It was a special program, I was especially impressed with several men who sang solo's. One of those soloists came up to us after the meeting and introduced himself.  He was very outgoing and friendly and then one of the other members mentioned that he was the person that played Christ in the "Testaments". His name is Tomas Kofod and he is a well know actor in Denmark. This is an interesting account of how he got the part to play Christ.

https://latterdaysaintmag.com/article-1-1330/





He has performed in "Det Ny Theater" which is about 2 blocks from where we live. I believe he is often the lead actor and here are some of his performances.

Theatre[edit]

• 2018 The Phantom of the Opera, (The Phantom), Det Ny Teater
• 2012/2013 Love Never Dies, (The Phantom), Det Ny Theater
• 2012 Jekyll and Hyde, Borreby Theater
• 2011 Annie (Rooster), Det Ny Theater
• 2009 Les Misérables (Jean Valjean / Lesgles), Det Ny Theater
• 2009 The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul, Grev de Chagny), Det Ny Theater
• 2008 The King and I (Lun Tha), Det Ny Theater
• 2006 The Producers (Leo Bloom), Det Ny Theater
• 2006 West Side Story (Tony), Fredericia Theater
• 2005 Grease (Danny)
• 2004 Beauty and the Beast (Udyret), Det Ny Theater
• 2001 Miss Saigon (Chris), Aarhus Theater and Odense Theater
• 2000 - 2003 The Phantom of the Opera (Raoul, Grev de Chagny), Det Ny Theater
• 1999 Carmen Negra (José), Aarhus Theater
• 1999 Fame (Nick Piazza), Aarhus Theater and Odense Theater

Movies[edit]

• 2011 17 Miracles (Jens Nielson)
• 2003 Finding Faith in Christ (Jesus)
• 2000 The Testaments (Jesus)

A little history on the statue

As part of getting us acquainted with Copenhagen the Jacobsens took us to the Church of our Lady which houses the original Christus statue by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It is a relatively short walk from our apartment. When viewing the statue, this feeling came over me that suggested we truly were standing on Holy Ground. 

. This statue is a 19th century Carrara marble statue of the resurrected Christ and has been located the this Evangelical Lutheran Church since it's completion in 1838. Thorvaldsen also Sculpted statues of each of the Twelve apostles that line the walls of the Church.

Thorvaldsen was commissioned to sculpt statues of Jesus and the apostles for the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen. The statue of Jesus was completed in 1821. The Christus was not well known outside of Denmark until 1896, when an American textbook writer wrote that the statue was "considered the most perfect statue of Christ in the world."^[1] The inscription at the base of the sculpture reads "Kommer til mig" ("Come to me") with a reference to the Bible verse: Matthew 11:28.

Use by the LDS Church

In the 1950s, Stephen L Richards, an LDS Church apostle, purchased a 3.4-metre (11-foot) replica of the Christus and presented it to church president David O. McKay. In 1966, the statue was placed at the church's Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. The church's second Christus replica was created to be displayed in its pavilion at the 1964 New York World's Fair. The display of the replica "was intended to help visitors understand that Latter-day Saints are Christians".^[3]

Since the display of the Christus at the World's Fair and at Temple Square, the church has created replicas of the statue and displayed them in visitors' centers near LDS temples in Hamilton, New Zealand; Laie, Hawaii; Los Angeles, California; Mesa, Arizona; Mexico City; Nauvoo, Illinois; Oakland, California; Palmyra, New York; London, England; Portland, Oregon; Rome, Italy; St. George, Utah; Washington, D.C.; Paris, France; São Paulo, Brazil; and Provo, Utah.^[3][4] Replicas are also on display at the church's visitors' centers at the Hill Cumorah and in Independence, Missouri.^[4] The church uses the image of the Christus on its webpages and in other official publications.^[4]

Here is a link to the Story of President kimball visiting that chapel and when looking at the Statue of Peter boldly proclaiming he had the keys and used them everyday.

https://scottwoodward.org/SpencerWKimball_keys_copenhagen.html

Here is an article on the Statue:

http://www.ldsliving.com/5-Things-You-Never-Knew-About-the-Christus-Statue/s/78222

This article discusses some of the symbolism Torvaldsen included in the Statues of the apostles.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/news/a-closer-look-at-symbolism-of-christus-and-ancient-apostles-statues-in-rome?lang=eng

Another article titled 5 things you never knew about the Christus Statue
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwHMjrrrxjDFGhKxhxTxpmKKXWL

The Church of Our Lady and the Christus Statue

First Day in Denmark

We feel very fortunate that there was some overlap with us and the Senior couple we were replacing.

This Senior Couple treated us extremely well and explained all they do. When we arrived they gave us their bed and they slept on cots. they were extremely kind, thoughtful and helpful. What they do does sound fairly intense and it also sounds like driving in Copenhagen may be a bit of a challenge. I guess those riding bicycles have first priority so you not only need to be looking out for cars, but those riding bikes as well and there are 6 bikes for every car. They fed us and took us on a walk of the neighborhood where we will be living. It is in an apartment in the middle of a big city. They suggested we stay up even though we had little or no sleep and then take a sleeping pill when we went to bed, otherwise we would likely wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to go back to sleep. They suggested this was the fastest way to overcome jet-lag. So we stayed up and visited until about 10:00 in the evening. I don't think either of us slept that well but we did get some sleep.

The next day, Sunday was pretty busy. We went to two wards, both wards offered devices we could put on our ear and listen to someone who translated the talks. While I can understand about one third of the words, I still have a fair amount of work to do to get all the meaning. We then came home and prepared food for a social event being held for one of the young adult converts of several years who is leaving for a mission. I was surprised to see about 70 people showed up for this little reception, including his mother who is a non-member. We did get to meet a lot of people and many of the young adults, but we are not yet even close to remembering many of their names. 

I think we will go to the mission office in the morning and figure out what phone options are available. The Jacobsens (the couple we are replacing) are leaving the Magic Jack so that will be available, but I want check out the other options, hopefully the duo Brady set up will work. However, if we end up with a Danish phone number, it may not still work. We'll see. 

Missionary from Denmark Elder Kuntz

Me with Elder Kuntz from Sonderborg, Denmark

While we were in the MTC a young Elder came up to us and introduced himself and said he had been looking for us for several days. It turns out he was an Elder from Sonderborg, Denmark and called to serve in Finland. He had heard there was a Senior couple going to Denmark and wanted to meet us. I had served in Sonderborg 50 years ago and after we spoke, and parted ways, I wondered if by chance he might know Steffen Vestergard who was baptized back when I served. So I was hopeful that I would see him again and it turned out the last day we were there I was able to visit with him again. I asked him if he knew Steffen and his response was that Steffen's grandson was his best friend. 

Second lesson for our "Others"

In our second lesson to our others we talked about the mission being a good opportunity to change and look for areas where we can start better habits. 

We talked a little about President Oaks talk given in the October 2007 General Conference titled Good, Better, Best

In that talk he said:

We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.

We then shared a video that is humorous but also makes a point of going forward. Kind of a new start knowing that today is the first day of the rest of our life. 

This is the Link:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2010-12-21-new-years-look-not-behind-thee?lang=eng

We then shared some of the following quotes from President Russell M Nelson's April 2018 General Conference talk on Revelation.

"One of the things the Spirit has repeatedly impressed upon my mind since my new calling as President of the Church is how willing the Lord is to reveal His mind and will. 

We can pray to our Heavenly Father and receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own. 

Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take. As you repeat this process day after day, month after month, year after year, you will “grow into the principle of revelation.”⁹

Does God really want to speak to you? Yes!

Oh, there is so much more that your Father in Heaven wants you to know. 

Nothing opens the heavens quite like the combination of

•  increased purity, 
• exact obedience, 
• earnest seeking, 
• daily feasting on the words of Christ in the Book of Mormon,¹⁴ 
• and regular time committed to temple and family history work.

I promise that as you continue to be obedient, expressing gratitude for every blessing the Lord gives you, and as you patiently honor the Lord’s timetable, you will be given the knowledge and understanding you seek. Every blessing the Lord has for you—even miracles—will follow. That is what personal revelation will do for you.

In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost

My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation."

We then shared this video of this good sister who attempts to receive personal revelation each day and then act on that revelation. It is titled the gift of time.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2014-06-1120-the-gift-of-time?lang=eng