Pettingill Pages

We had a special and unusual meeting on Thursday afternoon, May 8. All of the missionaries, church leaders and members who could come were invited to go to the temple grounds for a meeting with the president of the Dominican Republic. This is a photo of Presidente Leonel Fernandez Reyes that I took as he was speaking to us. I was able to recognize him easily as his picture is on billboards and posters and signs everywhere.

The meeting was impressive. He had a special chair to sit in and there was a man guarding his chair until he came. He had a military general in full uniform with lots of ribbons to accompany him. There were many policemen and we entered through a security gate and they looked into our bags and purses. There were three very large tent roofs set up in the parking lot and hundreds of white plastic chairs with fabric covers placed underneath for us to sit in. We all gathered about an hour before the president arrived. There was an elevated platform with long tables for the President and a few of his people and the Area Presidency and a visiting member of the 70's and their wives. A counselor in the Area Presidency welcomed us all and read a letter saying that the church does not support any political party or candidate but encourages all members to vote and and participate in the political process. There is an election this month in which this man is running for reelection. But according to my understanding of what went on there was remarkably little political rhetoric.

The first speaker was President Lee (who is our landlord) the second counselor in the Area Presidency. He spoke for about 10 minutes on the importance of the family. It sounded like a Sacrament Meeting talk with scriptures and a clear message that the family is important because we are children of our Heavenly Father and His plan is based on families. He ended by bearing his testimony.

President Leonel began his talk by saying he also wanted to bear his testimony. I gave him points for that. He knew enough about Mormons to know that would get their attention. He talked about the importance of God and moral teachings and freedom and love of their country. He said that he first noticed Mormon missionaries when there was a young man from England and his companion from the United States. But he said he learned that there are many missionaries from the Dominican Republic as well and all of them are good people and making a welcome contribution to their society. He said that he was aware of the temple and impressed by its beauty. He said that Elder Mask had told him that the church built temples in the finest and most beautiful manner possible because they were built to honor Jesus Christ. He said he appreciated the Mormons and their contributions to the country. It seemed like a good talk and I only noticed one point where he mentioned the election. It seemed to me like the whole affair was filled with respect and appreciation. We should have more of that demonstrated by the political leaders in our country.