Many of the senior missionaries spent the day in Wittenberg - Lutherstadt. This castle with a church was completed in 1509. The stained glass windows date from the 19th century. Martin Luther preached here as well.
We are privileged to have the town of Lutherstadt Wittenberg in our mission. Here the Reformation truly began. As explained in the Liahona in March 2005, this had to happen so that the Restoration could follow:
“Martin Luther was another of these people, called reformers, who saw that some of the practices of the Christian church were incorrect. He was a religious and educated man, and he wanted to change the practices of the church that did not match the teachings of the Bible. In 1517, in an attempt to promote discussion on the practices of the church, Luther wrote a document, identified as his Ninety-five Theses, and nailed it to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany. This act marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.”
In the same article there is also a quote from President Monson about Martin Luther and other leaders of the Reformation:
“The reformers were pioneers, blazing wilderness trails in a desperate search for those lost points of reference which, they felt, when found would lead mankind back to the truth Jesus taught. …
“Such were the teachings and lives of the great reformers. Their deeds were heroic, their contributions many, their sacrifices great….”
As important as the Reformation was, the Restoration is the key part of a testimony of the gospel. As missionaries we know and we preach that God lives, Jesus is the Christ and the church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is true!
