The church here in Italy is very small. That's no secret. I think there are around seven stakes in the entire country. The church faces so many trials and obstacles to its growth here that that by itself could be the topic of another post. It's easy to get discouraged when dwelling on those things. But today I want to focus on some positive and hopeful insights that I've received about the church's present and future growth here in this beautiful country.
Since I'm a history freak, and love studying about the Roman empire, the first metaphor I'm going to use is about Roman conquest strategy. The Roman empire started by first conquering the Italian peninsula. From there, things got a little more complicated, since they had more than one front, not just north and south. Rome was fighting multiple wars at the same time; trying to keep Carthage at bay in Northern Africa and Sicily, conquering the Iberian peninsula, fighting the Germanic tribes to the north, and having a crazy long and difficult war with the Helvetii and other Celtic tribes of Switzerland and France. Even though Rome had the military might to just roll over these various peoples, and could have conquered all of Europe pretty quickly, their growth was slower. Every city they conquered had to be thoroughly Romanized; it had to be connected to the rest of the empire with roads, statues of Roman deities had to be erected, etc. Rome knew that getting a huge empire quickly is not as advantageous as having a slowly growing empire that's well integrated and Romanized.
So is the church in Italy, and basically, in the whole world. If the Lord wanted, He could make a flaming sign in the sky saying "The Mormons are right. Listen to them. -God" The reason He doesn't do this, is because then our church would be filled with weak saints with little or no testimony, who joined because they were seeking after signs. These saints are comparable to the multitude that followed Christ just because He fed them with bread and fish miraculously multiplied. How many of those saints were there at the foot of the cross when being a Christian got tough? Hopefully a few, but probably not many.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:56 reminds us that the Gathering of Israel is not to be done in a rush, but carefully and according to the Lord's plan. The Lord doesn't want a huge church full of weak and dependent saints. He prefers a church that's relatively small, but full of saints that are strong, self sufficient, that don't need to be commanded in all things, but that accomplish many acts of good of their own spontaneous will (D&C 58:26-27).
This leads me to my favorite metaphor, one that I pondered on a lot on my mission. Italians are not Redwoods. Italians are olive trees!
Redwoods are friggin' huge, they grow quickly, and they're very impressive looking. They, like most trees, send their roots sideways along the topsoil to gather water and nutrients. That's how they can grow so freaking huge so quickly. BUT! When a strong hurricane wind comes along, Redwoods are often the first to get blown over. Italians aren't like that. I spent enough time teaching them on my mission and afterwards to see that they're much more like olive trees. Olive trees take FOREVER to grow. The reason is because olive trees send their roots straight down into the clay and stone beneath them, digging deep to find water and nutrients far underground. That's why olive trees are so short and small compared to other trees of similar age. But when a strong wind comes along, you best believe an olive tree isn't going anywhere, because it's firmly anchored into the clay. Italians have 2,000 years of tradition to break through as they grow in the gospel. In this country, catholicism and italian culture are so intertwined and interrelated, that it's extremely hard to be Italian without being Catholic. There are simply too many religious rites and beliefs that have simply become part of the culture. When an Italian decides to join the church, they have to start changing many aspects of their life, their culture, everything. This change seems strange to their friends and family, and they're often ostracized or criticized for their changes. It often takes them several years to break through the clay of tradition and get their roots firmly anchored in the bedrock of the gospel. But once they do, they're as solid as any saints I know in Utah or Idaho.
The church in this, my beloved Italy, is growing extremely slowly in comparison with other places in the world. I remember hearing my friends serving in other countries in the world, who would get depressed if they went two or three weeks without a baptism. When I would tell them that our baptismal goal as an entire mission for a year was lower than their monthly goal as a zone, it really hit hard. But the important thing is that the growth of the church in Italy is a steady and strong one. It's an expanding empire. It's a growing olive tree. And when the Rome temple comes, it will be filled with earnest, dedicated, and spiritually self sufficient saints.
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. -Romans 1:15-16
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