Inga shook her head. “I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it.” And then she had another thought. “Have you seen Hans yet?”
“No, but Schwester Groll tells us he’s coming here for dinner. And we are invited to stay, too.”
Inga reached out and laid a hand on Reissner’s arm but turned to look at Mitch. “Did he tell you that he’s the one who baptized me?”
“And me?” Paula said.
“And me,” Gretl chimed in.
“Oh, yes,” Mitch said. “He’s told me about all of you. I am happy to finally get to meet you.” He looked at Bruno. “Jacob told me that you were just a baby when he left. How old are you now, Bruno?”
“Five and a half. Almost.”
“I’ve got a son who’s four.”
“And guess what,” Reissner said. “The Westlands are considering coming to the Passion Play in twenty-one.”
Inga turned quickly. “Then you shall stay in our home. We are just five miles from Oberammergau.”
“That would be wonderful,” he said. “I would like my family to meet you and all of your family. Several of them speak German.”
“That’s what Brother Reissner was just telling me,” Paula said. “That’s wonderful.”
“Tell us about your family, Brother Westland,” Inga said. “Then I shall tell you about mine.”
September 7, 1919, 7:35 p.m.—Munich Branch, LDS Church, Sofallingstrasse 23, Munich
President Cannon had asked the branch president to be the first speaker, but strangely, when President Schindler got to his feet, he stood at the microphone for several moments but said nothing. Then he turned and stepped back, leaning down to talk to the president in a low voice.
Mitch and Jacob were seated on the front row along with Inga Eckhardt, Emilee Eckhardt, and Paula Groll. Both Wolfie and Hans had been invited, but both had declined. Wolfie would stay with the children. Hans was working on a truck that he was repairing. To Mitch’s surprise, Emilee had said yes without hesitation.
Mitch had quickly hit it off with Hans and Emilee Eckhardt. He liked Hans’s forthright and no-nonsense manner and his quick and often dry sense of humor. Emilee’s quiet but pleasant nature reminded him of Edie. She was easy to like.
To everyone’s surprise, President Schindler sat down beside Sister Cannon. President Cannon got up and came to the microphone. “I am afraid President Schindler is not following counsel tonight,” he said with a wry smile. “He has declined to speak, saying that this is the first time I’ve ever stood at the pulpit, and he spoke only one week ago.”
The people were smiling and nodding. Obviously, though they loved President Schindler, they had come to hear their mission president.
“Actually, I shall call on him later, as well as Brothers Reissner and Westland, but I shall take advantage of this opportunity, because I have news of some importance to share with you.”
That brought a little buzz of excitement to the room. He smiled, obviously enjoying himself. “As you know, I, along with Brother Reissner and Brother Westland, have spent the last two months traveling through Germany, meeting with the Saints and feeling of their spirit. It’s been a remarkable experience for the three of us, and I want you to hear from them about it as well as me.” He reached in his coat pocket and brought out what looked like a couple of envelopes. “But, to be perfectly honest, I am bursting with excitement to share this news with you.”
The rustling in the room had completely stopped. “As you know, our purpose in this visit through Germany is to gather information for the First Presidency about the situation and circumstances here. So after earnest prayer and careful contemplation of the last two months, I sent the following wire off to the First Presidency in Salt Lake City before we left.” He removed a paper from the first envelope, unfolded it, and read in a slow clear voice:
Office of the First Presidency
Salt Lake City, Utah
Brethren, the eight thousand Saints of this mission are in immediate need of flour, corn meal, condensed milk, fats, dried fruit, beans, peas. Can the Saints at home send such supplies immediately?
He stopped as the reaction went through the group like an electric shock. Then, smiling a delighted little smile, he went on. “On arriving at the station here in Munich, I received the following answer from the First Presidency. And I again quote:”
President,
We have arranged through the good offices of Senator Reed Smoot the purchase of US Army commodities in Europe.
He stopped, and then emphasizing every word, he went on.
I leave the quantity of supplies to be purchased to your judgment. Church will guarantee payment.
Before he had finished those final words, men and women were up on their feet, holding their hands to their hearts and openly weeping.
President Cannon had to stop, for emotion had gotten the better of him. He took out his handkerchief and wiped at his eyes. Behind him, President Schindler’s head was bowed, and his shoulders were shaking.
Gradually, people sat down again, still half in shock.
“The other thing I did while at the train station before coming here was to call the United States Army Quartermaster’s Office in Cologne. The three of us met with him and his staff some weeks ago there. When I read to him the First Presidency’s cable, he said the following. I shall quote him as best I can remember. ‘Mr. Cannon, thank you for your phone call. Be advised that starting tomorrow morning, your request for commodities will start processing, and shipments will follow soon after. Please ask your people to be patient, because this is a very complicated order and it will take time to fill it.’”
He put the envelopes back in his pocket and then looked up and smiled gravely. “Just how large of an order is it?” He waited until there was not a sound and then quietly said, “Fifty thousand pounds of flour. Fifteen thousand pounds of rice. Twenty thousand pounds of dried plums. Five thousand pounds of lard. And twenty thousand cans of condensed milk.”
The audience gasped as one. The president swallowed quickly and said, “In addition, the First Presidency is forwarding to our mission’s bank account well over two hundred thousand dollars, or about eight hundred thousand marks, which are contributions from members of the Church in America. This is to be used to buy additional foodstuffs, clothing, fuel, and other necessities as we see fit.”
The sound of weeping and joy and astonishment was all around them now. President Cannon looked up, tears streaking his own face. “My dear Brüder and Schwestern, God, our beloved Heavenly Father, has heard your prayers. He has heard the cries of your children. And He has answered. Let us now take this opportunity to bow our heads and thank Him in silent prayer.”
Chapter Note
On September 2, 1919, President Angus Cannon sent the cable to Salt Lake City as cited above. Later that same day, he received the reply from President Heber J. Grant as noted (see Swiss-German Mission Manuscript History, 1 December 1919, LDS Church History Library). The quantity of commodities noted here are the actual quantities purchased (see Mormonism in Germany, 59; Mormons and Germany, 80).
About the Author
Gerald N. Lund received his BA and MS degrees in sociology from Brigham Young University. He served for thirty-five years in the Church Educational System, and he served as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy from 2002 to 2008. He is a prolific and bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction and is best known for his historical novels, including The Work and the Glory, series, Fire of the Covenant, The Kingdom and the Crown series, and The Undaunted. He and his late wife, Lynn, are the parents of seven children.
Gerald N. Lund, Fire and Steel, Volume 2
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