Show = TRIP TO ST PETERBDRG t Letter of Carl A Ahlquist President of the Svcdish Mission fir Crlo It1litlo Ctn 0 he N1111 1kneig oh 0 11 thstle is und In 1 ChrdrTho orkhol Stockholm July 30 1S97 To the Editor It Is I very seldom that we tee anything any-thing In the News from this part of the world We will submit the follow Iner account of a trip to Russia Fin I In al1d nor A hern Swede a Our first object was to visit font try liy the name ot Llndelof at St Petersburg Peters-burg who Joined the Church two jeara ago and have been quite alone ever since Our boat laid to at several places etween Stockholm and St Petersburg Pet-ersburg so we dldn roach our destination destin-ation until the morning ot MJ > 30th Defer going on land hr we hd to produce our passports which by the way we hId procured befi we left Sweden from the American mln ller Mr Ferguson Thin l red tape bUnlnoss over me wcr a owed to go on land ANhere wo were mt by l Broth 4r Llndelot who eeirolled u to his bmW round IIrlheo LJnlelr on1 family feeling mell and firm tD he faith So otter partaking of a good hi nrty meal we betook ourscUes ablO one of the parks where we nut and nb Served the mama of people who named back and forward Our first lintirtspions end those we retained during our 1it wr not the mosl favorable to St Peters b utg on1 1tIeoplo Th lIulooo thmh or at least the working classes tire uncouth 1 and repulsive In appearance and certainly cer-tainly cannot lay claim to much CIVilization CIV-ilization Our readers will keep Ian mind that we don I give these I mpres authority but merely as first Imp slons which In the may nre generally gener-ally lasting at leant so far fcs the observer ob-server is I conrernLA Tim unit Space will nol permit ot I going Into details PO will jut derlbe I heir mOtOer or orohll > which wn Something new to us No alone tn I their churches but In ron as places r-on the most public thoroughfares are Images of the Virgin Mary and the child Jesus of Jtsus after he had at I talD1 to manhol or the father or JOIU or rather the husband or Mn and or many other saints wn to Ale 11 ad c r 1li Kery good Russian whether he Is Ion I-on the street or In the churh drunk or Sober does honor to theme Imo I using the following formula Me doffing his hat he touches the rorh1 with the first three ling ere if the right hand then tin bright ant then ho b-right shoulder then the left thereby describing a vros The throe lingers represent the Iahr Ron and Holy Ch oat and as they 110 through the service 1 thy Ann table what In I mont far 0 Prayer We Inmd later that they really do offer their prayei to these Images having been taught that they theirs Ivese were unworthy of approaching Uo < but must use their Images rus a medium notwlthandln God sa > s Thou holt hale no other G Oil tays Trip Their street wnhlp Is I ot enurhe very plain and Ample ID mparlwn AIth their churh ftrilce Th walls of their church fthlch hy the wy tire something grand and imposing are hung all over N Ith thew ti I J Into icis mad r different kinds of i rally mol and In different sizes from a full life size to over six Inches fullAR11a Size squav built In the shape of a PicA pic-A Ute Adth a trnM around It the 1m Age I A self being rnlppl a little In Iran i Uot so no tu give ltsbap rhrln hotel servlc a as Attar nq cnn be described It Is I an follows The I orshlr romen In any time during the day and no he enter h 0 hu Yn n mn wu toper or two or three as I 1ulnlol1o deonnd He thon plarra himself In I front of his favorite I Imngo and drpp down pn lils knees f and sign of the crovoat makismtehe et krn the me it n keeping hto eyes fast e Ar ed on the Image then he hows l hImself until his hod touched the floor This form it I repeated lbreevicAlmes Then he Rets up from his Kneeling position and kisses the hands and feet of thi Image lit he same time placing the taper which he bought when he Lame Intna > anJe tlrk which stand right In front or the Image They light thl inn lie whlrh imlr the services ser-vices except In Kcrlnus crisis when I they go through th same formula J 1 front of three gods i rOW saw nf other things ot 111 terest nhl h time and t ice v ill not prmlt us to nionk n h now ve held our n ting In St Petersburg Peters-burg the first publl M rmon meet I IK oir held In RUsIa and baptized Oil womn After visiting In 1lerbur slxdaIo We had I he Saints good bye and len JUlie 3th on the bool Flnnnd mitt II hlch we ment as far as 1I1lngto Finland whAre we hunt < > d up a reW alnlo We alp hun2 tr1P llbout nv miles out In the country tu a 1lne a allM Inlpl Vhc tlIl1d an old couph ho h Pt reenM MIP alrinary for six or sevAA years They were orOd at seeing us and criftl like children when yo Ir Siockhotm conference Is I the largest conferencis In Sndlnnvi find has over thltn hundred met Are Abets There A-re nl1tyono Eldon tm Utah and one I acal r1IIO uhn mark In the con It retire under the presidency or Brother C A Ahlqlllt 11pirrts front the oullylng ranehe s ore Jut romlng In now And how that tg As it k is I mklng good I hod III Iloekholm branch they hive our rhla Including tire president of the conference unit hold public mcUn regularly hOId a regular Bun ny hool There In I also a Heller Soot ty and Y M M I A which have reij ulr meetlnm The prospect In this b rone It are very promljlnu Th a Wkly Xeun comes to the office regularly ror which we are nil thankful CARL A ATILQIIIST Iresl NORMAN LEI |