by Reid:
During our recent trip to Lithuania I discovered that Vilnius has more churches than Thailand has Buddas (… not really). The beauty of these churches was truly impressive. Their sheer opulence, along with the unmistakable Russian accent that you hear everywhere, made me think of this classic commercial from a few years ago.
Let's face it, there is a noticeable contrast between the interior of the LDS chapel in Vilnius with the interior of even a second-rate Lithuanian church. To compare our little chapel with something like St Anne's Church wasn’t even close. But what our chapel lacked in opulence, we had in spirit. You can keep the gold-encrusted religious icons, the candles, the works of art and the elaborate altarpieces. I'll stick with the feeling I got while hearing a Lithuanian Branch President with a strong Russian accent testify of the truthfulness of the restored gospel. So when it comes to
real opulence, I can confidently say:
we has it.
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St Anne’s Church - Vilnius, Lithuania
Easily my favorite (Catholic) church |
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| The Vilnius, Lithuania LDS chapel on the left vs. St Anne’s Church on the right |
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Reid is an endocrinologist from Henderson, Nevada. He's blessed with wonderful wife and three great kids. His interests are charitably characterized as eclectic: cycling, fly-fishing, history, travel and the coinage of the Flavian dynasty of Imperial Rome. With a deep-seated belief that people habitually do dumb things, he's trying really hard to keep things positive. People are not making it any easier these days. The gospel has helped a lot. Blog: stunnedbanana.blogspot.com.
Image credits: Reid (used with permission).
