Making History

By Chad E. Phares

Church Magazines

Soma, Eszter, and Kata B. live in Budapest, Hungary, a city with a history of palaces, royalty, and beautiful art and buildings. Though the children learn about the history of their city in school, they are also interested in learning about another type of history—Church history.

“I like to learn about when Joseph Smith prayed and Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared to him,” Eszter, age 7, says.

Soma, age 10, likes to read about Alma the Younger. “He was bad at first, but I like how he then chose to be good.”

Not a lot of people in Budapest know about Joseph Smith or Alma the Younger, but Soma, Eszter, and Kata, age 5, hope that as they show good examples and choose the right, more Hungarians will learn about the Church.

The family attends church in this building, which also houses the Hungary Budapest Mission office.

Eszter’s favorite subject in school is art.

The Book of Mormon was published in Hungarian in 1991.

Soma likes to ride his bike near his home.

About one in every 2,200 people in Hungary is a member of the Church.

The family likes to spend time in the mountains near Orfu Lake. They catch fish, swim, and lie on the beach.

Freiberg

Germany

Hungary

Hungary

Budapest

The Freiberg Germany Temple is the closest temple to Budapest. It is about 350 miles (560 km) away.

Photographs by Chad E. Phares; map by Thomas S. Child