The Miracle of Slovakia

Missionary asking for a signature on the street.

In January 1993, when Czechoslovakia peacefully sepa­rated into the independent republics of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, an error in submitting the proper paperwork meant that the Church was not given official recognition in Slovakia.

While branches were organized in Trenčín, Bratislava, and Žilina, without official recognition, they lacked a sense of legitimacy in Slovakia. Members could hold meetings and invite others to join them, but they were unable to open bank accounts for the Church, leaders were not considered clergy, and foreign missionaries were permitted to enter only on temporary visas. Peter Václav and others fasted twice a month and prayed that the Church would soon be able to register.

Jonathon Tichy, a former missionary in Slovakia and an outside attorney for the Church, studied the registration law. He found that the Church’s application would need 20,000 signatures with the full name, address, and personal identification number of each signee. The task appeared insurmountable.

In early 2006, Church leaders determined that a signature drive canvassing the streets and asking the Slovakian public to sign was their only option. On May 12, a few months before the drive, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles dedicated Slovakia for the preaching of the gospel. Local members placed their faith in the assurances of their leaders that the drive would succeed.

On September 3, all 60 missionaries in the Czech Prague Mission traveled to Slovakia to join members, former missionaries, and 15 local students in gathering signatures throughout the country. While they experienced some negative reactions, most people were sympathetic to the Church’s cause. In Trenčín, a young Catholic woman signed the petition herself and solicited 60 additional signatures at her children’s playground, at the post office, and while she shopped for food. In just seven days, the drive gathered the necessary signatures.

In late September, the Church submitted the petition to the Slovak government. Prior to the signature drive, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who has ancestral ties to Slovakia, was assigned to visit the country. Alerted to Bednar’s pending visit, Dr. Ján Juran, director of church affairs in the Slovak Ministry of Culture, said, “I would be very eager to meet the Mormon Slovakian apostle.”

On October 18, 2006, Bednar met with Juran and accepted the official declaration of recognition. That evening, at a meeting in Trenčín, Bednar recited the opening lines of the hymn “The Morning Breaks” in Slovak: “The morning breaks, the shadows flee; / Lo, Zion’s standard is unfurled! / The dawning of a brighter day.” He then announced that the Church had received recognition. “There was penetrating silence,” Bednar later said, “and sobs of happiness.”