Dedicatory Prayer over Albania 17 July 2017

DEDICATORY PRAYER FOR THE
LAND OF ALBANIA
April 23, 1993
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Oh God, our Eternal Father, as the sun streams over the mountains from the east and
warms the land, we thank thee for this beautiful day. We thank thee for the light of the gospel.
The light of the gospel warms the land and gives light to our hearts and minds, just as the sun
lights us this morning. We thank thee for the restoration of the gospel in these latter days. We
thank thee for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for the other prophets of this dispensation, including
our present prophet, President Benson. We thank thee for all of the leaders of thy Church. We
pray for them. We pray for the members of the Church in every land. We thank thee that thou
hast seen fit to send the gospel to the nation of Albania. We thank thee that the leaders of this
land have consented for the missionaries to be here. We thank thee for the missionaries who have
come to proclaim the gospel. We thank thee for thy worthy sons and daughters who have
accepted this message and who have gone into the waters of baptism to make covenants with
thee. We are reminded of the words of a modern apostle, Parley P. Pratt, who declared, “The
morning breaks, the shadows flee, lo Zion’s banner is unfurled; the dawning of a brighter day,
majestic rises on the world.”
We thank thee for this brighter day and we pray thy blessings upon all who hear the
message of the gospel. We pray for this land, for its leaders, and for the citizens of this land. Wilt
thou bless them with wisdom and strength, that the light of freedom be preserved in this land,
that those who are hungry may be fed, that those who are suffering may be comforted. We pray
that this land may produce in abundance for this people. We pray that its industries may flourish.
We pray that peace may be preserved in this land for the blessing of its people. We pray that thou
wilt forestall the forces of evil and frustrate every effort that would interrupt the peace and
freedom and prosperity of this land. And now, in the authority of the holy priesthood, and in the
office of an apostle which I hold, I turn the key for the preaching of the gospel in this land of
Albania. I open the door for thy work in this land that the gospel may be proclaimed here, that this
message in its fullness may lighten this land and bless the lives of its people. I bless the people of
the scattered tribes of Albania wherever they may be in this world, in Italy, in Kosovo, in the
United States of America, and in other lands that their hearts may be inclined to their native land,
that the missionaries may be led to their doorsteps, that they may hear and understand the
message of the gospel, that they may send aid and support to their native land.
We bless the people of this land that they may hear and understand the message of the
gospel, that they may make covenants with thee, and keep those covenants, that they may be
blessed. We bless this land that the spiritual gifts may be rich here, that the gifts of
communication and understanding may be felt in abundance, that the gifts of blessing and healing
and translating may be here. We pray that those who translate the scriptures may be guided of
thy Holy Spirit that the message of the gospel may be given in its fullness and clarity through thy
holy scriptures, and by those who preach and teach in this land. And now, Holy Father, we pray
that all of these blessings may be granted to thy children, and in the office of the holy apostleship
that I hold, I bless this land and its people, and open the door for the preaching of the gospel here,
and all of this according to thy holy will. We testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and thank thee for
his atonement and redemption. As we have sung, we believe in Christ, and all that we do in the
sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.