Thousands of Latter-day Saints in Russia and Ukraine are participating in an historic event: They are meeting with a member of their faith's First Presidency and the Church's newest apostle.

The couples visited Kiev, where a temple is under construction. President Gordon B. Hinckley announced it in 1998 but problems with Ukrainian local bureaucracy delayed groundbreaking until June of 2007.

President Uchtdorf told Church members, "The temple will be a blessing. People will join the Church by the hundreds and thousands."

On December 17, 1973, the president of Lufthansa German Airlines received alarming news. Five terrorists had hijacked a Lufthansa 737 jet in Rome, Italy, and were making their way to Athens, Greece, with hostages on board. In an instant, Lufthansa's president ordered into the air his chief pilot for the 737 fleet. Thirty-three-year-old Dieter F. Uchtdorf was to take a small group of emergency personnel and follow the hijacked plane wherever the guerrillas took it. In every setting possible he was to negotiate for the release of the plane, the pilots, and the hostages. Then, when all of this had been accomplished, he was to fly the hijacked 737 back to headquarters in Frankfurt.

With fortunately no more bloodshed, this mission, like so many others he had been on personally and professionally, was successfully accomplished.

Other gunmen took several Italian hostages and Lufthansa ground crewmembers into a Lufthansa Boeing 737 waiting to depart for Munich. An Italian customs officer was shot dead on the ground after resisting. The plane, containing Captain Joe Kroese, the first officer, two flight attendants, two ground crew, and eight Italian hostages, took off for Athens, Greece on the orders of the five terrorists also on board. After landing in Athens, the terrorists demanded by radio the release of two Palestinian gunmen responsible for a previous attack on an Athens airport terminal lounge. They claimed to have killed five hostages, including the plane's first officer. The terrorists also threatened to crash the jet in the middle of Athens if their demands were not met. In reality, only one Italian hostage had been killed and one wounded. The plane took off again from Athens after sixteen hours on the ground and after the gunmen had released the wounded hostage and dumped the body of the dead hostage onto the tarmac.

The plane next headed for Beirut, where Lebanese authorities refused to allow landing, and blocked the runway with vehicles. Cyprus also refused to allow landing. The guerrillas on board finally ordered the plane to be landed in Damascus, Syria, allegedly because the plane was running low on fuel. In Syria, Air Force Commander Major General Naji Jamil attempted to persuade the Palestinians to release the hostages, but they refused. The Syrians provided food and refueled the plane. They also treated a head injury suffered by one of the hijackers. The plane took off again after about two to three hours.

The commandeered jet next headed for Kuwait, where Kuwaiti authorities refused to allow it to land. Captain Kroese was ordered by the terrorists to land anyway on a secondary runway. An hour of negotiations between the Palestinian gunmen and the Kuwaiti authorities ended with the release of all twelve remaining hostages in exchange for "free passage" to an unknown destination for the hijackers. The terrorists were permitted to retain their weapons and made a V-for-victory sign with their hands upon leaving the plane.

For those who already embrace the truth his primary strategy is to spread the seeds of doubt. For example he[The Devil] has caused many members of the church to stumble when they discover information about the church that seems to contradict what they had learned previously. If you experience such a moment remember that in this age of information there are many who create doubt about anything and everything at anytime and everyplace. You will find even those who still claim that they have evidence that the earth is flat. That the moon is a hologram. It looks like it a little bit. And that certain movie stars are really aliens from another planet. And it is always good to keep in mind just because something is printed on paper, appears on the internet, is frequently repeated or has a powerful group of followers doesn't make it true. Sometimes untrue claims or information are presented in such a way that they appear quite credible; however, when you are confronted with information that is in conflict with the revealed word of God remember that the blind men in the parable of the elephant would never be able to accurately describe the full truth. We simply don't know all things. We can't see everything. What may seem contradictory now may be perfectly understandable as we search for and receive more trustworthy information. Because we see through a glass darkly we have to trust the Lord who sees all things clearly.

For those who already embrace the truth his primary strategy is to spread the seeds of doubt.

For example he[The Devil] has caused many members of the church to stumble when they discover information about the church that seems to contradict what they had learned previously.

If you experience such a moment remember that in this age of information there are many who create doubt about anything and everything at anytime and everyplace.

You will find even those who still claim that they have evidence that the earth is flat. That the moon is a hologram. It looks like it a little bit. And that certain movie stars are really aliens from another planet.

And it is always good to keep in mind just because something is printed on paper, appears on the internet, is frequently repeated or has a powerful group of followers doesn't make it true.

Sometimes untrue claims or information are presented in such a way that they appear quite credible; however, when you are confronted with information that is in conflict with the revealed word of God remember that the blind men in the parable of the elephant would never be able to accurately describe the full truth.

We simply don't know all things. We can't see everything. What may seem contradictory now may be perfectly understandable as we search for and receive more trustworthy information. Because we see through a glass darkly we have to trust the Lord who sees all things clearly.

"Thou kind and gracious Father, our hearts are filled with gratitude for Thy remembrance of the sons and daughters of Lehi. Thou hast heard their cries and seen their tears. Thou hast accepted their righteous sacrifices."

"Now, what is this truth?" he asked. "It is His gospel. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ-He is the way, the truth, and the life."

14 And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.

15 And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people before they were slain.

"Remember that in this age of information there are many who create doubt about anything and everything at anytime and everyplace. You will find even those who still claim that they have evidence that the earth is flat. That the moon is a hologram. It looks like it a little bit. And that certain movie stars are really aliens from another planet. And it is always good to keep in mind just because something is printed on paper, appears on the internet, is frequently repeated or has a powerful group of followers doesn't make it true."

On December 17, 1973, the president of Lufthansa German Airlines received alarming news. Five terrorists had hijacked a Lufthansa 737 jet in Rome, Italy, and were making their way to Athens, Greece, with hostages on board. In an instant, Lufthansa's president ordered into the air his chief pilot for the 737 fleet. Thirty-three-year-old Dieter F. Uchtdorf was to take a small group of emergency personnel and follow the hijacked plane wherever the guerrillas took it. In every setting possible he was to negotiate for the release of the plane, the pilots, and the hostages. Then, when all of this had been accomplished, he was to fly the hijacked 737 back to headquarters in Frankfurt.

With fortunately no more bloodshed, this mission, like so many others he had been on personally and professionally, was successfully accomplished.

"How can we know that this truth is different from any other? How can we trust this truth? The invitation to trust the lord does not relieve us from responsibility to know for ourselves."

"I add my witness as an apostle of the Lord that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. I know this with all my heart and mind. I know this by the witness and power of the Holy Ghost."

"I have read all about this man in the internet, but only "Die Kirche Jesu Christi der Heiligen der Letzten Tage" (name of the mormons here) tries to describe him like a hero.

In our LH [Lufthansa] inside chronics you just get informed that he was in the german airforce and got his liscence as a Kampfpilot in the US 1962. Then from 1965 until 1996 with LH. From 1989 Chiefpilot and so also authorized for training and control . But almost nothing about the hijacking. Just that he headed to get the Crew and fly the a/c back to FRA [Frankfurt]. Nothing about negotiation with terrorists - not his job. Like you said , that sounds like bullshit and typical mormon behaviour. Nothing about his religious attitudes."

Additionally, President Uchtdorf said that Latter-day Saints are "not asked to blindly accept everything they hear." Rather, members are "encouraged to think and discover truth" for themselves and "to ponder, to search, to evaluate and thereby to come to a personal knowledge of the truth."