Arthur Gaeth (1905-1984) was the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of a

mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

starting in 1929. He was serving as a Mormon missionary in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

when he was called to open the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. This was the church's first established mission in a Slavic country. Although Gaeth had been raised in the United States, his mother had been born in Undangs which was in Czechoslovakia following World War I (although it had been in Austria-Hungary when she was born there). The mission was able to open because of the liberal democracy that prevailed in Czechoslovakia in the interwar years. After having served as mission president for two years he received permission from John A. Widtsoe, the overall president of LDS missions in Europe at the time, to Marry. He found a suitable Czech bride, Martha Kralickova, who was studying in Chicago, who he baptized. They went to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

where they were sealed on 23 March 1931, with John A. Widtsoe performing the ceremony. Martha was exposed to the

Relief Society The Relief Society is a philanthropic and educational women's organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It was founded in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois, United States, and has more than 7 million members in over 18 ...

and other auxiliaries of the church during a three-month stay in Salt Lake City, during which she also became a good friend of Leah Widtsoe, wife of John. When they returned to Czechoslovakia a few months later his wife had the responsibility of running these auxiliaries in that nation. Gaeth served as president of the Czechoslovak Mission until 1936.Parrish. ''Widstoe''. p. 442

Notes

References

Materials relating to Arthur Gaeth at Brigham Young University
*''

Church News The ''Church News'' (or ''LDS Church News'') is a weekly tabloid-sized supplement to the ''Deseret News'' and the ''MormonTimes'', a Salt Lake City, Utah newspaper owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It is t ...

'', March 3, 1990

External links

Materials relating to Arthur Gaeth
at the L. Tom Perry Special Collections,

Harold B. Lee Library The Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) is the main academic library of Brigham Young University (BYU) located in Provo, Utah. The library started as a small collection of books in the president's office in 1876 before moving in 1891. The Heber J. Gr ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. Mission presidents (LDS Church) American Mormon missionaries in Germany 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Czechoslovakia American people of Czechoslovak descent American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 1905 births 1984 deaths {{LDS-stub