Russian to missionaries. Mon, Mar 17, 2008.

03/17/2008. Journal Entry. Yesterday, our ward's full-time missionaries told me that the Zone Leaders needed some copies of the Russian Book of Mormon for a member in their ward (they meet in the same chapel as we do) who wanted to give them to some of his Russian-speaking friends. I suggested to our missionaries that the member probably ought to get them from the Distribution Center (www.ldscatalog.com), but that I'd drop off at least one Russian Book of Mormon.

I was passing not far from the Zone Leaders' apartment on my way home from an appointment, so I stopped by. They were not home, but I left one Russian Book of Mormon, 3 Russian Liahona magazines, and a Restoration DVD (that has a Russian audio-track), at their apartment door. I phoned the missionaries the next day and asked if they thought the member could afford to buy some copies, otherwise I would try to help out. They thought that he should be able to both afford it, and purchase them online; so he probably just didn't know how to obtain them.

If the books had been for active investigators, the mission office might have ordered them. But one mission president had previously told me that any books other than English and Spanish, (and any books in excess of the missionaries' allotment {10 every 6 weeks} need to come through the ward mission leader, and out of the ward mission budget.

I'm willing to help out in my ward, and provide material that missionaries are giving out directly, but I think if a member has the means to buy the Book of Mormon on his own, to give to his friends, then he can order them online like I do at www.LDScatalog.com