Vincenzo di Francesca

When Elder Ryler heard about Elder Parker's call to Italy he suggested that we watch the Church movie "How Rare a Possession" which tells the conversion story of an Italian man. We were able to watch some of that with Elder Parker before he left. It is an amazing and powerful story! We wanted to learn more about Vincenzo and found some Church articles that had been written and we shared that with Elder Parker recently who said: "Thank you for sending the story of Vincenzo. I used that in a lesson yesterday!!"

Here are a few links if you'd like to learn more about Vincenzo and the Church in Italy:

Richard Tice, “How Rare a Possession,” Ensign, Jan 1988, 14
Vincenzo di Francesca, “‘I Will Not Burn the Book!’,” Ensign, Jan 1988, 18
Don L. Searle, “Buon Giorno!,” Ensign, Jul 1989, 34
Don L. Searle, “The Saints in Italy,” Tambuli, Apr 1990, 11

The Story of Don Vincent Di Francesca in His Own Words from http://www.bellasion.org/ (Beautiful Zion) an independent site whose purpose is to present the history of the Church in Italy and where I found this photo of Vincenzo Di Francesca as a Protestant Minister, about age twenty-six. (circa 1914)


If you want to watch the video I couldn't find it in the online Church catalog but it might still be available at the LDS Distribution Center under either of these titles:
How Rare a Possession
A Voice from the Dust