Martha Toronto Anderson — The Preservation of the Czech Saints

In 1950, the Communist government of Czechoslovakia ordered the expulsion of the Toronto family and the official closure of the LDS mission. Martha Toronto Anderson and her husband were subjected to intense surveillance by the secret police (StB) before being forced to leave. The 'miracle' central to Martha's autobiography is the spiritual preservation of the local Saints during the subsequent decades of the Iron Curtain. Despite being cut off from the main body of the Church and facing state-sponsored persecution, the faith of the members remained vibrant. Martha used the metaphor of a cherry tree in their Prague garden—which continued to bloom and bear fruit despite the walls and restrictions surrounding it—as a symbol of the divine preservation of the gospel in the hearts of the people. This spiritual resilience allowed the Church to be formally reorganized immediately following the fall of communism, a fulfillment of the faith Martha and Wallace maintained during their years of exile.