It Started In A Kitchen

"I went to my knees and prayed to my Father in Heaven to tell me why he had called upon me to defend a Church which I knew nothing" - Ludwig Rueckert

Born in 1871, Ludwig Rueckert was brought up in a strict Lutheran family in Hochbach, Bavaria. He attended school until age 13 and gave up a scholarship to train as a butcher. As a teenager, he left home for work and later with his brother Leonhardt travelled around Germany. In 1892, he became “somewhat of a ruffian” and cast aside the teachings of his youth. The brothers quarrelled and split up going to different towns.

Over the next few years, he worked and had nothing to do with his brother. Then, when passing through Köln he decided to visit his brother again. Ludwig discovered, to his horror, that Leonhardt had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after receiving a missionary tract in the town of Heiligenwald. Ludwig refused to allow his brother to talk to him about the Church, which he despised, for reasons unknown today. The two brothers quarrelled and Ludwig left vowing never to see Leonhardt again.

Soon after, in June 1895, Ludwig arrived in Bielefeld, near Hanover, where he began working for a Jewish man. That first evening after work Ludwig had dinner with his employer and other employees. As they ate they discussed religion. He listened to the other men explain their religious beliefs. Being the newest employee he went last. His employer asked him what his views were on religion.

“I do not know. I am a Lutheran, but something in my heart tells me that none of us are right; that in Western America, the Church of Jesus Christ has the truth,” he replied.

Ludwig surprised himself as much as anyone else. That evening, for the first time in his adult life, he knelt in prayer and asked why he had felt prompted to defend a church he knew nothing about.

Early the next morning, while talking with one of the other men, Ludwig had a vision. The light filled the room and a Heavenly person dressed in a white robe came in through the door and stood in the air about a foot from the ground. Scared, the Heavenly messenger spoke to him and encouraged him to continue on the path that he was on. The messenger then disappeared.

That same day Ludwig wrote to his brother asking him to send missionaries and to instruct him about the gospel. A few months later Ludwig was baptised in the River Leine in Hanover by Rudolph Gygi and immediately began sharing his newfound faith.

Soon after Ludwig met a young woman, Auguste Spilker, in a kitchen where he worked. He began speaking to her about the church and she accepted an invitation to meet with him to discuss it further. Due to opposition to the church they met in a forest where they were free to meet and talk. In July 1896, convinced of the gospel’s truthfulness, Auguste was baptised. Over time they fell in love and despite some family resistance, they were married in 1897. The below photograph was taken soon after their marriage.

The Rueckerts were committed Latter-day Saints. Missionaries assigned to Bielefeld ate at their home every day. They also opened up their home for meetings to be held in. In 1898 Ludwig and Auguste received some money from family and began making plans to emigrate. In September 1898 they were gathering supplies for their trip while continuing to host the missionaries.¹

The couple arrived in Salt Lake City with their daughter Babette, who sadly died the following year. Six other children followed and the couple made their home in Salt Lake City. In 1905 Ludwig was called to serve a mission in Germany which he completed faithfully. In September 1914 he went on another mission. Initially, he was called to serve in Germany and Switzerland but this was changed to the Northern States Mission due to the outbreak of the First World War.

The Rueckerts remained faithful to each other and their faith throughout their lives. Many of their descendants remained faithful to the gospel with some of them serving as missionaries and mission presidents in Germany. That relationship and the early formation of the church in Bielefeld can be traced back to Ludwig and Auguste Rueckert whose fateful meeting in a kitchen brought about so many positives for the Church in Germany and their descendants.

1. J. Conrad Walz, missionary journal, various entries for September 1898, MS 31503, bx. 1, fd. 1, CHL.