I wish to speak about a unique and
inspiring chapter in Church history. It took place in recent years among the
beautiful people of Africa. Too often we have misconceptions about Africa and its people.
Africa is referred to as the Dark Continent, and the media usually portrays Africans as
primitive, starving, or at war with each other. One African official observed that the darkest
thing about Africa is America’s ignorance of it. When I was in Africa several years ago, I was sent
the following quote: “In Africa there are tribes that beat the ground with clubs while uttering
spine-chilling cries. Anthropologists call this a primitive form of self-expression. In America
we do the same thing—but we call it golf!” There is much we can learn from
our African brothers and sisters, who are among the great pioneers in this
church. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “The days of pioneering in the Church are still
with us; they did not end with covered wagons and handcarts”. Pioneers are those individuals who
help establish the Church all over the world. The pioneers that I will focus on this morning
had little help from the Church, because they were not members and the Church knew very little
about them. I seek your faith and prayers that we might be edified by their example and by the
assurance of God’s love for all of his children. In 1853, nine years after the martyrdom of
the Prophet Joseph Smith, missionaries were sent to Africa for the first time, but they only
proselyted among the white people of South Africa. It was not until 125 years later, following the
revelation on the priesthood in 1978, that the gospel was preached to all people of Africa.
However, 30 years before the revelation, Church leaders became aware of other Africans
who were interested in the Church. By the 1950s, many letters were sent to Church headquarters
from the West African nations of Nigeria and Ghana requesting literature and membership in the
Church. The letters were written by devout Christians who had gained a testimony from the
Book of Mormon or other Church literature. What began as a comparative trickle of requests
in the early 1950s became a flood by the 1960s. More letters requesting literature were received
from Nigeria and Ghana than from all the rest of the world combined. The Church responded
by sending literature, but the demand for Church literature was so great that some
Africans even established LDS bookstores. However, since there were no priesthood holders
to preside and provide priesthood ordinances, those asking for baptism were told,
“The time is not yet. You must wait.” As they waited, they shared their knowledge
and testimony of the gospel with others and organized congregations. It was reported that
in the 1960s there were more than 60 congregations in Nigeria and Ghana, with more than 16,000
participants—none of whom were baptized. This was a paradoxical situation for the Church.
With an army of missionaries eager to go to the ends of the earth to teach and baptize, there were
thousands in Africa pleading to join the Church whom we were not able to baptize. As
far as is known, nothing like this had occurred in this or in any other dispensation.
In 1960 President David O. McKay assigned South Africa mission president Glen G. Fisher to be the
first Church representative to visit some of these unbaptized converts. He met with several groups
in Nigeria, one of which had more than 5,600 participants in many congregations. President
Fisher told the First Presidency that he received a royal welcome; they had been preparing
themselves and their congregations for baptism for years. Their continued plea was, “We want the true
church”. President Fisher was also impressed with their sincerity. Even though they were extremely
poor, they never mentioned financial help. The intensity of their pleadings continued to
increase, as reflected in this letter to President David O. McKay from a pastor in Nigeria who had
made previous requests for baptism. He wrote: I have to say that my heart will not rest
. . . until I achieve my objective to be a baptized member of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, . .
. and to be fully instructed in the gospel as restored [through the] Prophet, Joseph Smith
. . . , in order to be able to preach the true gospel to my people and win for my Savior hearts
that should otherwise perish in the darkness. Such letters received President McKay’s attention
and concern not only because of their fervent plea but also because of their letterhead, which read,
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nigeria Branch.” The prophet did not know that
there were “branches” of the Church in Nigeria. In 1961 President McKay assigned LaMar Williams,
secretary to the Church Missionary Department, to go to Nigeria on a month-long fact-finding
mission to determine if the people were sincere and willing to accept the Church without holding
the priesthood. Although Brother Williams had been responding to the flood of letters from Africa,
he was not prepared for what he found there. He was met at the airport in Lagos, Nigeria, by
10 pastors with whom he had been corresponding. He, too, was treated like royalty but was
surprised to discover that not only did each pastor operate independently, they
had not even been aware of each other. The first official Church meeting in black Africa
was held on October 22, 1961, in a small mud hut in Opobo District, Nigeria, where Brother Williams
met with a pastor and 110 followers. No one came by car. Many, including eight mothers with small
children, had begun their day before 4:00 a.m. and walked 25 miles or more to be there. After
teaching them for two hours, Brother Williams prepared to end the meeting. He recorded:
It was hot as blazes. . . . My suit was wringing wet. . . . When I turned
the meeting back to [the pastor], I heard a murmur all through the congregation .
. . and[the pastor] said to me, “They don’t want to go home. They have something to say.”
Then for three hours . . . these people were standing up bearing testimony
to the truthfulness of the Church and how they believed in the prophets. I
could not believe what I was hearing. One elderly gentleman said:
I keep hearing you say, “if we are sincere.” Elder Williams, I want you to
know that I am sincere. I am an old man . . . I am sick. But when I heard you were going to be
here, I walked 16 miles this morning to see you and to hear what you have to say. I still have to
walk 16 miles to get back home, and I am not well. I want you to know that I am sincere or I would
not be here. I have not seen President McKay. I have not seen God. But I have seen you.
And I will hold you personally accountable to tell President McKay that I am sincere.
Brother Williams reported to President McKay that he felt thousands were ready for baptism.
Three months later, President McKay called Brother and Sister Williams to preside
over the first mission in black Africa, but the Nigerian government refused to issue
the necessary visas. This was primarily due to media attacks against the Church because of
its position in denying blacks the priesthood, and at this time civil rights was an explosive
issue. After four years of intense effort, one day Brother Williams was at the embassy in Nigeria
hoping to finally obtain the visas. While there he received a telegram from the First Presidency
stating, “Discontinue negotiations in Nigeria and return home immediately.” Shocked and
confused, but obedient, he returned home. Upon his return to Salt Lake City in November
1965, President N. Eldon Tanner assured Brother Williams that the Church would yet go to Nigeria,
and they would both live to see it. He further said, “We don’t know why we called you back.
We only know it was urgent. There is a reason, and we will know [what it is someday]”.
Within three weeks Africa’s most devastating civil war, the Biafran War, exploded in
Nigeria, with much of the fighting in the area where the unbaptized congregations of
believers were located. Two ambassadors were killed on the steps of the embassy where
Brother Williams received the telegram instructing him to return home. Brother and Sister
Williams were released from their mission call, and in June 1966 LaMar Williams turned over
15,000 names and addresses of unbaptized African converts to Elders Spencer W.
Kimball and Gordon B. Hinckley, both of whom were on the Church Missionary Committee.
It is important to note that the Church made every effort to establish itself in West
Africa but was prevented from doing so. However, the Lord has promised that his eternal
blessings will come “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will”. The
Lord’s “own time” for black Africa came in June 1978. “His own way” was a revelation given to
his prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball, making all gospel blessings available to all worthy
members. The Lord’s “own will” regarding the priesthood restriction and the removal of it has
been stated by prophets, seers, and revelators. In 1949 the First Presidency stated
that the priesthood restriction was “not a matter of the declaration of a policy
but of direct commandment from the Lord”. Twenty years later, Presidents Hugh
B. Brown and N. Eldon Tanner said:
From the beginning of this dispensation, Joseph
Smith and all succeeding presidents of the Church have taught that [blacks] were not
to receive the priesthood for reasons which we believe are known to God, but
which He has not made fully known to man. President Spencer W. Kimball—whose clarion call
during his ministry was to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people—was
particularly aware of many under priesthood restriction throughout the world, and he pleaded
long and earnestly with the Lord in their behalf. Also, in numerous temple meetings, President
Kimball met with his counselors and the Twelve to discuss this issue. In
such a meeting on June 1, 1978, President Kimball asked his Brethren to
express their feelings regarding this matter. Elder David B. Haight recalled that as each
one spoke, there was “an outpouring of the Spirit which bonded our souls together
in perfect unity”. Then President Kimball suggested that they have prayer at the
altar. President Gordon B. Hinckley recalled: There was a hallowed and
sanctified atmosphere in the room. For me, it felt as if a conduit opened between the
heavenly throne and the kneeling, pleading prophet of God who was joined by his Brethren. . . .
Every man in that circle, by the power of the Holy Ghost, knew the same thing. . . .
. . . Not one of us . . . was ever quite the same after that. Nor has the
Church been quite the same. . . . Tremendous, eternal consequences
for millions over the earth are flowing from that manifestation. . . .
. . . This has opened great areas of the world to the teaching of the everlasting gospel. . . .
We have cause to rejoice . . . that we have seen this glorious day.
One tender moment of rejoicing was shared by David M. Kennedy, who had served for years as President
Kimball’s special ambassador in helping the Church enter new countries. Previous to the revelation,
as they would study a large map of the world, Brother Kennedy would place one hand over the
continent of Africa, saying, “We can’t go there unless they have the priesthood.” On June 8,
1978, a subdued President Kimball returned from the temple prior to announcing to the
world the revelation that had been received. He stopped at Brother Kennedy’s office,
opened the door, and, with deep emotion, said, “David, now you can take your hand off Africa”.
How important was this revelation? It has been said that “the
greatest events of history are those which affect the largest
numbers for the longest periods”. By this criteria, when we consider
those affected by this revelation—which includes millions on the earth and billions on the
other side of the veil—we can see why President Kimball said that it brought “one of the greatest
changes and blessings that has ever been known”. Floodgates were now open for the gospel
to go to Africa and to African ancestors.
When this revelation was announced, my wife and
I were presiding over the only mission on the continent of Africa. The announcement brought
feelings and stirrings impossible to describe. As inspiring as it was, I felt a great
concern because Africans do not traditionally keep written histories, and I felt their
unique experiences needed to be preserved. The desire to help preserve that history
was later realized. Since coming to BYU I have been blessed by the Lord and helped by
others in obtaining oral histories from more than 600 African pioneers, from which
I will now share some insights. The unbaptized converts in Africa were guided
and strengthened by the Lord according to their faith in him. The Lord used two types
of disciples to help accomplish this.
First, the Lord guided many LDS expatriates
from North America to Africa on professional assignments, many of whom provided much-needed
support and encouragement for these pioneers. Elder Alexander B. Morrison of the First Quorum
of the Seventy said in general conference:
In every corner of Africa, there are faithful
expatriate members of the Church. . . .
I testify they are not there by chance. As part
of God’s great and grand design for growth, they have been placed on the frontiers of the
Church by divine providence. . . . They are the right people at the right place
and at the right time in history. Two expatriates who were especially praised and
remembered by the African pioneers in West Africa were Professor Virginia Cutler (former
BYU dean of the College of Family Living) and President Merrill J. Bateman. President
Bateman worked in West Africa for 15 years, then, following the revelation on the priesthood, the
First Presidency assigned him to escort Brother Ted Cannon, counselor in the Church International
Mission, to prepare the people of Nigeria and Ghana for the arrival of the first missionaries.
Second, the Lord raised up Eliases to prepare people for the gospel so the infant church could
grow quickly and withstand Satan’s fury. John the Baptist was the Elias who prepared people
at the Savior’s time. In this dispensation the Lord raised up various Eliases. For example,
Sidney Rigdon, a Campbellite preacher in Ohio, prepared many for the gospel, including
future counselors in the First Presidency, apostles, and presiding bishops. To Sidney
Rigdon the Lord said, “Thou was sent forth, even as John, to prepare the way before me . .
. , and thou knewest it not”. In black Africa, where the revelation on the priesthood was, in
effect, the restoration of the gospel for them, a loving Heavenly Father raised up many
Eliases. Let me share some examples. The first missionaries sent to Africa were Rendell
and Rachel Mabey and Ted and Janath Cannon. They arrived in Nigeria just five months after
the revelation. Their first baptism was an Elias named Anthony Obinna, who had waited
and pleaded for membership for 13 years. In 1965 he had a dream that he did not understand
but that impressed him deeply. He said:
One night I was sleeping and a tall man came to
me . . . and took me to one of the most beautiful buildings and showed me all the rooms. At the
end he showed himself in the crucified form. Then in 1970 I found [a] Reader’s Digest article
titled “The March of the Mormons,” with a picture of the Salt Lake Temple. It was exactly the
same building that I had seen in my dreams. Immediately Brother Obinna wrote to Church
headquarters requesting literature and baptism. He received literature, organized a congregation,
and continued writing letters requesting baptism. Finally, after years of pleading, he wrote
directly to the Council of Twelve, saying, “Your long silence about the establishment of the
Church in Nigeria is very embarrassing. . . . Did Christ not say, ‘Go ye and teach all nations?’”.
It is not often that the Brethren are chastised by a nonmember of the Church for not baptizing
converts. However, when Brother Obinna learned that the revelation had been received, he
wrote the following to President Kimball:
We are happy for the many hours in the upper room
of the temple you spent supplicating the Lord to bring us into the fold. We thank our Heavenly
Father for hearing your prayers and ours and by revelation [confirming] the long promised day
. . . to receive every blessing of the gospel. On the day Brother Obinna was baptized, he was
ordained to the priesthood and set apart as the first black African branch president, and Sister
Obinna became the first Relief Society president. Soon after his baptism Brother Obinna prophesied,
“The seed of the gospel will grow into a giant tree. The Church in Nigeria will surprise
the world in its growth”. And so it has. Growth has been a continuing and major challenge
to the Church in Africa. Limiting baptisms, so membership did not outgrow leadership,
was like trying to contain an explosion. The spiritual hunger of the people and
the dedicated efforts of the Eliases brought such rapid growth that Presiding
Bishop Victor L. Brown said to Elder Mabey, “I think you are on the frontier of one of the
greatest historical events in Church history as far as growth is concerned”.
For instance, Elder Mabey tells of traveling a great distance through a rain forest
in Nigeria to find a particular congregation. They arrived on a Saturday just as people were
leaving a little village church, attached to which was a sign that read, “The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.” Elder Mabey reported:
The pastor was very happy and excited to see
us and ran out and rang the assembly bell. All the people came back and we held a meeting.
The first thing this pastor did after [the meeting concluded], was to stand up with tears in his eyes
and thank the Lord for answering their prayers. He said, “You know, today we were assembled
here on Saturday because we were breaking a twenty-four hour fast, asking the Lord to
send us missionaries. . . . We’ve listened to you for an hour and we all believe what you
tell us is true and we want to be baptized!”
In both Nigeria and Ghana the missionaries
found hundreds who had testimonies of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph Smith, and
the restoration of the gospel. All they needed was baptism. And so they were baptized!
In one 24-hour period, 149 converts were baptized. Within one year there were more than
1,700 members in 35 branches in West Africa. After only nine and a half years of missionary
work, Elder Neal A. Maxwell organized the Aba Nigeria Stake on May 15, 1988—the first stake
in which all priesthood leaders were black—and he noted that this was “a historic day in the Church
in this dispensation, and in any dispensation”. As Elder Maxwell created this first black
African stake, he said to those present:
I was present in the upper room of the temple
that early June day in 1978 when all the General Authorities gathered to receive the revelation
and decision from President Spencer W. Kimball. I wept with joy that day. The handkerchief I wiped
my tears with I took home and told my wife not to wash it. I put it in my book of remembrance,
still bearing the marks of my tears of joy. On this Sunday, I have a second handkerchief that
[has] wiped more tears of joy. I will take it home and place it in my book of remembrance
next to the other handkerchief. In Ghana the field was also already to
harvest, due mainly to another Elias, Joseph William Billy Johnson, a preacher who
obtained a Book of Mormon in 1964. He said:
As I read the Book of Mormon I became
convinced that it was really the word of God, and sometimes while reading I would burst into
tears. I felt the Spirit as I read. . . .
I have a strong testimony [of] the Book
of Mormon. It is a very powerful book! Brother Johnson also knew that the Lord
called him to be an Elias. He said:
One early morning . . . I saw the heavens open and
angels with trumpets singing songs of praise unto God. . . . In the course of this I heard my name
mentioned thrice, “Johnson, Johnson, Johnson. If you will take up my work as I will command you,
I will bless you and bless your land.” Trembling and in tears I replied, “Lord, with thy help
I will do whatsoever you will command me.” From that day onward, I was constrained
by that Spirit to go from street to street . . . to deliver the message which
we had read from the Book of Mormon. . . . I did exactly as the Lord commanded me . . .
and immediately our persecutions started. Brother Johnson also reported that at a time of
great trial early in his ministry, his deceased brother appeared to him in a dream and said:
“Don’t worry. . . you have chosen the only true church on earth . . . and I am now investigating
your church.” I was surprised. I never knew that the Church extended to another world. It
was my brother who brought that knowledge to me. He said that if I didn’t believe him, he would
sing a song from my church, and he sang “Come, Come, Ye Saints.” That was the first time I had
heard that hymn. He said, “Don’t leave the church, my brother. . . . Please see that I am baptized.”
Brother Johnson then noted:
It was my brother who enlightened me about
baptism for the dead and brought it to my knowledge. . . . Most of my relatives appeared
to me in dreams [saying,]“Reverend Johnson, do you know you have a work to do for us? Our great
grandsons and daughters will be in your church soon. See that we are baptized.” . . . I learned
these doctrines before the missionaries arrived. Nothing they taught us seemed strange. They
simply confirmed what we had heard. . . . Each time the Lord addressed us in dreams,
He addressed us as Latter-day Saints, even though we had not yet become members.
Brother Johnson felt very close to the prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, who reportedly
also appeared to him in visions and dreams to strengthen him. A son was born during these
trying times, and he is probably the only young man in Ghana today named Brigham.
For 14 years Brother Johnson helped organize 10 congregations. To strengthen
his people against trials and persecution, he focused on the early history
of the Church. He said: We felt the spirit of the pioneers. . . .
We gained our strength from the pioneers. We were inspired by their works. . . . I would
see tears falling from the eyes of my members, especially when we sang, “Come, Come,
Ye Saints.” That hymn is wonderful. It is my favorite hymn in the Church.
One night at midnight, after many lonely years of struggle, Brother Johnson heard a
shortwave news broadcast from England in which he heard President Kimball’s announcement that
all worthy males could receive the priesthood. He burst into tears of joy, knowing that
the Church would now come to Africa. Following Brother Johnson’s baptism he served
as Ghana’s first branch president, after which he served several missions. Twelve years
after his baptism he was ordained a patriarch, when Elders Boyd K. Packer and James E.
Faust created the first two stakes in Ghana. Last February President Hinckley
announced the first temple in black Africa to be built in Accra, Ghana, where Brother Johnson
first preached. Soon he and tens of thousands of others can receive temple ordinances and
perform them for their kindred dead. A wonderful sister who performed an Elias-like
mission to her people in Ghana was Priscilla Sampson-Davis. She obtained a Book of
Mormon in 1963, then studied, prepared, and waited for 15 years. Soon after her baptism
she had a vision that she described as follows:
I wasn’t asleep. I saw myself at a sacrament
meeting and we were singing when I saw a personage in very bright apparel standing in front of the
congregation. The Personage called me by name and requested that I come and stand by Him. .
. . He then asked me why some were not singing with the others. I told him that they could not
read English. . . . He asked me if I wouldn’t like to help my sisters and brothers sing
praises to our Heavenly Father. I said that I would do my best. Then the vision passed away.
Immediately I . . . started translating the hymn Redeemer of Israel into Fanti
[the major dialect in Ghana]. Sister Sampson-Davis translated the hymns, the
missionary pamphlets, and Gospel Principles. Then, under assignment, she translated the Book
of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price into Fanti. She
said, “It was the Lord Himself who commissioned me to do the translation. . . . By translating
these things, my brothers and sisters who can’t understand English will be able to see
and read the true gospel for themselves”.
Moses Mahlangu, yet another Elias, was
a preacher from Soweto, South Africa. He found a copy of the Book of Mormon, but
because the bottom of the title page was torn off, he did not know what church had published it.
As he read the book, he was filled with light and understanding. He said, “I had had
desires to find God and to receive revelation, but I was never satisfied until I got the
Book of Mormon.” He told his fellow pastors:
We fight every day over what the Bible says
about baptism. We fight about the name of the church. The Book of Mormon is very clear on these
points. . . . People will have no need to fight if they read both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Fluent in nine languages, Moses taught from the Book of Mormon and gathered many followers before
he ever learned the name of the Church and made contact with it. Then, for more than 14 years he
waited, preparing himself and others for baptism. During this time he frequently came to the
mission office in Johannesburg to obtain copies of the Book of Mormon and other literature,
and I was therefore privileged to know him.
Soon after the revelation was announced, I sought
out Moses. As we embraced I asked him if he had heard about the revelation. He said, “Yes.
Does this mean that I can now be baptized?” I asked, “Moses, would you like to be baptized?” His eyes welled up with tears as he said
softly, “I have waited for 14 years.” I conducted a baptismal interview
that I shall never forget. To every question I received the same answer: “I
have been keeping that commandment for 14 years.” I was deeply humbled in the presence of this
great pioneer. His son, who as a boy accompanied Moses in his ministry, is now serving as Moses’
bishop in the Soweto Ward, near Johannesburg. Presidents Harold B. Lee and Gordon B. Hinckley
have said that the strength of the Church is not in our numbers, our buildings, or
the amount of tithes and offerings. Our strength is in the testimonies that
burn in the hearts of the members. It has been my privilege to hear hundreds of
testimonies from African converts. I share but one. It was spoken by a nine-year-old
boy in a fast and testimony meeting in Aba, Nigeria, two weeks after he was
baptized. This was his message: Good morning, brothers and sisters. I
am happy to bear my testimony because I was baptized on conference day. Since I joined
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, God has been guiding me both in the school
and at home. Now that I am baptized, I promise to continue obeying God’s commandments.
I testify that The Church of Jesus Christ is true. I testify that the Prophet
Ezra Taft Benson is true. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I say all these
things in Jesus’ name. Amen. [Taped recording] The significance of this unique chapter of
Church history was summed up by Brother Jude Inmpey from Nigeria. At a social
gathering with mission couples, the mission president called on him to share his
feelings about the gospel coming to his people. He related a dream that he had not understood
until that moment. He had dreamed that he was in a gathering where an organ was playing
background music. It sounded terrible, and people were complaining. They discovered that
the organist was playing only on the white keys. Brother Inmpey then observed, “For many, many
years the Church has been playing only the white keys, but now we are playing on the white and the
black keys, and the music is much, much sweeter”. The sweetness of this music was experienced
last February when President Hinckley became the first president of the Church to visit black
Africa. A member of the Twelve observed that not only did the prophet have a great impact on the
Saints in Africa, but the Saints in Africa also had a great impact on the prophet.
While in Africa, President Hinckley compared Peter’s revelation that opened the
door for the gospel to go to the Gentiles nearly 2,000 years ago to the revelation
allowing the gospel to go to black Africa. He quoted Peter’s statement to Cornelius: “God
is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness,
is accepted with him”. Then the prophet said: That, my beloved brethren
and sisters, describes you. I’ve had that testimony reconfirmed in my heart on
this trip, as I have met with you and many others, that all are alike unto God. We are . . . all of
a great family, a marvelous family, the family of the living Christ, worshiping Him together.
And, referring to the revelation of June 1978, President Hinckley said, “I want to give
testimony here that that was inspired, that that was a revelation from God. I was
there. I was an eyewitness to it in the House of the Lord. . . . How grateful we are”.
I also testify that this work is divine, and so are our spiritual roots. We are truly
brothers and sisters through our spirit’s birth and through our spiritual rebirth.
May we always radiate pure love toward others—regardless of race, culture, or
gender—as our Heavenly Father and the Savior do. Indeed, as the prophet Nephi and
President Hinckley have testified: “All are alike unto God,” to which I
testify in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
