| 
The
Temple
 |
Our
first view of the Accra Ghana Temple from Independence Avenue.
Notice how the building is still wet from the rain. The Saints
were so concerned about how to get all the Sahara dust off
the Temple before the Prophet arrived. |
Accra has its
charms, but much of it is also ramshackle and seedy, so as we first
came upon the temple with its adjoining stake center, office building,
and patron housing, we felt we had entered a visual oasis; we were
glimpsing a beacon in the darkness sending off signals of light.
 |
Workers
meticulously groomed the lawn and landscaping to prepare for
the arrival of the Prophet. |
As we drove
into the square through the white gates, the place was a bustle,
with a vibrant air of anticipation. One member was sweeping the
parking lot, the Sahara silt in a pile before him. Others were edging
and mowing the lawn, African flowers and plants graced the square
in splendid elegance, and the temple itself stood in magnificent
beauty—certainly, as it has been called, the most beautiful
building in West Africa.
How do you construct
an edifice like this in a place like Ghana, where materials and
workmanship are scant? Building a temple is always an act of faith,
but building it in a land with such a fragile economy, techniques
and skills require heavenly vision. The reason, for instance, that
earthquakes wreak such havoc in places like Iran is because the
buildings are often shoddy, workmanship is substandard, and they
cannot withstand the pressure of a quake. This is the “developing
nation” construction technique, a band-aid approach to construction.
 |
| View of
the temple through the pillar on the West Africa Area office
building. Note how the stone of the temple is still wet from
the "miracle rain." |
To make matters
more challenging, temples are not built to ordinary specifications,
but are constructed to last for hundreds of years—perhaps
even through the millennium. That means for instance, if buildings
are rated for a particular earthquake zone, the Church builds at
least two notches up.
“The temple
in Ghana has so much steel,” said Russ Tanner, head of the
building project, “we could hardly find a place to pour the
concrete. The building inspectors just shook their heads in amazement
when they came through; they had never seen anything like it.”
Both Russ and
Liam McVeigh, project manager, said they’d hardly worked on
a project like the Ghana temple before—because there were
no glitches along the way. How that happened with the obstacles
the project faced is astounding. Meridian will take you on a tour
of the temple in an upcoming issue, but we, too, shook our heads
at its beauty both outside and in.
Sensitive
to the Spirit
The 25,000 who
had gone through the temple open house earlier in December had been
impressed with the peace of temple. These included reporters and
business executives, tribal chiefs and heads of government departments.
 |
| The beautiful
flora of the Temple landscaping seems to bespeak the lovely
angles and dimensions of the Temple itself. |
One visitor
to the temple asked a question, “What are the fat cows holding
up the baptismal font?” The symbolism had escaped the visitor.
The tour guides could have said, but didn’t, that they represented
the twelve tribes of Israel, or that Christ through his atonement
was symbolized anciently as the fat bull who breaks the yoke of
oppression upon people. That time has come for Ghana.
Josiah Christian
Andoh of the Liberian Embassy wrote of his temple visit, “I
felt like I am already in the Spirit world and would have regretted
I am not already a Christian.” Belinda Ca of the Department
of Interior said, “I felt so close to my Maker when going
through the rooms, but I felt closer when I entered the Celestial
room.” In all more than 2,000 people listed themselves as
referrals for the missionaries or 8.5% of those who came through
the temple open house.
 |
| The sign
in front of the Temple can be seen from the main road, Independence
Avenue. The Temple complex (Temple Square of Accra) is a veritable
oasis. |
These statistics
are high, dwarfing referrals in many other places following dedications,
but for Ghana they are not surprising. “We’re jumping
through hoops trying to keep up with them said John Riding, mission
president of the Accra, Ghana Mission. Last year they had about
200 baptisms per month for a total of 2500. This is from 119 missionaries,
all but ten of whom are African natives.
“We can
almost baptize at will,” said President Riding, “but
we work to make sure that anyone who is baptized is truly converted.
We have to have the leadership in place before we can bring people
into the Church,” he said, “and that means a good share
of our converts have to be educated and financially stable.”
 |
| Holiness
to the Lord is etched in the very stones of the Temple, a symbol
for the Saints to etch those words on the inner parts of the
soul. |
Still, the Spirit
urges many to the Church without these qualifications. Elder H.
Glade Christensen said the people in the villages where they labor
know the green Toyota that he and his wife drive, and as soon as
they pull up and stop, people are knocking on the windows saying,
“I want to be taught.”
Sister Naomi
Riding, the Ghana Mission Mother, said that when they are out walking,
people will fall in step with them and ask to be taught. Part of
this responsiveness is that Ghana is already 70% Christian, and
children have a Bible study in their school classes. When they graduate,
they know the Bible well, and it is easy for them to compare what
they learn about the gospel, with what they already know is in the
Bible.
 |
| The gospel
trump is now sounding even louder to the nation of Ghana. |
“We tell
them about the doctrine,” said Sister Riding, “their
eyes become wide and they say it rings true to them. They hear it
and they know it. They tell us of dreams and revelations they have.”
In these dreams, they have seen the temple and recognize it later
when they see a picture of it, or they are drawn to a particular
building and told they must hear the message that will be given
them inside.
The deluge of
people interested in the Church, do not mean that they come in the
front door and out the back. President Riding cites the Assinfoso-koo
Ward, for instance, where attendance is 60 to 75%.
 |
Sign
out in front of the area offices in Accra, Ghana. |
Nearly everyone
compares the rolling forward of the work in Ghana to the first years
of the restoration when Heber C. Kimball saw entire villages converted
in England and Wilford Woodruff brought 600 into the gospel at the
Benbow farm. The Church not only sees that kind of vitality and
energy, but similar spiritual manifestations.
Sister Carol
Dee Christensen said they taught a first discussion to an elderly
man, so slight he was probably under 100 pounds. He wanted a copy
of the Book of Mormon so desperately that they left one with him,
but they had little hope of his progressing because he was illiterate.
He assured them that his grandson knew the Fante language and would
read it to him. That night he slept on the Book of Mormon and dreamed
all night that it was being read to him. In the morning he awoke
and said, “I have read the Book of Mormon and it is true.”
“Several
months later,” said Sister Christensen, “we returned
to that village and went to church. He had become an active member
there, and when he saw me, he worked his away across to me, knelt
down and kissed my hand. Some of these converts may have a great
deal to learn, but they are full of the love of God, and you can
feel it.”
Priscilla
Sampson-Davis
 |
Pricilla
Sampson-Davis talks about her seeing a vision in the middle
of the day and what she was taught by it. |
Priscilla Sampson-Davis,
who received her copy of the Book of Mormon in the Netherlands and
was the first person baptized in Accra in 1978, told a story that
underscores this sense of love that permeates these Saints.
She explained
a vision that she had, “One day after having my lunch, it
seemed I was in the church in sacrament meeting. I looked and saw
somebody in front of the pulpit dressed in white apparel who was
beckoning to come. I came up and stood by him and looked at the
faces in the congregation. He asked, ‘Do you think they are
all happy?’ I said that I thought they were.
“He asked
me to look again, and asked me if now I thought they were all happy.
I realized that many of them had their heads bent down. He said,
‘They are illiterate. Wouldn’t you like to help your
brothers and sisters so they could join in singing the hymns?’
She answered, ‘Please I will try.”
The vision or
dream closed and immediately she started to translate the hymn “Redeemer
of Israel.” She showed her work to Brother Joseph W.B. Johnson,
who founded congregations in Ghana long before the Church came,
and he said her translation was good.She went on to translate the
hymns into her native language.
Some time later
she was sitting under a mango tree, when she read an article in
the Ensign about somebody translating the Book of Mormon into Hawaiian.
She thought, if I translated the hymns, couldn’t I also translate
the Book of Mormon? She began her work that afternoon. Since then
she has gone on to translate the Doctrine & Covenants, the Pearl
of Great Price, the missionary discussions, five missionary tracts
and three film strips—all out of love. “Wouldn’t
you like to help your brothers and sisters?” and she answered,
“Please, I will try.”
Eternal
Progress
What we learned
our first day in Ghana was that it didn’t matter if we lost
our bags or if life was terribly inconvenient and sometimes downright
miserable in this developing nation. We learned how much God loves
his children, how much God loves the Ghanaians.
We were told
that there are no finer or better-run stakes in the Church than
those in Accra. We learned that farther out in the villages and
districts, the people are still learning the ways of the Lord, but
the direction of movement is momentous. Someone who was lounging
around without purpose 6 months ago, today becomes the elder’s
quorum president. The man who had to stamp the certificate for his
newly legalized marriage with a thumb print is taking literacy lessons
through the Church.
This happens
because they feel the power and love of the gospel not only through
the Spirit but through the tangible love of other human beings who
are reaching out. Nine senior couples are serving in Ghana who have
together already served a total of 44 missions. Think of it—all
those years away from grandchildren—but using their experience
and knowledge to change the world. Who are these people?
And the Ghanaians
themselves are so remarkable with their keen spirituality, their
hunger for the Lord. They weep when they talk of their new temple
and the blessings promised to them there. They held on to the gospel
in unofficial congregations for 14 years before the missionaries
came. Who are these people?
 |
Young
Latter-day Saint girl sings the songs of Zion here in Africa. |
What we felt
keenly looking at this new temple and hugging our new-found Ghanaian
friends is a lesson our four-year old taught us years ago. She was
looking at pictures in The Friend when with great excitement
she called and said, “Here is somebody who looks just like
me.” I looked at the page, and there was a beautiful, little
African face staring back at me. She had pigtails just like our
daughter. “Yes, I told her.” You’re right. She
looks just like you.”
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