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The
Day of Africa
Text by Maurine Proctor and Sylvia Finlayson
Photography
by Scot Facer Proctor
click
photos to enlarge
PART THREE
The Lord Has
a Home
Tears were the
order of the day. Miles Cunningham, an early mission president,
cried when he spoke of the temple and the landmark growth in the
people.. Three of his former missionaries had now become mission
presidents in West Africa. Many more are stalwart Church members
and leaders.
The members we
interviewed on the temple grounds displayed a richness in understanding
of the gospel. Grace Siriboe, converted in Nigeria, said, “We think
that the Lord has not looked upon our imperfections and denied us
anything. Rather I think he has forgiven us our sins and given
us this wonderful thing.
“Now, we have
a place for the Lord to live in in the country. If you have a place
for the Lord to live, the Love will live with you all the time.
Wherever the Lord is, he makes sure he blesses the people, the land
and the efforts of the people. I know the land is going to be blessed,
not only Ghana, not only West Africa, but black Africa as a whole.
We are very happy about that.”
Preparing Members
Preparing members
for the temple ordinances has been the mighty focus of the local
priesthood leaders. This was a special challenge because up until
recently, many of them, lacking means, had not been able to do their
own temple work. How can you prepare a people for the temple if
you have no understanding of it yourself?
To solve this,
in the last few years, with support, all of the leaders and their
wives have gone to the temple, most to Johannesburg, South Africa,
to receive their own endowments and sealing blessings. Then, like
a candle that can in turn light many others, they have taught their
ward and branch members about temple blessings.
This does not
mean, however, that their children were sealed to them. It was
not whole families, but couples only in most cases, that received
their sealing blessings. Most Church leaders in Ghana were working
exhausting hours, holding temple preparation classes, urging the
Saints to be temple-ready, and looking forward to their own blessings
as well.
The Ghana temple
dedication flung open the doors for these leaders who have worked
tirelessly without all of the eternal blessings for their children
to be sealed to them.
Who are these
people, who have given so much based on faith and promises, without
yet having received all of the blessings in return?
Imagine a stake
president whose children does not yet have the covenant blessings.
A bishop who has been a loyal Church member for many years who has
only recently been sealed to his wife. This has been West Africa
without their own temple.
Isaac Ferguson,
the West Africa Area Welfare Manager, has a sign in his office,
“What is essential is invisible to the eye.” The black priesthood
leaders in West Africa have kept their eyes on what is essential.
Richard K. Ahadjie,
president of the Accra Ghana Stake, for instance, was sealed to
his wife and one child, another was born in the covenant, but with
the Ghana temple dedicated, four more of his children can be sealed
to them. Bli bi Tok Philippe, President of the du Pieu d’Abidjan
Stake in the Ivory Coast brought six children to the temple dedication,
none of whom had been sealed. He and his wife were not returning
to the Ivory Coast until that sealing ceremony took place.
President Ahadjie,
who has 3,360 people in his stake said, “For the past month, I’ve
done at least twenty recommend interviews every day—even up until
yesterday. People have come to the stake center. They have come
to my home, hoping to be ready for the temple. Everyone has participated
in special temple-ready classes.”
Not only will
his stake in Accra Ghana swell with an enhanced spirituality from
their own temple attendance, the temple opens new opportunities
for missionary work. Last year his stake saw 406 baptisms, but
since the temple openhouse yielded more than 2,000 referrals, most
of them in his stake boundaries, he anticipates that this year they
will see many more. “This year we will see hundreds of baptisms
in our stake,” he said. “We are going to set a goal of more than
100 for each of the 13 wards in our stake.”
One Ghanaian family
who live in London have come for the dedication. They have chosen
to live in London for many years, not because their pay is better,
but for one reason. “We love the temple and we wanted to be close
to it. Now, maybe we can think about coming home.”
Click
here to go to Part 4 of The Day of Africa
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© 2004 Meridian
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