On authorization of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve, four nations of Africa were dedicated in five days, Aug. 20-24, by Elders Russell M. Nelson and Richard G. Scott of the Council of the Twelve. The nations are Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Congo.
On Aug. 20, at a secluded spot on a hill near a lake on university grounds in the capital city of Lusaka, Elder Nelson dedicated the nation of Zambia to the preaching of the gospel."It was a touching scene," commented Pres. Vern Marble of the neighboring Zimbabwe Harare Mission who was present for the prayer of dedication. "Many of the branch members had come a very long way to be there early in the morning. Two young men from Livingston came 500 kilometers. They were baptized the same day. Almost all the members in Zambia were there. The dedication only took about 20 minutes, but the members lingered. It was a very spiritual, joyous time for the people who were overwhelmed to have an apostle of the Lord with them."
In the 1960s, a meetinghouse was built in Kwekwe, Zimbabwe, for a branch composed almost totally of expatriates working in what was then northern Rhodesia in the copperbelt and farmers from South Africa. Those original members left, presumably across the border into Zambia. However, when none were located, Pres. Marble went to Zambia in 1991 to search for members.
He searched for, but could not find, a man who had been baptized in England, Johnson Makombe, and his wife, Noria. However, a taxi driver in Lusaka offered to find them and deliver a message. When Pres. Marble returned a short time later, Noria Makombe went to the hotel where he was staying. When she met him in the lobby, her first words were, "Where can I pay my tithing?"
The first missionary couple, Elder Dean Harrison and his wife, Sister Ruth Harrison, were assigned to open the work in Zambia in April 1992, and the Church was formally registered July 10, 1992. Since April, 26 people have been baptized, and 54 people regularly attend sacrament meeting, compared with six to eight who met in September 1991.
When a branch of the Church was organized in Lusaka on July 14 of this year by Pres. Marble, the number in attendance was almost the same there as when the meetinghouse was built in Kwekwe in the early 1960s.
The prayer of dedication on the nation of Botswana was offered by Elder Scott on Aug. 21, in a small clearing in the Gaborone Game Reserve. Nearly 100 people were present, including members and missionaries.
The first missionary couple was sent to Botswana, a desert nation of less than 2 million people, in June 1990 to locate members who had been baptized in the United States and were living in Botswana. Two Peace Corps volunteers and three Botswanans were located. In September 1990, the baptisms of others were held. Among those converts was Kwasi Agyare Dwomoh, an architect from Ghana who is working for the Botswana government. When the Church registration was filed in August 1991 and the first branch was organized, Brother Dwomoh was called as its first president. By March 1992, the fast-growing branch was ready to be divided into two branches, and Brother Dwomoh was called as the first district president in Botswana. He also was the first member in Botswana to receive his endowments at the Johannesburg South Africa Temple.
When Botswana was dedicated, President Dwomoh announced that the membership had grown to 160, and, with a number of baptisms planned for the city of Lobatse, a third unit will be added soon to the district.
At the dedication, Pres. Dwomoh said: "It says in 3 Nephi 16:20: `The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God.' Every soul will be touched by our Heavenly Father and that is why in His wisdom today, Aug. 21, 1992, we have an apostle in Botswana to dedicate this land to the preaching of the gospel."
In Namibia, on Aug. 22, a small group of members gathered on Tower Hill in Windhoek to witness the dedication of the land by Elder Nelson. Namibia is part of the South Africa Cape Town Mission. Its president, Blaine Hudson, described the gathering as "the Lord's people who in the past years have been faithful in the desert and in the wilderness, and have made it blossom as a rose."
Pres. Hudson added: "The Lord has touched the hearts of local officials who have welcomed The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to this new nation. The Spirit among the little flock showed a depth of inner feeling that they are not forgotten and are known to the Lord."
One investigator family who attended the special dedicatory meeting set a date for baptism immediately after the dedicatory prayer. "The Church is now poised to blossom in this vast and sparsely settled land," Pres. Hudson observed.
The nation of Congo was dedicated Aug. 24 by Elder Scott. Elder Nelson briefly addressed the small gathering of members and leaders who gathered in a peaceful setting in a shaded area located on a hillside overlooking treetops about 10 miles down the Congo River from the capital city of Brazzaville. A picturesque Congolese village was visible in the distance beyond the river's rapids. About 65 members and leaders of three branches in Congo attended the dedication.
After the prayer of dedication was offered, the two apostles, mission, district and other leaders and members returned up river to Brazzaville to a special fireside, which was attended by about 250 members and visitors.
Shortly after returning to Salt Lake City, Elder Nelson and Elder Scott spoke with the Church News about the prayers of dedication offered in the four African nations. "The dedicatory services are generally private, not for large congregations," Elder Nelson explained. "The local leaders and a few members attended. It's a very private and sacred thing when apostles supplicate the Lord to bless a country, its people, its leaders and its resources.
"It's significant in that the Church has obtained recognition in those countries and our work has begun. We have a small component of missionaries and we have small congregations, but, with proper approval, the First Presidency and the Twelve felt it would be well to have prayers of dedication to precede future work in those countries."
He said the Church is small in all four nations recently dedicated. Larger congregations on the continent are in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Zaire.
Elder Scott said he was impressed that "the people we are teaching have a belief in the Savior that's based on the Bible. When they learn of the restoration of the priesthood, the clearer doctrine that comes through the restored Church and the Book of Mormon, they seem very satisfied. That foundation of a belief in God, augmented by the teachings of the missionaries, is producing a very strong conversion in the hearts of the people.
"In all the meetings we attended, there was nothing of a trivial nature in the messages and prayers given by local leaders. The messages were centered in the Savior, and His doctrines and teachings, in the Book of Mormon, the witness of the prophets, and the restoration of the gospel.
"Missionaries come, by and large, from the nations of Africa. Missionaries, for example, are going from Ghana and Sierra Leone to Kenya, and we also have some North American missionaries serving there.
"The Church itself is an excellent vehicle for transitions that need to be made in some parts of the countries of Africa." Elder Scott said newspapers recount strong feelings different races in Africa have against each other. "We don't find that among the membership of the Church," he noted. "In the temple, they sit side by side and they feel comfortable doing that. I attended a leadership meeting where black leaders were present with white leaders, and they were all working harmoniously together. The teachings of the Savior, when understood, can be a very strong source in understanding among the people who are trying to work under a very difficult situation."
