Church Members Meet With Ghana Officials, Faith Leaders

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By Joe Wirthlin, Church News

Local leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with Ghanaian officials, faith leaders and youth, building connections within their communities and sharing their testimonies of Jesus Christ.

On May 5, the Accra Ghana Kasoa Stake of the Church invited interfaith, community and traditional leaders to the Kasoa Stake conference in the Kasoa Stake Center in Walanta for a conference centered on family.

On June 27, the Church sponsored an interfaith youth summit for 160 youth from eight local schools focused on strengthening the rising generation of youth.

On June 29, the Teshie Ghana Stake invited leaders from Teshie and Nungua, Ghana, to a special dinner at the Teshie Stake Center.

Making Our Homes Celestial

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Stake President Daniel Allotey presided over the Kasoa Stake conference, accompanied by his counselors, President Derrick Ekow Sam and President Joseph Susu. President K. Erik Jacobsen and Sister Renee Jacobsen, Ghana Accra West Mission leaders; and President John Kuduo Buah and Sister Augustina Danso Buah, president and matron of the Accra Ghana Temple, also participated in the conference.

“We must always improve ourselves, recognizing our shortcomings, to be an example to our children and to bring our Heavenly Father’s Spirit into our homes,” President Allotey said. He also discussed the importance of repentance as the first step to creating a celestial home.

Kasoa is within the Central Region of Ghana. The Church’s Africa Newsroom reports that the rapidly growing city of more than 400,000 residents hosts eight congregations of the Church.

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Imam Alhaji Adam Abubakar, deputy chief imam in Odupong Ofaakor, and Imam Abdul-Azia Ismail Otoo, secretary to the Council of Imams, attended the conference, representing the local Muslim community.

Representatives of Nai Odupong Awushie Tetteh II, overlord of Odupong (Kasoa Kurowura), including three local chiefs, also attended the conference. They were joined by representatives from the Odupong Ofaakor Zongo Chiefs’ Office, including Sarki Ibrahim Bukari Torma, the Gada Zongo chief.

Sister Patience Adjei, a young woman from the Papaase Group, spoke on the importance of being peacemakers in one’s home and community. Later, Bishop Komla Dzigbordi Amewuho of the Kasoa 4th Ward said, “We can make our homes celestial by balancing tolerance, truth and love.”

These community and religious leaders were impressed by the messages shared about the importance of family and the need for peace and cooperation in the community, according to the Newsroom report.

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“We are Muslims and you are Christians, but our common enemy is Satan,” Imam Abdul-Aziz Otoo said. “We have learned today that we are on the same page, and together we must chase Satan out from amongst us.”

“You don’t sow corn and reap casava,” said Alimah Faustina Braimah, Awutu Senya East Municipal Education director. “Whatever we want from our children we should sow in them. What we have learned here today is how to build those strong family ties.”

“We felt highly respected from our reception to the end of the program,” said a representative from the Odupong Ofaakor Zongo community. “The solemn atmosphere of your meeting was quite refreshing. We are glad that we came.”

‘Strengthening the Rising Generation’

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The Abomosu Ghana Stake Center in Abomosu, Eastern Region, Ghana, hosted an interfaith youth summit for 160 youth from eight schools. The summit, taught by local community and religious leaders, focused on “Strengthening the Rising Generation.”

According to the Church’s Africa Newsroom, the interfaith youth summit, organized by the Communication Department of the Church, is held yearly in different communities across Ghana. The summit focuses on teaching interfaith harmony and cooperation at an early age.

The goals of this year’s summit included teaching the youth ages 12-18 how to develop the determination to stand up for what is right and moral and how to shun things that will stop them from achieving their personal goals.

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Students from AME Zion Aim Higher Basic School, Ompad STEM Senior High School, Abomosu Great Vision International School, Osunafo Islamic Primary, Presbyterian Junior High School, Abomosu Roman Catholic Junior High School, Adventist Reformed Institute and New Believers International School, along with some of their teachers, attended the summit.

Dr. Richard Benedict III, director of heath for the Atiwa West District Assembly, was the chairman of the summit. Both the district assembly and the Ghana Education Service collaborated with the Church to make the summit possible.

President Frank Ofosu of the Abomosu Ghana Stake represented the Church at the summit. He was joined by Bishop Frank Ancquah and members of the stake communication committee, who organized the event.

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The chief imam of Abomosu, Iddrisu Yusif; the Rev. Stephen Okine from Assemblies of God; District Education Director John Kwasi Osafo; Ghana Police Chief Inspector George Anining; and Church Communication Director Osei Bonsu spoke to the youth. Seth Oppong, mayor of Abomosu, also attended.

At the opening of the summit, President Ofosu spoke about the importance of developing interfaith relationships with neighbors in the community. “Regardless of religion, we are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. He loves all of us equally. We must do our best to show Him that we are all one in our love and devotion to Him.”

“How you dress is a form of identification ... and your character is represented by your dress and appearance,” Chief Imam Iddrisu said, encouraging them to dress and groom themselves appropriately. He also told the youth that having faith means always knowing the right thing to do.

Anining taught the youth that having good friends is critical to making good decisions. “Good morals will guide you. Choose friends that have the same morals and values. Don’t make your life more difficult by having friends who don’t encourage you to do the things that are right.”

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The Rev. Okine spoke to the youth about honesty and integrity. “Where there is honesty, society will prosper, and God will rejoice,” he said. “By showing integrity, you will gain the trust of others and increase your ability to accomplish your goals and have an impact on the world.”

Osafo led an interactive portion of the summit, asking students to identify the problems they see in Ghana. He then pleaded with them to learn how to create solutions to the problems they saw by focusing on educating themselves to become leaders with integrity.

“You will be the next generation of leaders where previous generations have failed. Ghana cannot afford for you to fail. Please use your education and ideals to bless your country,” he said.

Community Dinner to Introduce the Church of Jesus Christ

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Civil, religious and traditional leaders from from Teshie and Nungua, Ghana, attended a key opinion leader dinner hosted by the Church in the Teshie Stake Center. Dinner invitations were extended to these leaders to introduce the Church, share its mission and strengthen relationships with the invited dignitaries. These efforts would hopefully support positive development between the Church and members of the communities.

The imam of Teshie, Sheik Tijani Ahmen, represented the local Muslim community at the dinner. He was accompanied by Alhaji Issah and Alhaji Torfi. The district engineer from the Ledzokuku District Assembly, Evans Sackey, attended, along with the district commander of police, Kofi Obiri. Obiri had only recently taken up his command duties in the area. From the Teshie Traditional Council, the Teshie akwashongtse, Nii Sango Amarh I , came with some council members.

The member of Parliament for Ledzokuku, Benjamin Ayiku, who had attended the most recent Teshie Ghana Stake conference, said he was happy to be back for the dinner event. Ayiku was accompanied by Enam Alordzinu, the women’s organizer of the National Democratic Congress in the district, along with two of Ayiku’s staff.

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The stake presidency, President Jeffrey Odai Botchway and his two counselors, Presidents Leonard L. A. Abbey and Emmanuel Eyinda, came to the event, along with other stake officers.

At the dinner, two presentations were shown to attendees. The first, produced in part by BYU–Pathway and the Church education program, was presented by the area online education program manager, Francis Adjei Akpor. The presentation highlighted opportunities available for youth, both members of the Church and friends of the Church. The second presentation, developed by Julius Ahiaku, area oral genealogy operations manager, focused on FamilySearch and family history work.

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Ayiku, who spoke on behalf the special invited guests, said he was amazed that the Church would offer such great opportunities with Pathway to its members and even nonmembers. He even joked about personally enrolling in the program.

At the end of the evening and presentations, President Botchway thanked the guests for honoring the stake’s dinner invitation. He also talked about the purpose of the Church and Jesus Christ being its chief cornerstone.

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