Modern-Day LDS Pioneers - Growth of the Mormon Church - 6/8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Zsvml57PE is a video describing how to learn more about the Mormon Church.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been a presence in Africa since 1853, but for the first 125 years it was established only in southern Africa. Applications by the Church for admittance into central Africa in the 1960s were denied, but those in 1978 were approved, and growth of the Church there has been impressive.
From 1853 until 1978 most of the work of the Church in Africa was with European immigrants and their descendants in South Africa and in Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe, respectively). In June 1978, when the First Presidency announced the revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male members of the Church, the way was opened for the Church to extend its full program to all the nations of Africa. Missionaries were sent to Nigeria and Ghana at the request of many local people who had already studied the Church scriptures and literature and had organized themselves into units that they unofficially called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Church missions were later organized in Zaire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, and Mauritius and Reunion islands.
The establishment of the Church in Africa began at a special Church conference in Salt Lake City in August 1852, when President Brigham Young called 106 men to leave their wives in charge of their families, homes, farms, and businesses and go on missions to various lands of the world to proclaim the restored gospel. Three were called to go to South Africa: Jesse Haven, William H. Walker, and Leonard I. Smith, with Elder Haven assigned to preside. Leaving their families in the care of God, they arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on April 18, 1853, and set about to establish the Church in South Africa, encouraging the converts to "gather to Zion" in Utah. The missionaries faced heavy opposition from the local clergy and indifference to their message among the people generally; fewer than 200 people accepted baptism in the two and a half years they served.
One of the first converts in South Africa in 1853 was Nicholas Paul, a thirty-year-old builder who aided and protected missionaries and let them use his home for meetings. He became the president of the first branch of the Church in Africa, which was organized in his home in Mowbray (Cape Town area). The 1853 missionaries also organized a branch of the Church in Port Elizabeth. When they returned to their families in America in 1855, other missionaries from America and South Africa were called to replace them. Between 1855 and 1865, 278 converts to the Church emigrated from South Africa to Utah.
No LDS missionaries served in South Africa from 1866 to 1903, and the Church grew slowly. Missionaries returned in 1903 and served until 1940, when they were withdrawn because of World War II. During those years 230 missionaries had worked in South Africa. Since the return of LDS missionaries to South Africa in 1944, the Church has grown steadily there and also expanded to other areas of Africa.
In addition to the efforts of foreign missionaries, much of the growth of the Church in Africa has resulted from the service of local members. Johanna Fourie instituted the Primary program for teaching the children in 1932 and spent the rest of her life (thirty-eight years) guiding and building this program throughout South Africa.
In 1954 President David O. McKay became the first general authority of the Church to visit South Africa. The first LDS Church stake in South Africa was organized in Johannesburg in 1970, with Louis P. Hefer as stake president. That stake was divided into two stakes in 1978. In 1972 Church seminaries and institutes of religion were introduced into southern Africa. All African countries in which the Church is established now have these programs. The added week-day religious training of the youth has increased local missionary participation. In 1973 President Spencer W. Kimball pronounced a dedicatory prayer upon the land of South Africa which included the promise that wards and stakes would dot the land and a temple would be built there. New stakes were created in Durban (1981) and Cape Town (1984). The first black African stake was organized in 1988 in Aba, Nigeria, with David W. Eka as its president.
Church growth in Africa since 1978 has been much higher in percentage than in the rest of the world. The major challenge is no longer to gain converts but to prepare local priesthood leadership. And as the Church continues to expand into sub-Saharan Africa, it must face the challenges of poverty and illiteracy. In addition to contributing to famine relief programs, the Church is helping its members in Africa to learn and implement the principles of self-reliance and independence.

Information from http://www.lightplanet.com

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[frozenfallen]

....LOL you gotta be kidding me MORMONS ARE NOT CHRISTIANS DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS VIDEO...I dont even no if COC even exists anymore

[lds9999]

When you say "COC", what are you referring to? If you mean the Church of Christ--I testify that it DOES exist today, that it has been restored in its fullness and is led by a modern-day prophet and 12 apostles today.

I would invite you to visit mormon*org and to read the Book of Mormon, along with the Bible, and pray and ask God if it is true.  The Spirit can testify whether or not it is true.

[trestinmeacham]

I would like to post a link to your channel on my blog.

[lds9999]

That'd be great, I hope you will. Thanks!

[2BigSparks]

Who gets to decide who is Christian and who is not? So many arguments against the Mormons are based on fear tactics and ending in "DON"T LISTEN". Those who know the Mormons personally agree the are overall a good people who live Christian values. Is there any other measure? I don't believe in listening to Nazis to learn about Jews.

[JohnRhysMusician]

The church has been in APARTHEID South Africa, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Namibia, and Zambia since 1853, coming on 157 years soon. In 1978 missionary efforts greatly increased.

[omiolo]

Perpetual Education Fund benefits Zambia returned Mormon missionaries

Published: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009

[blur127]

This is my favorite film that the Church has ever made. We used it to teach a man from the Gambia in West Africa. on my mission. He was amazing and had an experience very similar to the dreams of Anthony Obinna. As we watched the film he started to cry and knew he had found the answer to his dreams. The Restored Gospel is true. The heavens are open and the LORD still speaks to his children. His church has been restored, and will continue to spread His Gospel throughout the earth!

[2morrowman]

Thats amazing. Awesome video. Thanks