Four African Nations Dedicated

In five days, Elders Russell M. Nelson and Richard G. Scott, both of the Quorum of the Twelve, dedicated four nations of Africa: Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and Congo.

Zambia was dedicated on August 20 by Elder Nelson at a secluded spot on a hill near a lake on university grounds in Lusaka, the nation’s capital.

On August 21, Elder Scott offered the dedicatory prayer in Botswana in a small clearing in the Gaborone Game Reserve.

The next day, a small group of members gathered in Namibia on Tower Hill in Windhoek for the dedicatory prayer offered by Elder Nelson.

Elder Scott dedicated the nation of Congo on August 24 in a shaded area located on a hillside about ten miles down the Congo River from Brazzaville, the nation’s capital.

Almost all Church members in Zambia attended the dedication. The Church in Zambia began with a branch established in Kwekwe for expatriates working in the area. The first missionary couple arrived in the nation in April of this year, and the Church was formally registered on 10 July 1992. Since April, twenty-six people have been baptized, and fifty-four people regularly attend sacrament meetings.

The first missionary couple sent to Botswana arrived in June 1990 with an assignment to locate members baptized in the United States who had relocated to the desert nation. Five people were found, and others were baptized in September of that same year. Church registration was filed in the nation in August 1991. In March 1992, the first branch was divided into two units. Membership has grown to 160 in the nation.

Namibia is part of the South Africa Cape Town Mission. A small group of members gathered for that nation’s dedication. Mission president Blaine Hudson said, “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. … The Church is now poised to blossom in this vast and sparsely settled land.”

In Congo, some sixty-five members and local Church leaders attended the dedication. Afterwards, a special fireside attended by approximately 250 members and visitors was held in Brazzaville. Elders Nelson and Scott, along with mission and district leaders, also attended the meeting.