Letters from Ghana

Joseph Kwame Dadzie

In the 1960s and 1970s, converts in West Africa wrote to Church headquarters, pleading for baptism and the establishment of branches. Conscious of the obstacle the Church’s priesthood restriction posed, Church President Spencer W. Kimball sought to know the Lord’s will concerning the growing number of black converts around the world. Dozens of letters from Ghana were among the many influences that led Kimball to pray for guidance.

Clement Osekre and Joseph Kwame Dadzie, members of the early unofficial congregations in Accra and Takoradi, wrote to Church leaders regularly, asking for materials, encouragement, and, above all, missionaries. Emmanuel Bondah, a young man from Assin Foso, wrote expressing his hope to “share these happy things that you enjoy in Christ.” When Kimball read Bondah’s letter, he wept at the thought of the believers in Ghana who had waited so long.

In June 1978, Kimball announced a revelation extending priesthood ordination to all men, regardless of race, opening the door to Church growth in Ghana. At a seminar for regional representatives, Kimball read from Bondah’s letter and asked, “What about Africa? … Are they not included in the Lord’s invitation to ‘teach all nations’?” The first missionaries to Ghana arrived later that year.