“What Was Essential”

“I had a religious education,” Samo Gonçalves recalled of his childhood in Beira and Maputo, Mozambique. “I knew that God lived.” Gonçalves prayed daily and sought the Lord’s guidance in his life. As an adult, he prayed to find the right church. In 1989 Gonçalves became National Director of Prisons for Mozambique and was given an opportunity to attend a university program as professional development. In 1992 Gonçalves traveled to Portugal to attend the University of Coimbra. “My family and my grandparents told me that when I go to Portugal,” he recalled, “I have to find a church.”

While studying in Portugal, Gonçalves met two Latter-day Saint missionaries, who taught him the restored gospel. During one meeting, the missionaries invited him to be baptized. Gonçalves was confused by this. “Did I have to be baptized if I had already been baptized?” he asked. Despite the missionaries’ explanation of the restoration of priesthood authority, Gonçalves was still unsure.

One night, Gonçalves stayed up through the night reading the Book of Mormon. When he finished early the next morning, he fell into a deep sleep and dreamed that he was standing at the end of a long bridge. After some hesitation, Gonçalves crossed. On the opposite side, he met an angelic being, who spread a white sheet over him and, laying his hands on Gonçalves, blessed him with a new power. When he awoke, Gonçalves knew that he should accept baptism by restored priesthood authority.

After his baptism, Gonçalves began corresponding with Church leaders in South Africa. He learned that a group led by Chico Mapenda, a convert baptized in East Germany; his father-in-law, Francisco Dique Sousa; and other members of his family had preached the gospel to their friends and family. Although they had organized unofficial congregations in Beira, Mafambisse, and Marromeu and were holding regular meetings, they had been unable to register the Church with the government. Chico Mapenda had even spent some time in jail for his efforts. Church leaders hoped that Gonçalves would be able to help gain recognition for the Church and establish an official presence in the country.

In June 1993 Gonçalves returned to Maputo. “When I returned to Mozambique, I didn’t do anything else,” Gonçalves said. “What was essential is I had to restore the Gospel in Mozambique.” Goncalves contacted other Church members in Mozambique and, using his connections in the government, began working to establish the Church.

Members in Maputo, circa 1995. Image courtesy of Donald Holsinger, an American expatriate who helped to establish the Church in Mozambique.

On February 4, 1995, Elder James O. Mason organized a group in Maputo, with Gonçalves as leader. Ongoing political turmoil in Mozambique delayed missionaries from being assigned to the country until 1999. During this time, Church members worked to share the gospel and build the Church. Gonçalves believed that when the Church was established in Mozambique, there would be peace. When missionaries did arrive, groups had been organized in Maputo, Beira, and Marromeu, and a growing Latter-day Saint community was already well established.