Elder Neil L. Andersen Ministers to Nigerian Saints

Apostle of Jesus Christ ministers to over 2,000 people in Abuja, Nigeria.

Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, counselled Latter-day Saints to always “choose the right” during a special conference of the Abuja North and South Stakes of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Abuja, Nigeria, on Sunday, May 20, 2018.

“The Important things in life are not wealth or poverty; that does not matter to God. It is not between fame and obscurity; that does not really matter to God,” said Elder Andersen. “The choices, the decisions, the importance of life is between right and wrong. This is why we are here in mortality.”

“We are to develop into a special people, that choose the right. Whatever government we find ourselves, whatever community we are in, we are to believe in Christ, we are to Love God, we are to follow Him,” he said.

“We do not fight against other religions, none of them. If they are good, if they love God, if they want to help one another, we embrace them, we love them, and we love everything that is good about them.” Elder Andersen invited all members to maintain high standards of the gospel and be special people.

Francis Omoyele Falako, an archdeacon in the Anglican Communion and a lecturer in the University of Lagos, who attended the meeting, said, “I teach religious studies. I have read about this Church and I have seen the buildings. Joining you gave me an opportunity to worship. I love the simplicity and the participatory aspect of it.”

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are wonderful people with testimonies, with love and unity,” Francis Omoyele Falako concluded.

Elder Andersen was accompanied on his visit to Nigeria by his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen; Africa West Area President Terence M. Vinson and his wife, Kay Anne Carden Vinson; Elder Adeyinka Ojediran, an Area Seventy; and other Church leaders.

He also encouraged the congregation to do whatever they can to educate their children. He counselled that members can volunteer to assist in training children of members who cannot afford to pay for their children’s school fees.

Later that evening, Elder Andersen and his wife attended a dinner at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Annual Conference of the African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies, hosted in Abuja, Nigeria.