Local Pages
Two Days with General Authorities in Ivory Coast
Members and leaders from all over the country received training from Elder Christofferson and his companions on 1 and 2 June at Cocody Stake center in Abidjan.
Church members of Ivory Coast were privileged to be taught for two days by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles accompanied by Elder Terence M. Vinson of the Presidency of the Seventy, Bishop Gérald Caussé from the Presiding Bishopric, Elder Edward Dube of the Africa West Area Presidency, and Elder John A. Koranteng and Elder Marcel Guei, both Area Seventies.
The first meeting held on Saturday 1 June 2019 at the Abidjan Cocody Stake center, was with members from Abidjan West Coordinating Council. There was a priesthood leaders council meeting, followed by the auxiliary leaders training meeting.
During those two meetings, the impressive work made by local Church leaders to help move the Lord’s work forward in Ivory Coast was acknowledged and appreciated by the General Authorities. In addition, they were taught important ministering principles and were invited to put in more effort in their assignment to minister to others.
Elder Vinson led the question-and-answer sessions, where local leaders were invited to ask questions about doctrinal concerns and concerns related to their assignments and was addressed by the General Authorities present.
The last meeting of that day was with the young single adults. Sister Kay Vinson started by challenging the members to overcome any situation or to achieve any important goal in their life, if they rely on the Lord through fasting and prayer, always trusting Him. Elder Vinson encouraged them to always rely on the Lord to choose their future spouses and to hearken to the voices of the Lord’s servants.
Sister Kathy Christofferson shared the importance of temples and of temple worship for the Lord and for His people. Then she invited the YSAs to offer a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit to prepare themselves.
Finally, Elder Christofferson concluded the meeting when he taught that we can always repent to become pure. He added that: “The Atonement of Jesus Christ can transform us. We can be cleansed and be a good influence and bless our nation through our goodness.” And he promised: “keep His commandments and you will prosper”.
Sunday was the turn of the leaders and of members of Abidjan Coordination Council.
The day started with a special conference for Cocody Stake members in the morning during which important discipleship and leadership principles were taught.
More than 3,000 members attended the meetings during these two days.
At the end of these events, some members shared their feelings about what they learned from these meetings:
“Personally, the arrival of the apostle taught me a lot.
“His humility pierced my soul and comforted me. My only desire is to always do my best to get closer to Christ. I was enlightened by the answers to the questions posed.” —Bishop Bi Youan SergePaulin Vanie, Avocatier Ward, Anonkoua Cote d’Ivoire Stake
“I am grateful for this opportunity that the Lord is offering me to participate in the devotional for young adults with Elder D. Todd Christofferson. My faith has been strengthened by these great messages given. During the talks, I had confirmation of the great love that the Lord has for me. Our Heavenly Father wants me to have faith in him. He wants me to keep these commandments so that He can bless me where I am. I understood that when the Lord says that we will be prosperous, it does not mean being totally rich, but the prosperity we are talking about is to have sufficient means for our survival and also it will give us peace. The Lord loves me personally and knows me as well. Fasting, prayer and keeping the commandments are essential means of bringing us closer to God.” —Ounleu Kapeube Hermia, Mockeyville Branch, Grand Bassam Stake
“This devotional was one of the most inspiring among many. I liked the way Elder Christofferson helped us to recognize the Savior’s ultimate love and how important we are in the eyes of the Savior. The Savior will bless us if we keep His commandments sincerely (Alma 37:13). My understanding of God’s plan for His children has grown and I have also understood my role in this plan: to be a model so that the generation that will come after me will have a sure witness that the promises of our Heavenly Father are always being fulfilled.” —Kouassi Golet Euloge Alma Jared, Abatta Branch, Cocody Cote d’Ivoire Stake
“I learned a lot from the meeting with the leaders, we must listen to the words of the prophet and live the restored gospel.
“Each of us makes mistakes but the choices of our lives are very important in our youth. When we pray, the Lord always waits for the right time to answer our prayers. He knows what we need. I know that God lives, that He speaks to us through His messengers—servants who are the prophets. I also know that if we allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit and draw closer to God with faith then He will come closer to us.” —Yao Géraldine Bekanty, Unicafe Ward, Abobo West Cote d’Ivoire Stake
“We were blessed to welcome the leaders. Their messages were really fantastic. They taught us about keeping the commandments and blessings that come from repentance and preparing to be worthy for our temple that is under construction. Above all, they have touched the hearts of all of us because they know how we feel. The prophets are truly called by God.” —Dramou Manuella Pauline, Dokui 2nd Ward, Dokui Cote d’Ivoire Stake