Elder Christofferson Ministers in West Africa

For the first time, an Apostle has visited the West African country of the Republic of The Gambia. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles arrived in the capital of Banjul on Feb. 23, 2022.

Thursday morning, Elder Christofferson dedicated the country for the preaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This event, along with a visit with government leaders, allows the Church to be organized in The Gambia and receive official status.

Visit with the President of The Gambia

The senior Church leaders visited The Gambia as guests of the country’s president. They met with President Adama Barrow, Vice President Isatou Touray and First Lady Madame Fatoumatta Bah Barrow at the state house in the capital city of Banjul.

“The meeting is the best meeting I ever had since I became a first lady,” said Atoumatta Bah Barrow, referring to a collaborate effort between the Church and her foundation to help those in need. “It’s the mighty God [who] works in miracles. I’m happy about this visit and I hope this is a beginning. . . . And we will continue in strengthening and changing the lives of people of this country.”

Elder Christofferson was joined in The Gambia by his wife, Kathy; Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife, Jacqueline; and Elder Larry S. Kacher of the Africa West Area Presidency and his wife, Pauline.

The Gambia stretches along the Gambia River and is surrounded by Senegal, except for a section of 60 kilometers (37 miles) of Atlantic Ocean front.

Country Dedication

Elder Christofferson’s visit to The Gambia was historic because the Apostle offered a prayer at sunrise at an overlook near the ocean on Feb. 24, officially dedicating the country.

“As the sun begins to come now, we see it as a new dawning for the nation. Not just a new day, but a really a new day, a new era,” said the Apostle shortly after he offered the dedicatory prayer.

“It’s a power that was granted with the Restoration. It was part of the charge of the Apostles in ancient times. It’s part of the charge of the Apostles today,” Elder Christofferson explained. “This dedication opens the possibility now for us to be registered to establish the Church formally to begin to plant the seed and to grow.”

He continued, “I mentioned in my dedication prayer that this is an ofttimes unremembered place, but it’s God’s creation. These are His people. He remembers them. He knows them, and He is anxious to bless them as well as me or you or anyone in the world.”

Included among those who witnessed the dedication of The Gambia were some of the first members of the Church in West Africa.

“I’m so happy to be here today because this is a long-awaited opportunity for the people of The Gambia to have this blessing. We are good people. We have members who are here, have dedicated their lives so much, waiting for this day when the land will be dedicated to start preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Emelia Ahadjie, a West African Latter-day Saint pioneer from Ghana who attended the historic event. “It tells us how the Church is growing fast.”

Elder Christofferson and a delegation of senior Church leaders attended a baptism for 11 people on the day they arrived, which nearly doubled the membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in The Gambia. A dozen Latter-day Saints had been living in the country of about 2.5 million people. Now, the membership is 23 members.

In addition to his ministry in The Gambia, Elder Christofferson traveled to Abuja for a meeting with Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, the vice president of Nigeria, on Monday at the Nigerian Presidential Complex.

“You’ve got to appreciate a meeting that begins and ends with prayer,” said Elder Christofferson. “He couldn’t have been more gracious to receive us, and we talked about some of the history of the Church, especially in Nigeria, mentioning the growth that we’ve seen since [the Church was organized in] 1978.”

“I appreciate the social service works that the Church is doing in the area of clean water, immunization and several other things. For faith-based organizations, it is an article of faith that you must contribute to the development of society,” said Vice President Osinbajo.

Elder Christofferson was joined by 20 local Church leaders and others at a meeting with the Nigerian vice president, which was covered by national Nigerian media.

“In that short time, we emphasized the humanitarian work we’ve done here, our efforts to make sure that our people are among the best citizens of the nation in their efforts to promote education, self-reliance, strong families,” said Elder Christofferson.

The Church’s ongoing humanitarian efforts in Nigeria focus on vision, clean water, and neonatal care.

Vice President Osinbajo expressed interest in the Church’s higher education system, including Brigham Young University. Elder Christofferson emphasized the success of the Church-sponsored BYU–Pathway Worldwide, which has more than 5,000 students enrolled in Nigeria since the program was introduced in the country about five years ago.

“I talked to him a little bit about added or additional visas for missionaries to come here from other countries outside of the Economic Community of West African States,” the senior Church leader added.

Elder Christofferson said the outreach meetings provide an opportunity for the government leaders to “become better acquainted with us . . . and we can understand what their priorities are and where we can contribute.”

Elder Christofferson was joined on the ministry by his wife, Kathy; Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy; and Elder Hugo E. Martinez, Elder Larry S. Kacher and Elder Jörg Klebingat of the Africa West Area Presidency.

Elder Christofferson and the other senior leaders offered instruction to stake, district and mission presidents over the weekend in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

It has been two years since an Apostle has visited the region. Elder Neil L. Andersen ministered in West Africa before the pandemic began.

The Church was established over four decades ago in Nigeria and is home to about 210,000 Latter-day Saints in more than 700 congregations.

The senior Church leader hopes to share love and gratitude to those who are currently serving in West Africa, to better understand the needs of those who live and serve here, and to share messages that allow for the Lord’s Church to be united throughout the world.

The Church has operating temples in the Africa West Area in Accra, Ghana, and Aba, Nigeria. A temple is under construction in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and ground was broken in March on a temple in Sierra Leone. Temples have also been announced in Lagos, Nigeria; Benin City, Nigeria; Kumasi, Ghana; and Monrovia, Liberia.