Area Leadership Message
The Savior Invites Me to Share His Gospel
The Savior has many ways of inviting His sons and daughters to share His restored gospel in our day. During His earthly mission, the Savior went about calling His disciples one by one and that is a pattern still being followed.
The resurrected Savior of the World called the Twelve Apostles and commissioned them as stated in Matthew 28:19–20, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
In the days of the fulness of times He called the Prophet Joseph Smith in a similar manner. The Savior has called and continues to invite people to share His gospel.
In Doctrine and Covenants 11:15, “Behold, I command you that you need not suppose that you are called to preach until you are called.”
In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are invited to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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When we are baptized and confirmed, by which we covenant with the Lord to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ
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When we are ordained to the priesthood
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When we are called to serve a mission
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When we are called to serve as ministering brothers and sisters
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When we are called to serve in any leadership position
I was the branch president of Koforidua when the government of Ghana banned the activities of the Church from June 1989 to November 1990. Upon hearing the announcement, I rushed to Accra to meet the mission president, who was our file leader, to find out what we must do.
On arriving at the mission home in Accra, I saw that the government security machinery had taken over the mission home and would not allow anyone to enter. I stood at the gate peeping and prayed in my heart to know how I could get in contact with the mission president. Fortunately, my eyes caught the sight of the mission president who was being escorted by security personnel from one room to another.
I shouted at the top of my voice to get the mission president’s attention, but unfortunately, he was not allowed to come any closer to me. He waved to me and said, “President Ahadjie, go back to Koforidua and take care of the Saints.”
On reaching Koforidua, I was arrested by the police, put in a police cell, and went through a series of interrogations. I was warned they never wanted to see us congregate to worship or share the gospel. However, this act of the police did not discourage me from heeding the Savior’s invitation to share His gospel.
To mobilize and strengthen the members of the Church at that difficult time in Koforidua, when the faith of most members was being tried, I had to organize the branch. This included the branch presidency, the executive secretary, quorum presidents and their wives to find a way to send the gospel of Jesus Christ to our members so they could hold on to their faith and testimonies.
Each Sunday, we would walk several hours early at dawn to converge in a forest where a member and his wife lived. We partook of the sacrament, studied the scriptures, especially from the Book of Mormon, after which, the men would pair up and visit all the members in their individual homes. In each home we provided the sacrament and read portions of the Book of Mormon to strengthen their faith and administer to the sick when necessary. Each Sunday started about 4 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m.
These activities went on for about 17 months and when the Church was able to go back to normal activities, none of the members were lost. Instead, we had increased by an additional 20 percent, nonmembers who saw and heard us ministering to the members, and attended sacrament meeting with us and were eventually baptized.
This reminds me of the Book of Mormon story of Ammon ministering in the land of Ishmael, who later became the servant to King Lamoni. As stated in Alma 17:26–28, 31–33:
“And after he has been in the service of the king three days, as he was with the Lamanitish servants going forth with their flocks to the place of water, which was called the water of Sebus, and all the Lamanites drive their flocks hither, that they may have water—
“Therefore, as Ammon and the servants of the king were driving forth their flocks to this place of water, behold, a certain number of the Lamanites, who had been with their flocks to water, stood and scattered the flocks of Ammon and the servants of the king, and they scattered them insomuch that they fled many ways.
“Now the servants of the king began to murmur, saying: Now the king will slay us, as he has our brethren because their flock were scattered by the wickedness of these men. And they began to weep exceedingly, saying: Behold, our flocks are scattered already. . . .”
Ammon said, “My brethren, be of good cheer and let us go in search of the flocks, and we will gather them together and bring them back unto the place of water; and thus we will preserve the flocks unto the king and he will not slay us.
“And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king, and did gather them together again to the place of water.
“And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the flocks round about that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.”
As the chairman of the Owerri Nigeria Coordinating Council, I shared the principle of love, share, and invite with the priesthood leaders. In like manner, the priesthood leaders were counseled to take the gospel to the homes of the less-active members and as a result, many came back to full fellowship including the Kazie Joseph family of Omuapu ward in Owerri Nigeria Coordinating Council.
In conclusion, President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said, “There is absolutely no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruit of that effort. The two must be inseparable.”1