Church History
Before the Next Library Burns to the Ground
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) taught; “We stand today as the recipients of [the pioneers’] great effort. I hope we are thankful. I hope we carry in our hearts a deep sense of gratitude for all that they have done for us. . . .
“With so great an inheritance, we can do no less than our very best. Those who have gone before expect this of us. We have a mandate from the Lord. We have a vision of our cause and purpose.”1
My wife and I recently attended Church history specialist training, which marked a turning point in our lives. One of the most exciting moments in the training was witnessing a live oral interview of a former Area Seventy, Brother Chukwuemeka Igwe. For one brief moment, the divine mission of the Church History Department was made manifest as Church history specialists were given assignments and projects to conduct oral interviews of pioneers and past leaders as former bishops, mission presidents, relief society presidents, primary presidents, Area Seventies, stake presidents, patriarchs, young women presidents, pioneer full-time missionaries and the women voices project. These specialists are required to conduct audio or video recordings of photos, voices, experiences and testimonies of interviewees.
As we got back to the hotel after training, Sister Ihesiene started mentioning names of those that need be interviewed urgently as pioneers or past leaders before they depart mortality. One such name mentioned was brother Matthew Anucha, my first branch president and a pioneer member of what now constitutes Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria Stake and part of Osisioma Nigeria Stake. He brought the Church from Mbaise in 1980 to his village, Amapu, and after years of his great missionary efforts, a branch was officially organized in 1982. He became the first member, priesthood holder and branch president indigenous to the Okpuala Ngwa Nigeria Stake. As a branch president, he would travel weekly from his workplace in Mbaise, about 120 kilometers round trip, to preside over his unit until it became a ward years later.
On contacting the current bishop of the ward, Izuchi David, we learned that Brother Anucha died while we were on our first mission. How devastating to hear that a faithful pioneer who had done so much for the Lord and for His Church was without a recording of his photos, voice, quality experiences and testimony! So many questions remain, such as: Was this pioneer and past leader truly honored as the Lord expected? Was there a pioneer activity in which he was recognized at any time? Did he receive any plaque, medal or a letter of appreciation? Were there Church records of key events, such as the first baptisms, confirmations, ordinations, conferences, chapel dedication and apostolic visitations in the unit? Who were the first organizational leaders that served with Brother Anucha as the first branch president of the then Amapu Branch? Was there anything in the unit or stake annual history that captured his great sacrifices? What could we have done to avert this tragedy?
An African proverb says: “when an old person dies, a library burns to the ground” now makes more sense to us. Indeed, our dear pioneers and past leaders represent living libraries whose experiences, photographs, voices and testimonies we should endeavor to create, preserve and share. This is the cardinal mission of Church history—that the succeeding generations may be persuaded to remain on the covenant path as they come to know, in some personal ways, the consecrated lives of the pioneers and how the Lord blesses the Saints.
We are grateful to the Lord for blessing us with an Area Presidency that prioritizes Church history. As we remember and celebrate those who have made great efforts in building the kingdom of God and the establishment of Zion in our area through our active roles in oral and annual histories, the divine sympathies shall be invoked and power from on high to endure to the end becomes more evident to us.
We know by the witness of the Spirit that the Lord cares for all His servants and commands that we keep them in remembrance. With so great an inheritance from our forebears, we can do no less than our very best in living up to our mandate from the Lord by participating actively in Church history efforts before the next library burns to the ground!