A “Freeze” in Ghana

Staying faithful while the Saints can’t gather

Alice Johnson and Hetty Brimah sharing the gospel in Koforidua, Ghana.

Alice Johnson was a missionary serving in her home country, Ghana. She loved sharing her testimony of Jesus Christ and helping the Church grow.

Saints, 4:416–17

Alice and Hetty learning that they can’t share the gospel anymore.

One day, Alice got some upsetting news. The government in Ghana had said there could be no more Church meetings. Missionaries could not teach anymore.

Saints, 4:417

Police officers outside a locked Church building.

Police officers made missionaries leave their apartments and took their bicycles. Some members of the Church were put in jail. Soldiers locked the Church buildings and wouldn’t let anyone in. People called this “the freeze.”

Saints, 4:417–18

Missionaries had to go home. Alice went to live with a friend in another town. She worried that she would never get to finish her mission.

Saints, 4:418

The Saints in Ghana were confused, sad, and scared. They wondered what they had done wrong. Would they ever get to go to church again?

Saints, 4:418

Saints having a sacrament meeting at home.

Even though they couldn’t gather with their wards, the Saints still loved the Lord and wanted to worship Him. They had sacrament meetings in their homes. Family members who had the priesthood blessed the bread and water and passed it to the rest of the family.

Doctrine and Covenants 6:32; Saints, 4:419

Saints sharing the gospel together at home.

Month after month, the freeze continued. The Saints sang hymns and taught each other the gospel in their homes. They visited each other to help keep their faith strong. They set aside their tithing to pay when they could go back to church. They prayed and fasted that the freeze would end.

Saints, 4:436–37

Alice being invited to serve a mission again.

Finally, after 18 months, the government decided that the Church could hold meetings again. A new mission president asked to talk to Alice, who was now a student in college. “Would you like to come back and serve a mission after school?” he asked. “No,” she said. “I want to serve right now!”

Saints, 4:437–39

Saints in Ghana attending a Church meeting.

Alice and the other Saints were so happy they could go to church again! On the first Sunday after the freeze, sacrament meeting lasted two hours because so many people wanted to bear their testimonies. They told each other how the Lord had blessed them and helped them keep their faith strong.

Doctrine and Covenants 20:75; Saints, 4:438