LUANDA, Angola — Fourteen years ago, Cacuaco Ward Bishop Isidro L. Baptista stood under a several-hundred-year-old baobab tree with other pioneer members of the Church in this country as Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pronounced a blessing on Angola and its people.
That moment was special, Bishop Baptista said.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a presence in this country on the Atlantic coast in southern Africa since 1985 and was growing through the efforts of people who had found the gospel in Europe, returned to Angola and told their friends and neighbors.
The Church was officially recognized here in 1993, and the first branch created in 1996. After Elder Christofferson’s visit in 2010, missionary work began to take off in earnest.
“They accelerated the missionary work. We received more and more missionaries to teach the gospel,” Bishop Baptista said.
By 2013, the country had its own mission — the Angola Luanda Mission — and five years later, its first stake. Now there are two stakes, a district and an announced temple.
Sister Kathy Christofferson remembers well a devotional held the evening before Elder Christofferson’s prayer.
She could feel that the Spirit was strong with the 140 people there.
“It was a wonderful meeting, and we had a wonderful feeling about what was going to happen here in Angola,” she said.
A house of the Lord, she said, will be a wonderful thing to bless the Saints here. “From 140 came thousands — this is practically a miracle.”
Elder Christofferson said that in his prayer in 2010, he asked that the Lord would bless the Latter-day Saints here that they would grow in numbers and in strength and that their example and influence would bless the whole nation.
“I see that happening,” he said, “I see that coming to pass.”
On Thursday evening, May 23, Bishop Baptista was able to once again hear from Elder Christofferson as the Apostle held a devotional with Church members at the Centro de Conferencias de Belas, close to the Atlantic Ocean, in which waters some members have even been baptized.
“This moment with Elder Christofferson in the devotional is one special moment, because we need the voice of the Lord talking to the people. We need the instruction from God,” Bishop Baptista said.
The power of covenants to bless lives
Elder Christofferson spoke to the members about the Book of Mormon, the gathering of Israel and the divine power that will come into their lives as they make covenants with God.
“He will never tire in His efforts to help us. We will never exhaust His merciful patience,” he said, quoting President Russell M. Nelson in the October 2022 Liahona article, “The Everlasting Covenant.”
Referring to the Luanda temple announced by President Nelson in the October 2023 general conference, Elder Christofferson invited the congregation to start thinking now about going to the house of the Lord.
“Think about some of the things you can do between now and the dedication of the temple to be a holier person. What should you put out of your life? What should you add to your character?” he said.
Accompanying Elder Christofferson was Elder Edward Dube, General Authority Seventy and president of the Church’s Africa South Area. He spoke about keeping the baptismal covenant of obedience and invited members to reach out to their bishops and branch presidents and ask about serving in any calling or capacity.
“We grow as we participate in the kingdom. We cannot be observers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; we all grow as we participate in different callings,” Elder Dube said.
At the end of Elder Christofferson’s remarks, he bore his testimony in Portuguese.
Paula Quiame was also at the 2010 meeting and grateful to have Elder Christofferson return.”I am so happy to see him again,” she said.
Bishop Baptista — who was Angola’s first stake president — felt his testimony grow stronger because of the devotional: “I’m grateful to say I know the gospel is true.”
Missionaries in the Angola Luanda Mission
Earlier Thursday, Elder Christofferson told missionaries in the Angola Luanda Mission that as they gain a witness of the teachings of the scriptures — especially the Book of Mormon — the words of those prophets will become their words.
“Abinadi’s words are your words, Nephi’s words are your words, Moroni’s words are your words, because you have a witness that those words are true and you own them — they are in your heart,” he said. “I hope you will use the Book of Mormon constantly.”
Elder Dube asked the missionaries to raise their hands if they were reading the Book of Mormon every day — seeing some hands timidly raised halfway, he encouraged the missionaries to confidently raise their hands higher.
“I want to promise you that studying the Book of Mormon every day will bless your lives,” Elder Dube said. “How? You will find the peace you need; you will find inspiration. … I invite you to make the Book of Mormon your life pursuit.”
After the devotional, Sister Judith Tchingundo, from Huambo, Angola, speaking through a Portuguese interpreter, said she learned how to study the scriptures and let them help her come unto Christ.
“I was able to learn a lot about the importance of making covenants and enduring to the end,” she said.
Elder Nikolas Ibrahim, from Minas Gerais, Brazil, said he was grateful to learn more about temple work and helping those who have died to receive ordinances and covenants.
Elder Samuel Bonifácio, also from Minas Gerais, said he learned “how the Lord helps us do the things He wants us to do. … It strengthened my testimony that I know the Lord will help me be capable of doing the things I need to do.”
Senior missionaries help in the work
As the Church grows so quickly here, when missionaries from Angola return home, they are becoming branch presidents, Relief Society presidents and other leaders in the Church, even though they are still quite young.
Senior couple missionaries are a key part of helping train young missionaries and mentor new leaders, explained Angola Luanda Mission President Scott O. Sykes.
“The faster the growth in an area, the more critical the need for senior couples,” he said.
Sister Marielle Samways, from Ponta Grossa, Brazil, who is serving a mission with her husband, Elder Elias Samways, said serving in Angola is a blessing.
“You don’t know what Africa is until you get here,” Sister Samways said. “You are going to find a lot of difficulties — but when you feel the Spirit, all of those things go away and you feel like, ‘I am doing something good, I am learning something good.’ That’s something you will never learn if you are in your own home.”
Having an Apostle come to Angola means the people here are remembered, she explained.
“They are humble, their lives are very hard, and their testimonies about the Church and the gospel and Jesus Christ are so strong.”
