Thursday 18 May 2023

GOD LEADERSHIP

Elder Rasband visits southern Africa, meets with Mozambique president

By Mary Richards 22 May 2022, 5:00 PM CAT

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Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gives a copy of the Book of Mormon in Portuguese to Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi, in Mozambique on Thursday, May 19, 2022.

Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

A meeting in Maputo, Mozambique, this week marked the first time an Apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met with a head of state in that country.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi met Thursday, May 19.

Their meeting began with prayer at the invitation of Nyusi. Elder Rasband prayed for the country, for the Lord’s guidance to come to all leaders of the nation, and for the peace of Jesus Christ to be brought to existing conflicts in the land, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

Elder Rasband thanked the president for allowing religious freedom in the country. “It’s no small thing to us that you and your government have created such a wonderful spirit of freedom of religion,” he said.

The Church of Jesus Christ has grown from 50 members in Mozambique in 1991 to more than 15,000 members today, with a temple to be built in Beira.

The temple, which is in planning and approval stages, is a beacon of hope to people in the country, who have dealt with challenges from COVID-19, political unrest, tropical storms and unemployment, Africa Newsroom reported.

Nyusi said they await the temple. “It will add physical beauty, but above all, it will be a place of peace and humility and coexistence between cultures, between people and between generations,” he said.

Seated, Elder Ronald A. Rasband, left, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, with his wife, Sister Melanie Rasband, and Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy, with his wife, Sister Jacqui Palmer, meet with local leaders and dignitaries in Maputo, Mozambique, on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.

Elder Rasband also spoke in the meeting about the Church’s commitment to help alleviate suffering in Mozambique. The Church has spent $17 million on humanitarian projects in the country over the past 10 years, including disaster relief, building classrooms and schools, and training farmers in rural areas.

Nyusi said those efforts give skills and empower the individual, while adding to the fabric of society. In its humanitarian endeavors, the Church can contribute “values of solidarity, values of peace, tolerance, forgiveness, and values of work,” he said.

Also present at the meeting were Elder S. Mark Palmer of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Edward Dube, General Authority Seventy who is serving in the Africa South Area presidency, Sister Melanie Rasband, Sister Jacqui Palmer and other local Church representatives.

Samo Paulo Gonçalves, a counselor in the Mozambique Maputo Mission presidency who works as a technical adviser to Nyusi, said the meeting was a great honor for the Church and a historic moment. “There are a lot of leaders in Mozambique, and the president doesn’t meet all of them, but he decided to meet us,” he said.

His wife, Albertina Gonçalves, said: “We are going to work hard as Church members to make sure that the commitments that Elder Rasband made to the president will all take place as he promised.”

‘This is just the beginning’ for Mozambique

Elder Rasband and the other general authorities also met with other dignitaries and opinion leaders while in Mozambique, and held a meeting with nearly 3,000 Church members both in person and virtually.

Elder Palmer said Apostles are called to go out in the name of the Lord and under the direction of the First Presidency to build up the Church and preach the gospel as special witnesses of Jesus Christ.

“To have Elder Rasband come to Mozambique in that capacity … is a great blessing to this country. Not only for our members, but for the country as a whole,” Elder Palmer said.

Elder Dube said the Spirit was powerfully felt on several occasions during the visit: “It has been confirmed to me over and over during this trip that we are led by prophets, seers and revelators,” he said.

In social media posts about the experience, Elder Rasband said he was told the gathering was the largest gathering in the history of the Church in Mozambique, and he told the members “this is just the beginning.”

“As we turn our hearts to the Prince of Peace, the sun is always on the horizon. Despite our very real challenges, we have infinite reasons to hope,” Elder Rasband posted.

He also wrote about giving Nyusi a copy of the Book of Mormon in his language of Portuguese. “I was privileged to share this sacred book with him as another sign of hope of the opportunity for good things to come in this country,” wrote Elder Rasband.

Instruction for leaders throughout Africa South

Before the meetings in Mozambique, Elder Rasband led an instruction meeting with Elder Palmer and the Africa South Area presidency — Elder Christoffel Golden and his counselors, Elder Dube and Elder Ciro Schmeil — for leaders throughout the Church’s Africa South Area.

District presidents, stake presidents, mission presidents and temple presidents from Angola to Zimbabwe were at the Sandton chapel in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Elder Rasband has traveled to Africa six times in the past few years, and was thrilled to meet in person with members as COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease, reported Africa Newsroom.

“Technology is wonderful, but nothing can replace looking into someone’s eyes,” Elder Rasband said following the meeting on Saturday, May 14. “It just feels wonderful.”

Elder Duane D. Bell, Area Seventy from South Africa, left, speaks with Elder Edward Dube, General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Africa South Area presidency, in Johannesburg, South Africa, on May 14, 2022.

COVID-19 was a theme in many of the challenges that were raised in the session.

“Leaders come to a meeting like this and they’re looking for hope. Just meeting is hopeful, and being able to be with each other and ask these questions — it’s hopeful,” said Elder Rasband.

“[W]hat is wonderful is that we all serve the Prince of Peace, which is Jesus Christ. He is the great Healer, and He’s going to help families and He’s going to help people. And His underservants — the leaders of the Church — are going to do that too.”

Video: Mask project in Mozambique helps traders in dense Beira markets

President Gabriel Chinomwe of the Blantyre Malawi District told Africa Newsroom that many questions that leaders often struggled with were addressed.

“At the same time, I noted that the challenges that were shared by brethren from other units are common in our units,” he said. “It helped me to see that this work is one. We all have common challenges.”

Elder Dunstan G.B.T. Chadambuka, an Area Seventy from Zimbabwe, said the experience was “exceptional,” and inspired of the Lord. “We felt a new brotherhood, a new love for one another, and a desire to go and do better and do more. This has really lifted the brethren up.”

Elder Amândio A. Feijó, an Area Seventy from Angola, said it was an enlightening session. “We’ve been taught things that we already know, but it was so spiritual in a very simple way.”

President Lebohang F. Mosia of the Phuthaditjhaba South Africa District said, “There were moments when I felt like the Lord was literally speaking.”

When Elder Rasband expressed the love of President Russell M. Nelson for each of the leaders present, “it felt so real,” said President Mosia. “It felt like the Savior was saying he loves me.”

LINK: https://www.thechurchnews.com/2022/5/22/23218236/elder-rasband-visits-southern-africa-meets-with-mozambique-president

THE CHURCH NEWS

GOD OF MIRACLES

Global

A joyful flood: Hundreds of baptisms occurring in Mozambique after COVID-19 restrictions ease

By Mary Richards 6 July 2022, 9:52 PM SAST

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Missionaries with baptismal candidates from the areas of Trevo and Liberdade in the Mozambique Maputo Mission, at the Liberdade Ward building in Maputo, Mozambique, on April 30, 2022.

Credit: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, the government of Mozambique implemented rules prohibiting baptisms and other religious ordinances.

The number of people waiting to be baptized grew over the past two years. On April 20, the president of Mozambique announced the restrictions would be eased and baptisms could take place again.

Some 900 people were baptized members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mozambique in the two months since restrictions were lifted, reported the Church’s Africa Newsroom.

Elder Stephen Woodbury, a senior missionary in the Mozambique Maputo Mission, said they hurried to get ready and get started after the announcement.

“Interviews were conducted, baptismal fonts scrubbed and baptismal clothes cleaned in preparations for the first baptisms in Mozambique, set for Saturday, April 23,” Elder Woodbury said. “The first baptism took place at 8 a.m. in Magoanine, where a faithful security guard for the chapel was baptized, after he had cheerfully helped clean and fill the font the day before.”

Antônio and Angelina Pondja, center, on their baptism day in front of the Magoanine Ward building in Maputo, Mozambique, April 23, 2022. Antônio Pondja is a guard for the chapel and waited a long time to be baptized.

Baptisms continued throughout that day and into the evening in 15 areas of the mission, he said, “with a total of 63 people being baptized, limited only by the number of baptismal clothes that were available.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints POWER

Global

‘God truly sees and blesses all of His children’: More than 100 people baptized in remote Nigerian city

Combined efforts of missionaries, local leaders and members result in 104 people being baptized in Mangu, Nigeria, in March and April

By Sydney Walker 15 May 2023, 3:57 PM SAST

New members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Mangu, Nigeria, pose for a photo on their baptism day,

For people who live in Mangu, Nigeria, the closest meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a nearly two-hour drive away. Many members don’t have vehicles in this remote area. Attending church was nearly impossible.

But in early 2023, things changed.

According to a news story on the Church’s Africa Newsroom, President Mathias N. Niambe of the Nigeria Lagos Mission was inspired to work with his full-time missionaries to establish Church units in some of the more remote areas of Nigeria, specifically in the Jos District, Plateau State. One of the areas he identified was Mangu.

It was an answer to the prayers of many members in Mangu, specifically Simon Panan Mwanchi, who desired to share the gospel with his family, friends and neighbors.

President Niambe traveled to Mangu to meet with him and other members. President Niambe promised that the Lord had not forgotten them and invited them to prepare the way for missionaries by sharing the gospel. He also met with local municipal and tribal leaders and was warmly received as he shared the Church’s desire to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in their town.

The first missionaries arrived in Mangu in January and were astounded by what they found — dozens of individuals who had been prepared to be taught. Over the next four months, the missionaries met with larger and larger groups of people, several of whom were baptized.

Elder Joseph Success Menjor of the Nigeria Lagos Mission said: “With the help and support of our mission president and his companion, the district president and his counselors, and Brother Simon, who worked vehemently with his family and friends, we have had 104 convert baptisms in Mangu.”

The first baptismal service was held on March 15 for 43 individuals. A group of 33 was later baptized on April 10. Most recently, 28 new members were baptized on April 30.

“This service was more than just baptismal services,” said President Joseph Samson Garba, second counselor in the Jos District presidency, of the first baptismal service. “It was a day for rekindling faith, a day to remember covenants, and a day to rejoice as family in the Lord’s kingdom. God truly sees and blesses all of His children.”

The members in Mangu are holding sacrament meeting in their town with support from priesthood leadership in Jos as they hope for a new branch to one day be established.

LINK: https://www.thechurchnews.com/global/2023/5/15/23722006/mangu-nigeria-104-baptisms-missionary-effort-march-april?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=cn-social&utm_campaign=facebookpage-en&utm_content=i%20am%20lds&fbclid=IwAR2nFlQMZKt7OPRYp_2ocQ1y-kQuRpSxnN7d-t-WUOzIPkREPc_tDmvxLG8

THE CHURCH NEWS

Thursday 13 April 2023

AMERICAN ELECTION 2023

Thursday, April 13, 2023

Opinion

Tim Scott puts God in the middle of his presidential campaign

by Timothy P. Carney, Senior Columnist |

April 12, 2023 01:16 PM

Church, Bibles, and faith play major roles in Sen. Tim Scott’s (R-SC) video announcing his (let's face it) run for president.

The motto of Scott’s nascent campaign is “Faith in America.” He concludes the ad with “God bless you” and describes the question behind the Civil War thus: “Would we truly be one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all?”

You see that religion is central to the story Scott is trying to sell, which is normal for a conservative politician. But Scott’s story uses religion in an important way.

SHOULD RON DESANTIS RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024?

The most interesting part of Scott’s story is he doesn’t attribute his climb out of poverty to his own virtue — to simply pulling himself up by his bootstraps or some abstract concept of the “American dream.” Scott stated explicitly that America has infrastructure that helped him climb and that infrastructure is under attack.

“It pains my soul to see the Biden liberals attacking every rung of the ladder that helped me climb,” Scott said in the middle of the video. He then cited schools and neighborhoods. After Scott announced his exploratory committee, the “hero walk” started with Scott strutting into the Huguenot Church in Charleston. This is key.

Church is one of the rungs of the ladder of the American dream and so is America’s “Judeo-Christian foundation.” Scott also pledged to “protect our religious liberty.”

Republican politicians often play up their faith and show themselves in a church as a way of playing to the religious Right, but here, Scott is connecting dots that need connecting. The Democratic Party’s attack on religious liberty and the Left’s rejection of America’s Judeo-Christian foundation are part of their attack on the ladder of opportunity Scott is celebrating.

Scott described his climb out of poverty by saying, “We had faith,” and zoomed in on a Bible and a shot of him praying in church.

The American dream of climbing out of poverty isn’t really a story of rugged or exceptional people transcending their conditions. It’s a story of civil society providing the scaffolding, or the ladder, that allows people to climb. Community institutions are how people get the connections, the mentoring, the modeling, the belonging, and the human-level safety net that enable them to do better.

Social science finds this again and again. Probably the best research bolstering civil society’s role in upward mobility came from economist Raj Chetty. Chetty and colleagues found one of the strongest correlates of upward mobility in an area is “social capital”— the amount of volunteering, the number of community institutions, the number of churches, etc.

For working-class people, especially immigrants and African Americans, the central institution of civil society has always been church. In Bowling Alone in 2000, Robert Putnam found that about half of all civic activity in America originated in religious institutions.

But much of the secular Left — including academia, the news media, and parts of the Democratic Party — sees church as, at best, something private to do on Sunday. Thus they try to force religious schools to abandon their principles, they try to force nuns to provide contraception coverage, they try to force Catholic hospitals to abort babies, and they detest the idea of any public funding going to religious institutions.

But religion isn't some private aspect of individual life — it is a crucial pillar of public life. The irony is that President Joe Biden kind of gets this: He won the South Carolina Democratic primary in 2020 by campaigning in black churches and winning the church-going vote.

Go back to that hero walk scene and check out the Gospel passage above the door of Huguenot Church: “Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only.” That’s’ from the Epistle of St. James, and it is the last words the worshippers at Huguenot Church see as they leave church every Sunday to go back out into the world.

That is, a person cannot “do my religion on Sunday, in church,” as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) once inartfully put it, then go out and support the government’s attack on religious liberty. A Christian will live his or her life every day out in public. He or she will do Christianity and not merely listen to it for an hour once a week.

Religion belongs in the public square. That’s something rejected by too many people these days. Hopefully, Scott can set the public straight on this.

LINK: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/tim-scott-puts-god-in-the-middle-of-his-presidential-campaign

GHANA WARNED!!!

God’s wrath, destruction coming upon you – Pastor Giwa warns Ghana

Published onApril 12, 2023

By John Owen Nwachukwu

The head of Awaiting The Second Coming of Christ Ministry, Pastor Adewale Giwa has warned of God’s wrath and destruction on Ghana.

Although the cleric did not give any reason for the warning, he claimed that God had instructed him to warn the West African nation.

The western media reported that Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo had said that “substantial elements” of the anti-LGBTQ bill being considered by its parliament “have been modified” after an intervention by his government.

Akufo-Addo was quoted to have said this at a joint press conference with US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who recently visited the nation with gay rights prominent in her agenda.

“Destruction awaits the entire city of Ghana if they fail to turn to God very quickly,” Giwa said.

“The Lord warns the nation not to allow herself to be used as an instrument to lead other African nations to the devil. And the LORD said to me in a dream: ‘Tell them that they are leading my people to sin. Woe to the nation that forgets God, woe to the nation that leads my people astray. They will be punished for their immoralities unless they turn to me (LORD)’.

“The Lord also told me to tell the people of Ghana to fast for one day and pray to God for forgiveness. He says their leaders have caused many to stumble. Ghana, turn to God and stop doing evil, repent now to allow God to bless your land exceedingly,” he said.

LINK: https://dailypost.ng/2023/04/12/gods-wrath-destruction-coming-upon-you-pastor-giwa-warns-ghana/

DAILY POST

Thursday 30 March 2023

GOD ON SCREEN

God’s Word For You Today: I’m Not Mad At You

written by Lauren Koch March 30, 2023

Today’s Verse

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:35-40)

LEARN MORE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA & REVIVAL: REVIVAL IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA ERA

Today’s Message

In John 6:29, Jesus provides the disciples with a profound response: believe in Him, as the one God has sent. As the chapter continues, Jesus explains the purpose of Him coming down from heaven: to do the Father’s will. God desires that you would live with Him forever. It’s why He sent Jesus! While we know this as the truth of the gospel in our heads, sometimes our hearts need to be reminded: God is not mad at you! In fact, He loves you so much, He made a way for you to be with Him forever! In a world where so much of our worth is found from striving for perfection, remember this truth. God loves you just as you are, right now. And as you walk with Him, He will continue to transform you, from the inside out.LINK: https://godtv.com/gods-word-for-you-today-im-not-mad-at-you/

GOD TV

COUNTING ON GOD

God saved me, says man shot during Kisumu demos

The bullet went through his chest but he's recuperating in hospital

by MAURICE ALAL Correspondent, Nyanza Region

News

29 March 2023 - 18:10

In Summary

He is currently recuperating well at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where is admitted.
Ochieng denied engaging in violent protest and called for a thorough investigation into his shooting for him to get justice.

Dennis Ochieng, 24, who hails from Nyang'oma in Alego, Siaya county, was shot in his chest at Kisumu Boys roundabout on Monday.

He is currently recuperating well at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where is admitted.

Speaking to the Star, Ochieng said, it was God who saved his life after the bullet went through the left side of his chest leaving only particles, which were removed by doctors during surgery on Tuesday.

"Were it not the Almighty God. It would have been a different story. He has saved me from the jaws of death," he said.

On Wednesday, he was questioned by officers from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority who are investigating cases of alleged police brutality against citizens during the Azimio protests.

He has also been visited at the hospital by human rights activists who have called for a thorough probe into the alleged use of excessive force by police.

"The officers have questioned me. Today I was visited by two Ipoa officers and yesterday there was a senior one who came," he said.

Ochieng denied engaging in violent protest and called for a thorough investigation into his shooting for him to get justice.

He said he had left work and was rushing to his residence in Nyalenda to be with his family when he was caught in the melee between the police and protesters.

The survivor wants the government to compensate him for the bills he has incurred since Monday.

Ochieng is married. He said he did not expect that the peaceful demonstrations will turn into running battles between the police and protesters.

On Monday, one person was shot dead at Kondele while another one was lynched by mob at Fanana area in the same area over mugging allegations.

Kevin Odiwuor was also shot in the head at Nyalenda during the demonstrations. He is also admitted at Kisumu County Referral Hospital.

On Wednesday, Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong'o banned the mass action protest in the city after consultaton with Azimio top leaders.

Human rights defender Audi Ogada has supported the ban saying goons were taking advantage of the protest to terrorise residents.

"These goons have been erecting illegal road blocks, stealing and robbing residents during demonstrations," Ogada said.

The protest has seen three deaths including a Maseno University student, who was shot by police.

"Even though the citizens have the right to picket, it has turned chaotic as criminals take advantage leading loss of innocent lives," he said.

LINK: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-03-29-god-saved-me-says-man-shot-during-kisumu-demos/

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