Archived Stake Message
- Children of the Covenant
- Strengthening The Rising Generation To Trust In God
- Service
- The Road Home
- Trust in the Lord
Dear brothers and sisters,
I express the love of the stake presidency to you and your family. We are grateful for your faithfulness and service in your stewardship over your family and callings. We appreciate the sacrifices you make to support the work of salvation. We also rejoice with you with songs of praise to our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Throughout scriptural history, our Heavenly Father and His beloved Son have dispensed Their love and blessings through covenants (see 1 Nephi 17:40; President Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Oct. 2022 Liahona). They made covenants with the patriarchs to forever bless them and their children—a prime example was Abraham. He entered into covenant with God and was promised several blessings. And his seed who later made a similar covenant became children of the same promise and covenant. The covenant that Abraham made with God was called the Abrahamic covenant, and it was renewed through his son Isaac unto Jacob, the son of Isaac, and unto Joseph and the house of Israel, the children of Jacob.
Our beloved prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, in his historic conference address tilted, “Let God Prevail”, inspired us to study God’s promises to the house of Israel. He invited, “as you study your scriptures during the next six months, I encourage you to make a list of all that the Lord has promised He will do for covenant Israel. I think you will be astounded! Ponder these promises. Talk about them with your family and friends. Then live and watch for these promises to be fulfilled in your own life.” (see President Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” Oct. 2020 general conference). Regrettably, I failed to promptly heed this prophetic invitation.
And in our first stake council meeting after our stake reorganization, the stake president, President Stephen Abu Jr., shared excerpts from his first coordinating council meeting with us. He talked about the Abrahamic covenant, and I understood his instructions as invitation to study it more and teach same in my ministry. But I felt that my knowledge of this doctrine was limited. I needed to understand more of its significance in my life.
Heeding these two invitations from President Nelson and President Abu to study about the Abrahamic covenant has truly amazed me. It has enlightened my perspective and given me new eyes to understand the scriptures. Although my understanding is still limited, I can testify of the following: First, God is predisposed to make and fulfill covenants and promises with all His children. Second, faith in God is built on the foundation of covenants and obedience. And third, the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant can be personalized and fulfilled in our lives when we realize that we are children of the covenant.
Brothers and sisters, what is your own understanding of the Abrahamic covenant? How have you personalized it in your life? What is our heritage as children of the covenant? How does it influence the choices that we make with our family? Allow me to share some thoughts from my personal study of the Abrahamic covenant with you.
When God made the covenant with Abraham, God promised him, among other things, the following blessings: the gospel, the priesthood, numerous seed—becoming a father of many nations—and certain lands of inheritance. All nations of the earth were to be blessed as well as they embraced the gospel, becoming the adopted seed of Abraham (see “Abrahamic covenant,” Gospel Topics). However, a key promise to Abraham and his seed, one that would influence all the other promises, was that Jesus Christ would be born through his lineage and become the Redeemer of Israel (see Genesis 22:1- 14; Jacob 4:5). Thus, the Abrahamic covenant, and its fulfillment, is activated on a knowledge of and belief in Jesus Christ and His gospel. When we learn about the Abrahamic covenant, we are essentially learning about Jesus Christ and His eternal love and blessings. Consequently, “Jesus Christ is at the center of the Abrahamic covenant”(see President Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Oct. 2022 Liahona).
The Abrahamic covenant is administered and renewed progressively. It originates with baptism and culminates in temple covenants. Each gospel covenant, administered by the authority of the priesthood, promises increasing blessings of the Abrahamic covenant. Thus, the priesthood is a heritage of children of the covenant, a blessing which Abraham sought diligently (see Abraham 1:2-4). Children of the covenant will, therefore, seek the priesthood and its ordinances, since the priesthood and its ordinances facilitate all covenants with God.
President Nelson has again taught, “we enter [the Abrahamic covenant] more completely in the temple”(see President Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Oct. 2022 Liahona). The temple becomes another heritage of children of the covenant; it culminates and celebrates the promises of the Abrahamic covenant for us and our dead ancestors. We make sacred covenants for ourselves and our ancestors therein, with the bestowal of all the eternal promises of the Abrahamic covenant. Therefore, children of the covenant always build, make covenants and worship in temples.
The burden of sin is our greatest barrier to receiving the covenant promises. When we sin, we break our covenants and have no more promises from God (see Doctrine and Covenants 82:10). Therefore, to receive remission of sins and retain the covenant promises, children of the covenant seek repentance. The assurance of and desire for the covenant promises, and the hope of remission of sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ, motivate children of the covenant to repent.
The resurrected Lord, while among the Nephites, gave all children of the covenant this promise: “and behold, ye are the children of the prophets; and ye are of the house of Israel; and ye are of the covenant which the Father made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham: and in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. The Father having raised me [Jesus Christ] up unto you first, and sent me to bless you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities; and this because ye are the children of the covenant” (see 3 Nephi 20:25-26). Thus, remission of sins is a crucial heritage of children of the covenant. Hence, children of the covenant will seek and “discover the joy of daily repentance”(see President Russell M. Nelson, “The Power of Spiritual Momentum,” Apr. 2022 General Conference).
God also commissioned Abraham and his seed “that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations”(see Abraham 2:9-11). This is to enable all children of God to also become children of the covenant, making the Abrahamic covenant inclusive and a means of salvation unto all children of God. Thus, faithful children of the covenant share the gospel with the rest of the world and seek to gather the scattered house of Israel, irrespective of race, gender, religion and culture. That is, children of the covenant are missionaries—they always find opportunities to love, share and invite others to the covenant path.
How then do we learn to personalize the Abrahamic covenant?
We personalize it when we come to know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that we are children of the covenant and beneficiaries of eternal promises from the Lord through the fathers. We personalize it when we understand what those promises are and develop faith and power, through obedience, to realize them. It is when we embrace our covenant heritage, see prophets as our fathers and treasure their words as our family history. This is the essence of the Spirit of Elijah—that our hearts may be turned to the fathers and the promises of the Lord to them. Therefore, when we grow in the Spirit of Elijah, we begin to personalize the Abrahamic covenant. Our knowledge, testimony and faith in Jesus Christ and His promises become well established.
I love President Nelson and admire the intensity and consistency with which he talks about covenants; covenant teachings imbue his messages and prophetic invitations. He invites us to embrace the covenant path! Indeed, President Nelson has personalized the Abrahamic covenant and teaches it by example and invitations. He has taught, “when we realize that we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of us”(see President Russell M. Nelson, “Covenants,” Oct. 2011 General Conference).
The prophets Nephi and Lehi provide additional examples of personalizing the Abrahamic covenant. For Nephi, his “soul delighteth in the covenants of the Lord which [God] hath made with our fathers”(see 2 Nephi 11:5). This influenced what he talked about and included in his writings. He wrote, “For the fulness of mine intent [in writing] is that I may persuade all men to come unto the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and be saved”(see 1 Nephi 6:4).
For Lehi, when he read from the plates of brass and discovered that “he was a descendant of Joseph”—thus a child of the covenant—”he was filled with the Spirit, and began to prophecy concerning his seed”(see 1 Nephi 5:14-19; 2 Nephi 3:4, 22). Notice that it was only after Lehi had come to the knowledge of his fathers and the covenants of the Lord with them that the Lord saw him and his children empowered and prepared to “raise up seed unto [Him] in the land of promise”(see 1 Nephi 7:1-5).
Imagine what can happen to us and our children as well, as we come to know that we are children of the covenant! Our hearts would naturally turn to our posterity and be filled with the Spirit of Elijah and the spirit of prophecy concerning them. We will diligently teach our children the covenants of the Lord. Therefore, godly affection for our seed is also a heritage of children of the covenant. Children of the covenant are empowered to raise up their children unto the Lord.
Satan is well aware that a knowledge of the covenants of the Lord can empower the children of men and thwart his purpose. In Nephi’s interpretation of his father’s vision of the tree of life, he saw that Satan, through the great and abominable church, would take away the covenants of the Lord from the record of the Jews—the Bible—resulting in blindness of mind and hardness of heart among the children of men. Consequently, Satan exerted great power over them and caused many to stumble. Gratefully, Nephi also saw that the record of the Nephites—the Book of Mormon—would come to restore the knowledge of the covenants of the Lord and help gather the children of men with “the gift and power of
the Lamb” of God (see 1 Nephi 13:23-40; 2 Nephi 3:12).
Also recall when Moroni first appeared to the young Joseph Smith. Moroni introduced the plates containing the Book of Mormon and then quoted Malachi’s prophecies about the coming of Elijah to “plant in the hearts of the children [of the covenant] the promises made to the fathers, [that] the hearts of the children [of the covenant] shall turn to their fathers”(see Joseph Smith History 1:34-39). Moroni exemplified to us that these two subjects—the Book of Mormon and the Spirit of Elijah—must necessarily go together in testifying of the covenants of the Lord.
It was with this intent that the Book of Mormon was written—that we may come to know “what great things the Lord hath done for [our] fathers; and that [we] may know the covenants [and promises] of the Lord”(see Title Page of the Book of Mormon). We need to study it with the same intent, since the Book of Mormon, in combination with other holy scriptures, is a marvelous heritage of children of the covenant.
I have come to believe that a diligent and prayerful study of the Book of Mormon can help us develop the Spirit of Elijah and personalize the Abrahamic covenant. Because we are also children of the prophets, as the Savior taught among the Nephites, children of the covenant delight in the words of prophets, treasure the holy scriptures as their family history and faithfully heed them. They develop the spirit of prophecy to understand and testify of the words of prophets.
With our heritage in mind, I invite you to learn more about the Abrahamic covenant, and let these invitations, and others that you may discover from your personal study, influence your choices as children of the covenant:
Seek the priesthood and its ordinances.
Focus on temple covenants and worship.
Seek and discover the joy of daily repentance.
Love, share and invite others to the covenant path.
Feel empowered to raise up children unto the Lord.
Treasure the scriptures and the words of prophets and apostles.
These are related to prophetic invitations from President Nelson. And I testify that as we come to know and delight in the covenants of the Lord with the fathers and live up to our heritage as children of the covenant, we will feel more love, power and blessings from Jesus Christ (see 1 Nephi 14:12,14). The spirit of prophecy and the Spirit of Elijah will give us inspired perspective and power to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant in our family. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
– President Dennis Appiah Kubi
Second Counselor
January 2023
Strengthening The Rising Generation To Trust In God
My brothers and sisters,
Allow me introduce my daughter to you. She is called Kukua and she is 6 years old. We go for swimming lessons whenever time allows us. I always fancy she working with the professional swimmers to improve her swimming skills. Over time I noticed she felt uncomfortable working with the professional swimmers. She appeared not to trust them. Kukua felt at ease and very comfortable swimming with me. She will grab me from my back while we take a dive into the deep end. My daughter Kukua has absolute trust in me because I am her father.
In Mosiah 3:19 King Benjamin taught; “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father”.
Our Heavenly Father wants us to trust Him and the Lord Jesus Christ and teach same to our rising generation, and a way to do that is what King Benjamin has taught in Mosiah 3.
In the banking industry, the relationship that exist between the bank and customers is that of a contractual nature. Where one party can bring legal action against the other if there is a breach of the underlining agreement. We need not view our relationship with our Father in Heaven through the lenses of a contractual relationship; where we keep the commandments and expect instantaneous blessings.
Job was well instructed by the Lord when he sought to question his trails after he assumed he had done no evil which was proportionate to the level of his suffering. In Job 19:7-8 “Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths”. The Savior rebuked Job sharply using many questions. Job 40:8 ” Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?”
Elder Todd D. Christofferson said during the April 2022 conference the critical need to improve our view and understanding of our relationship with our Father in Heaven; “Some misunderstand the promises of God to mean that obedience to Him yields specific outcomes on a fixed schedule. They might think, ‘If I diligently serve a full-time mission, God will bless me with a happy marriage and children’ or ‘If I refrain from doing schoolwork on the Sabbath, God will bless me with good grades’ or ‘If I pay tithing, God will bless me with that job I’ve been wanting.’ If life doesn’t fall out precisely this way or according to an expected timetable, they may feel betrayed by God. But things are not so mechanical in the divine economy. We ought not to think of God’s plan as a cosmic vending machine where we;
(1) select a desired blessing
(2) insert the required sum of good works, and
(3) the order is promptly delivered”
President Brigham Young said “My faith is not placed upon the Lord’s working upon the islands of the sea, upon his bringing the people here, … nor upon the favors he bestows upon this people or upon that people, neither upon whether we are blessed or not blessed, but my faith is placed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and my knowledge I have received from him.”
In Doctrine & Covenant 110:4; the Savior gives a profound self-description which throws more light on His relationship with us. “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father”. An advocate is someone who is always speaking for another, in this context, for you and I. The Savior is always pleading our course before the father, because He loves us unconditionally.
Having worked with the rising generations through the CYD and YSA programs at the Stake level, I see how they view their relationship with the Father and His beloved Son as more of a transactional relationship, how they keep certain commandments and wish the attending blessings would be bestowed upon them almost instantaneously. This posture maybe partly due to a lack of understanding of who they are, and their eternal destination.
May we help our rising generations in the stake to develop and improve their relationship with our Father and His beloved Son Jesus Christ, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
– President Delvyn F. Sandison
First Counselor
November 2022
Service
My dear brothers and sisters
I am humbled by the love and dedication you have for the Savior, as it has been manifested in your services to Him and your fellow saints and families over the many months, I have had the privilege to serve with you. On behalf of the stake presidency, I want to thank you sincerely for your love and kindness you show us and our families each day. We recognize that without your prayers, there is very little we can accomplish.
We also recognize the hard times we find ourselves as a people around the world. Diseases and conflicts that have brought untold hardship on almost everyone. Most of these are beyond our capabilities to begin and end them. We can only rely on the benevolence of our Savior Jesus Christ for the strength to endue until they end.
I know problems, diseases and conflicts are localize and individualized. For some of us it is the malaria, diarrhea, or a simple cold that we struggle with. I am also talking to you who have cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. And the one fighting loneliness, rejection, and complexes in all its shape and forms. What about marital, infertility and the family issues? I am talking about the youth facing anxiety and uncertainties about schoolwork and the future. Parents who worry about how to feed, shelter, and clothe their children. I know every one of us deal with or we know someone struggling with some of these things.
We are however a greatly blessed people. We have made great progress and we ought to be grateful unto our Heavenly Father for His love, grace and mercy that sustain us in difficult times. It is only through His Son Jesus Christ that we move and have our being. A great Book of Mormon prophet Alma sums it up in these words.
“And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem which is the land of our forefathers, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall be overshadowed and conceive by the power of the Holy Ghost, and bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.” Alma 7:10-11
I testify to you it is only by applying the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can overcome these infirmities and sustain ourselves to the end. He makes the relief so personal through the services that we render for one another. He invites us, who are full of infirmities to serve one another.
Here are just a few but important areas that we can be of service to one another.
Serve you family
The very first place to serve is within the four walls of your own home. President Spencer W. Kimball said “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another mortal that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”
Let us emulate the life of a brother who works menial masonry 6 days in a week so he can provide for his family. He returns home every evening and still support his wife in taking care of the children. In Ephesians 5:25 it reads “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” Again “when Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”
And his wife sister Rose who sells kenkey to support the home and yet finds the time and energy to make the home and raise the children. They study and pray together with their children. They strive to be tolerant and speak kind words to one another. They easily forgive one another and unselfishly seeks the happiness of everyone in the family. This brother and sister are a true example of service to us.
Serve your neighbors
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “No man can be a true Latter-day Saint who is unneighborly, who does not reach out to assist and help others. It is inherent in the very nature of the gospel that we do so. My brothers and sisters, we cannot live unto ourselves.”
Elder Steven E. Snow of the Seventy said in a talk titled Service, “This service is to be given unselfishly, with no thought of personal gain or reward. It is to be given as needed, not when convenient. Opportunities to serve may not always seem obvious, as it is human nature to worry about our own wants and needs. We must resist such tendencies and look for opportunities to serve. When we visit with those who are suffering from sickness, loss of loved ones, or other heartbreak, it is not enough to simply say, ‘Call if there is anything I can do.’ Rather, look for ways to bless the lives of others through seemingly simple acts of service. It is better to do even things of little consequence than to do nothing at all”.
A bishop recently called me and said a sister who has been sick for many years requested to see the stake president. So, bishop accompanied me to visit her. She was glad to meet the stake president, but I was so happy to listen to her stories. She had a lot to say about the bishop and other members of the ward, and how they have been supporting her. She called them her family. In James 1:27 we read: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” I believe these members heard the Savior say to them “Behold your bed-ridden sister”
I have visited with many of you who do as the Stephens family did for me in Logan Utah. You take strangers into your homes. You raise other people’s children and, in many cases, pay their school fees for them. There are a lot you do for others in the name of Jesus Christ. “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:34
When we serve, the Lord will not forget us, he will bless us abundantly. “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.” Hebrews 6:10
Serve your community
You belong to a church that serves our communities so well around the world. The spirit of volunteerism is ingrained in our teaching. Wherever there is a disaster you find our members in their numbers serving to bring relief to victims and the environment. For years we have heeded the call by our Area leaders to render various services under the All-Africa Service Projects initiatives. This year I saw young and old, partnering with community leaders to plant trees all over the country. “For weather is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.” Luke 22:27
We want to be like the Savior–we are in the great city of Tema as those who serveth. I am happy to announce that we will have an All-Year Service Projects Initiative within the city of Tema. This is to encourage members to identify and participate in service projects all year round, to be culminated with our All Africa Service Project in August.
Types of Projects
Projects may be undertaken by individuals, families, organizational members such as the Relief Society or Young men, ward and wards coming together, and by all stake members.
Service opportunities may include sweeping and tidying up our neighborhood, helping the aged and the weak among us run errands.
Providing a ride to those that need that service.
Cooking and sharing a meal with individuals that a young women class may have identified. Reading story books and scriptures to those that cannot read.
Volunteering to teach subjects that others find difficult to understand.
Taking care of the trees that were planted in August.
Working with missionaries and helping to bear your testimony as they teach.
As we relaunch our website
We hope to share ideas of projects on the All-Year Service Projects page where you may go for ideas for yourselves and families. These project ideas will be updated, and photos of accomplishments will be uploaded on the same page.
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Matthew 24:40
Serve in the Church
What a privilege I have brothers and sisters to serve with you in the Church. We have many great brothers and sisters who serve for years and share their talents to help build Kingdom of God. I express my profound gratitude to each one of you. There are old members such as the Boakye Yiadoms, Bessa-Simons, the Kwartengs, the Abankwas, the Esiapes, Coffies and the Addei Manus. Then our current bishops, stake and ward leaders. You all give selfless services.
A couple of days ago I got a call from the Daben hospital that a sister had been admitted for treatment. The roommate who took her to the hospital told me she will call me back if they needed any help from me. I called to check after a few minutes, and I was told the bishop was by her side. He had left work, wife and children to go minister to this sister. I go to his ward and his boys are serving by passing the sacrament. Then I come to conference and his wife is saying the opening prayer. This is the story of a typical Latter-day Saint leader.
“And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God. And when the priest had imparted unto them the word of God they all returned again diligently unto their labors; and the priest, not esteeming himself above his hearers, for the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; and thus they were all equal, and they did all labor, every man according to his strength.
And they did impart of their substance, every man according to that which he had, to the poor, and the needy, and the sick, and the afflicted; and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely.
And thus they did establish the affairs of the church; and thus they began to have continual peace again, notwithstanding all their persecutions.
And now, because of the steadiness of the church they began to be exceedingly rich, having abundance of all things whatsoever they stood in need—an abundance of flocks and herds, and fatlings of every kind, and also abundance of grain, and of gold, and of silver, and of precious things, and abundance of silk and fine-twined linen, and all manner of good homely cloth.
“And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked , or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches ; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need.” Alma 1:26-30
Here we also have the rising generation like Moroni Odoom, Kemi Clever Boafo, Nana Adwoa Ghartey and Swanzi Asante and so many others in leadership position. They, together with many others I cannot mention, have started their services very early and will eventually serve full-time missions in due course. We are grateful unto the Lord for their lives and for what they stand for.
I now express my gratitude for the missionaries serving in our stake. They have come from all walks of life and are here to serve with us. I know the Lord blesses His missionaries. He said: “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” Matthew 10:39 Under the leadership of President Appiah Kubi and working with the bishops, we will encourage and assist every young man who is of age to prepare to serve a mission. We will do same for any sister who so desires to serve.
As we prepare to serve abroad, let us begin by first serving our families at home. Let us serve our neighbors and community members. Let us serve in our wards and assist with missionary work at home. I know what missionary service did for me and recommend it to every young person who can hear my voice. Let us live our lives in such a manner that the Lord can trust us when He calls us to do His work.
And we do all these to show our love for our Savior Jesus Christ. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Matthew 22:37–39
I know without a doubt, that our Heavenly Father lives and loves His children. Jesus Christ showed us by example by living as “one who serveth”
As your humble Stake President and the Presiding High Priest of the Tema Ghana Stake, I invoke the choicest blessings of Heaven on each one of you. May you be blessed individually and collectively as you serve one another all year round. This is my prayer and testimony I leave with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
– President Stephen Apeaning Abu Jr.
Stake President
October 2022
The Road Home
Dear brothers and sisters,
It is a humbling opportunity and privilege to share some thoughts with you. It has been one month since our stake was reorganized and I was called to be your master servant. Your pledge of support for Presidents Sandison, Appiah-Kubi and I through your sustaining votes was solemnly overwhelming. “But this is not all” (Alma 17:3) You demonstrated over this short one month, a practical way of letting the will of God prevail in your lives through the many activities we have already held.
As I reflect on my life and the events of the past month, I express my gratitude to Heavenly Father for the loving parents and family I belong to, and for the many leaders who have touched my life in many ways. Our stake is full of brothers and sisters who have gained experiences over the years from their professional work and church callings. We have former Stake Presidents, Patriarchs and former Bishops, current and former Area Seventies, and a Mission President. Primary, Young Women and Relief Society Presidents who taught and raised many of us who are now young fathers and mothers. Then, our Returned Missionary Battalion who are ever ready to serve when called.
My counselors and I are grateful to embark on this journey of service with each of you brothers and sisters. We recognize these difficult times we find ourselves in. We acknowledge the economic, financial, and emotional struggles among our people. As some battle with the frailties associated with age, many others are looking to find and keep jobs to be able to begin and provide for their families. Elder Dieter F. Uchdorf in his talk Yearning for Home given at General Conference of October 2017 said, “God knows your every thought, your sorrows, and your greatest hopes. God knows the many times you have sought Him. The many times you have felt limitless joy. The many times you have wept in loneliness. The many times you have felt helpless, confused, or angry.”
It is heartwarming to know that our leaders are aware of our struggles. They have experienced many of the same things we also face hence their abilities to empathize and provide support, comfort, and relief to us- to continually point us to the road that will lead us home. And how much more so our Savior who suffered all things. In Alma 7:11-12 we read “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.” With the hope and assurance from our Savior, I invite you to think about one thing that you can practically do to promote the work of salvation and exaltation in your everyday life.
It might be that you need to find a way to repent of that sin that easily besets you (2 Nephi 4:18) so you can live the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully. It might be that you have to find a practical way to care for those in need. This will mean stepping up your ministering efforts and building a bond of friendship with your assigned families. Also, this might include doing missionary work by inviting friends and family to listen to the missionary discussions. I invite you to fully participate in the stake’s mission plan. Lastly, you might need to fulfill your obligations to your ancestors, thereby you might help perfect yourself. In Doctrine and Covenant 128:15, the Prophet Joseph Smith gives this admonition. “And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made perfect.”
Beloved brothers and sisters, it has not been long when many of us were in our youth. I remember looking at my parents during my teenage years and thinking they were so old and that I had many years until I would get to where they were. Now my journey from that youthful time to where they were, has been like laboring on a Pharisees’ approved sabbath day chore. So, it shall not be long for our youth to take our place. Please find the best practical way to teach your children to love God and keep His commandments. Assist them to attend seminary and work on their Children and Youth Development Program (CYD) where they are taught to set goals and work to achieve them. These are the things that bring true joy when we reach where our parents are now, for our successors would be on solid foundations.
Beloved family, I express my love and appreciation for each one of you in the stake. It is my hope that we will have the strength and the Spirit to come to you regularly to discuss gospel topics. Here is a salutation from the Prophet Joseph Smith to the Saints. “As I stated to you in my letter before I left my place, that I would write to you from time to time and give you information in relation to many subjects, I now resume the subject of the baptism for the dead, as that subject seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest, since I have been pursued by my enemies.” (D&C 128:1) I am grateful for all the freedom we have to worship our Savior and our God and pray that we will all participate in these topics that will be shared from time to time.
I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I know He lives. I know we cannot comprehend all the love Heavenly Father has for us. But this vivid description given by the Prophet Joseph Smith is sufficient to make us all yearn for home.
“The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire; Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold.” (D&C 137:1-4)
May the Lord bless us all as a stake, as we pursue the course that will lead us home. May He strengthen us always to do everything we can and ought to do in pushing His work forward. This is my prayer and admonition for this month, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
– President Stephen Apeaning Abu Jr.
Stake President
May 2022
Trust in the Lord
Dear brothers and sisters,
I believe you will agree that this year flew by very fast, and all too soon we are in the last month. The children, however, will have a different view and may think it is taking too long for it to be Christmas. Ronald E. Riggio, in his article “Why Christmas Comes and Goes So Quickly” put it this way: “New events make more vivid memories, and the more we reflect on those memories, the better they are preserved, and the slower time seems to go.” Then for Christmas he explains, “That is why Christmas as a child never seemed to come fast enough, and as an adult, they seem to come and go more and more quickly. When we are a child, Christmas is still new, different, and exciting. When we are older, it’s the same old, same old. As we repeat the same events again and again, they don’t make much of an impression and we don’t reflect much. So, when it happens again the following year, it seems like it just happened.”
It is not surprising to me that we usually yearn to be with our families, especially as the year draws to a close, and we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ – our first and lasting memories are with our families. Our involvement with families did not start at birth and knowing and understanding this divine truth is so critical to our successful sojourn on the covenant path to our Heavenly Home (Gordon B. Hinckley. The Family, A Proclamation To
The World).
On the eve of the new year 2022, I invite you saints, even the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tema Stake, to know who you are – your divine identity. A testimony about your divine heritage will help you connect with the Heavens and “LET GOD PREVAIL’ in your lives, as admonished by our beloved prophet, President Russel M. Nelson (Let God Prevail. Russel M. Nelson October 2020 General Conference).
I recognize the hardship and turmoil that has engulfed the world, especially the last couple of pandemic years. However, the technological advancements and the opportunities that currently abound in the world has never been known by any prior generation. I implore the rising generation to take advantage of the Pathway educational program to enable you to conquer what comes your way in the coming years (see Psalm 3:5-6).
I invite you dear brothers and sisters to prepare to be fully involved in both ward and stake activities as we put all our TRUST IN THE LORD throughout the year 2022 (see Alma 37:37).
Improve your personal and family scripture studies – Old Testament for next year. Look for gospel truths, listen to the spirit and apply the teachings in your lives. By this routine you would be letting the Lord prevail in your lives.
It is a blessing to know who we are. Personally, it gives me the enthusiasm to serve my fellow
brothers and sisters and the comfort to know that come what may, my TRUST IN THE LORD will prevail.
In conclusion, I return to Ronald Riggio’s counsel on Christmas and time, “Zimbardo and Boyd suggest that we use time more wisely. Live in the moment and pay attention to what is going on around you. Savor the positive experiences and they will make more lasting impressions. Keep an optimistic and hopeful attitude about the future. Plan positive events and be hopeful (e.g., imagine what a great Christmas you will have next year!), and relive the cherished memories. Slow down time and enjoy the holidays” (Riggio 2014). Let us all be like little children and enjoy the Christmas and a beautiful new year.
I solemnly proclaim we are of a divine parentage and God is our Father. He loves His children in every nation of the world. Jesus Christ rose and gained the victory over death. He is our Savior, our Exemplar, and our Redeemer. I testify of this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
References:
President Gordon B. Hinckley, October 1995 General Conference. The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general- conference/1995/10/the-family-a-proclamation-to- the-world?lang=eng
Riggio E. R December 14, 2014. Why Christmas Comes and Goes So Quickly
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting- edge-leadership/201412/why-christmas-comes-and- goes-so-quickly
President Russel M. Nelson October 2020 General Conference. Let God Prevail.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general- conference/2020/10/46nelson?lang=eng
–President Isaac. K. Abankwa
Stake Presidency Message
December 2021