The leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Africa has debunked the assertion that the church is a mystical entity stressing that it is a normal church like all other denominations in the country.
It, therefore, urged Ghanaians to regard the church as a place for the worship of God through Jesus Christ and therefore, underscored the need to demystify the myth that surrounds various branches of the church in the country.
“We are like any other churches, we take a monthly tithe of ten percent, we worship God through Jesus Christ and we have rules and regulations governing the church based on biblical principles,” Elder Larry Kacher, the first Counselor, on behalf of the Africa West Area President, Elder Hugo Martinez told the Daily Graphic during a media soiree at the church’s West Africa Headquarters at North Ridge, Accra last Thursday.
Elder Kacher called on Ghanaians to consider any branch of the church as a welcoming place they could always visit and worship God.
He also revealed that the church had a blueprint for the youth with respect to jobs and networking.
“We have a FamilySearch office where over 700,000 individuals and their family history and ancestry is being digitised and codified for the future,” he noted.
Media Soiree
The Assistant Director of Communication of the church, Charles Igolo, said the name of the church could only be written in two ways, “the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day-Saints or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”.
“ Our name has been misspelled and mispronounced in most cases in the media and other entities, it is about time this was corrected,” he noted.
He also delved into the use of the word saints for members of the church saying in the new testament the apostles most often referred to the members of the church as saints, hence the name Latter-day Saints connoted modern or current church members.
Matthew Godfrey and Emelia Ahadjie took the time to introduce the media to some respective policies of the church.
Mrs Ahadjie expatiated on the church’s family programme dubbed ‘Strengthening Family Conference’ which is an outreach programme that intends to unite the family, bring cohesion, help the rising generation discover and develop their greatest potential, and uphold family values that are biblical.
Bro Godfrey on the other hand called on the media to liaise more with the church and vice-versa.
He noted that the church’s doors are always open for interactions with the media and called on the media to scrutinize the activities of the church.
Tour of Africa West Area
Members of the media were taken through a tour of the sprawling facility which is officially the headquarters of the church in the Africa West Area located at Ridge, Accra.
It comprises a missionary training centre or teaching rooms, seminar halls, a temple, small rooms where worshippers have quiet time with preachers, and accommodation facilities for visitors.
it also comprises sporting facilities like an indoor basketball court, a beach volleyball court, a miniature football field, and restrooms.