Elder Gong visits King Tackie Teiko Tsuro II  in Accra Ghana

On 14 June 2023, the Ga King, His Royal Highness Tackie Teiko Tsuro-II, welcomed Elder Gerrit W. Gong, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to a meeting in the Kings Palace in Accra, Ghana.  Also in attendance was Sister Susan L. Gong, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, General Authority Seventy and President of the Africa West Area and Sister Wendy Nielsen, and Elder Jorg Klebingat, a General Authority Seventy and first counsellor in the Africa West Area and Sister Julia Klebingat.  Elder Gong is in Ghana during a 10-day visit of the Africa West Area.  The king is known by his people as the Ga Mantse.

The meeting follows the Ga Mantse’s visit to Salt Lake City, Utah, in April 2023 to attend the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During that visit he was able to attend two sessions of the conference and was recognized by Elder Ronald A. Rasband during his address. The Ga Mantse had offered an invitation to Elder Gong to visit him in Accra, and Elder Gong promised he would come.

The representatives of the Church were greeted by Justice Julia Sarkodie Mensah, Chief of Staff for the Ga Mantse, who noted that, “we are no longer just friends, you are our family.”  She noted the King’s goal of unifying Accra and thanked the Church for working with the King, ‘on projects that are important to us and to your Church.’

Elder Nielsen said, “When we met in Salt Lake, I promised you that we would bring Elder Gong to visit you, and we are here to fulfil that promise.” He added that, “We love you, and we feel as if we are connected in our desires for the people of Ghana.”  Elder Nielsen noted some of the projects that they had worked on together and promised to continue to support the King as he worked for the betterment of his people.

The Ga Mantse thanked the Church leaders for visiting him and noted how impressed he was with his visit to Salt Lake City. He was particularly impressed by his visit to Welfare Square. “I saw how easily food is processed and brought to the people. We need to learn from your methods how to better feed the people of Accra.”

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“I have a vision for our children’s tomorrow that includes resources being allocated to education and training of our younger generation and the empowerment of women in our society,” the King said, and then noted his gratitude to the Church for helping him to achieve those goals.  The Church recently donated funds for the renovation of a classroom building and the construction of a library at the Mantse Tackie School in Accra.  The school is named after the King’s grandfather.  At the ground-breaking ceremony the King thanked the Church for helping him to realize his vision and said, “Under my reign, I want opportunities for all Ga children. I want no child left behind.”

Elder Gong thanked the King for sharing his vision and said, “We were honored that you would come to visit us in Salt Lake and are now honored to be in your presence here in Ghana.”  He also noted that, like members of the Church of Jesus Christ, the people of Ghana have great reverence for their ancestors. “When we respect and honor our ancestors, we provide a way for our people to remember those that have come before and bless the lives of the rising generation.”  He added that the Church desires to continue the relationship with the King that has already blessed so many Ghanaians.

Elder Gong presented the King with a stained-glass representation of the tree of life. “This tree, like all trees, has roots and branches. The roots represent your reverence and respect for your ancestors, and the branches represent the great hope of your future generation,” said Elder Gong.  Sister Wendy Nielsen presented the King with a basket of keepsake reminders from his visit to Salt Lake City.