Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints assembled to participate in the creation of the first stake (a group of congregations) in Liberia on November 27, 2016 and in a cultural celebration on November 26 which commemorated the growth of the Church in that country.
- family
- Young woman
- Stake Leaders
- Prince Nyanforth as early missionary
- Women exit
- Man and wife
- Grandmother
- Happy Greeting
- Girl
- After Church
- Boys
- After Church
- Sister missionaries
- Missionaries teaching
- Growth of the Church
- Blossoms
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Elder Terence M. Vinson, President of the Africa West Area, presided over the conference. He commented, “This historic occasion of creating a stake in Liberia is just the tip of the iceberg. It is a direct consequence of the faith and dedication of the Liberian members of the Church in the face of great adversity. Its presence will unify the members of the Church and provide additional strength and determination, which will lead to this being the first of several stakes in Liberia within the next two years.”
From a fledgling beginning of two branches in the early 1980s, growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been constant. Though the country has faced civil war, devastating disease and extreme poverty, there has been continued growth of Church membership. The faith, dedication and strength of committed members in Liberia have resulted in the current total of 10,991 Latter-day Saints.
The newly formed stake was called the Monrovia Liberia Bushrod Island Stake. Prince Sonpon Nyanforh, was called to serve as stake president, with Joseph Gbaime David as first counselor and Adolphus Zinnah Dougbah Sr. as second counselor. At the conference President Nyanforth challenged the members “to build strong family units and follow the pattern Jesus Christ set by living the gospel fully.”
A stake president and his counselors, along with all leaders and teachers, are not paid for their service, but donate their time to serve the congregations they preside over.
The Church has had a presence in Liberia since in the early 1980s when two branches (small congregations) were formed to meet the needs of foreign members working in the country. Missionaries arrived in July 1987, and the first baptism was performed on August 22, 1987 in the waters of Kontiki Beach Lagoon.
Along with this first stake, there is one mission, three districts (similar to stakes) and 22 branches of the Church in Liberia.