Reflecting on her first contact with missionaries and the Book of Mormon, Mukai Maureen Maphosa of Zimbabwe, remarked, "I just wanted to know what was in that book.

"As I was reading, I would find truth in each and every chapter," she explained. "By the time I finished reading it, I was all ready for baptism. I gained my testimony from that book."Sister Maphosa, 42, joined the Church seven years ago in Zimbabwe and was a member of the first branch comprised of black members organized in that country. Two weeks after her baptism, she was called to the Relief Society presidency.

Since that time she has been involved in Relief Society and currently serves as Relief Society president of the Bulawayo Zimbabwe District of the Zimbabwe Harare Mission.

"I think the Church has made my family more united than we were before," she remarked. "We used to think about bringing up children and making them better. Now I think of the rest of the people in my family, and I want to help them as much as I can to understand the gospel."

Sister Maphosa, her husband, Joe, and their four children - Bathabile and Nokuthula, 19-year-old twins; Michelle, 15; and Henry, 11 - are members of the Famona Branch in the Bulawayo District.

Brother Maphosa, who works as managing director of his own business, was introduced to the Church by a friend who just happened to be the district president.

The president invited him to a district meeting and he accepted because he was curious to see this man in a social setting. While he was at the meeting, the missionaries began talking to him and asked him if he was interested in hearing their message. He said no, but maybe his wife would be interested.

After returning from the meeting, he related the story to his wife, and she decided to phone the missionaries instead of waiting for their visit.

"When they came," Sister Maphosa recalled, "they gave me Articles of Faith and showed me the Book of Mormon. I said of course I would like to read it. They said they would give lessons if I was interested. I read the book so fast. At first it seemed like a history book, but then when I read it the second time I knew there was more to it."

Having gained her testimony by studying the scriptures, she compares a testimony to a plant. "If we don't nourish it, it dies. If we don't nourish our testimonies, we lose them and it is difficult to gain back.

"We can build our own personal testimonies by reading the scriptures and studying them, and can strengthen our testimonies by sharing with others and doing acts of charity."

As district Relief Society president, Sister Maphosa is responsible for 162 Relief Society members and works to help them improve their lives.

Zimbabwe has a population of 9 million people, but there are only two districts in the country and the branches are quite a distance apart, she commented. In the past four years, the district has grown from one to six branches. There is one meetinghouse in the district and the remaining branches meet in rented halls, usually school halls.

Because of the growth, "we have to teach them [Relief Society presidentsT how to run their Relief Society for themselves, how to do their own homemaking and visiting teaching. Much of our time is spent on instruction and teaching.

"But just at the moment you think of helping them, they run their own branches without a lot of help from us and teach their counselors what they are supposed to do.

"Because there is not very much of membership there," she explained, "we are kind of unique in our own way. Our sisters sometimes have problems mixing with others. Other churches meet together, but we don't. So that can be difficult. We just tell them to stick to the truth and go to their own church.

"Generally in other churches you just go to church and you are finished, but with Relief Society you get to know one another well. We have homemaking to better our homes and take care of our children."

Transportation, however, is often a problem because of the distance between members' homes and Church meetings. Some can't afford to take the bus and feel they need the money to help their children for school the next day, she said. Few buses run on Sunday as well, compounding the problem.

"Other challenges we face in the area include the language problem. There are many languages in a very small area. In some branches they speak in their native language. Sometimes it is difficult for them to understand the scriptures, especially the Bible, because they have no King James version in their native language."

In a country where the poverty level is very high in many areas, Relief Societies also meet together to help sisters improve their economic situation, Sister Maphosa added.

"Some sisters teach one another how to make things that they can sell to raise money for their own families. We also teach them lessons on self-reliance.

"Once in awhile they have problems getting materials, so if we can afford it we try and give them a start. Some have made embroidery items, others have baked cakes to sell or made school uniforms."

Social problems aren't as difficult to deal with in the country because many people understand the role of the church in Zimbabwe, she continued. "All people observe the Sabbath in my country."

Before the country gained independence 11 years ago, women had many problems, she explained. "It was difficult for them to say a word in public.

Men always took that role. Men would always get more salaries, even if you were qualified the same.

"After independence, the government helped to organize the country so people realize women are equal to men. They have shown this by having women ministers in government. Those things take a long time to change."

Since its independence, Zimbabwe encourages education for every child up to high school and provides opportunities for people to take literacy classes.

"We talk about literacy and health in Relief Society meetings, homemaking meetings, visiting teaching meetings. We do invite people from outside the Church who are specialized in subjects to come give us talks."

A nurse by profession, Sister Maphosa enjoys helping other sisters learn about health and sanitary living.

"I do have a testimony of the gospel, knowing exactly why I came here - to prepare to go back to Heavenly Father," she concluded. "I know our test is to overcome and to live the gospel. The gospel is very important in my life. I really like this Church because it explains exactly who we are, where we came from, and where we are going."