Three nations dedicated in Africa
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Three African nations recently were dedicated for the preaching of the gospel and the establishment of the Church.
In a three-day period, Elder James E. Faust of the Council of the Twelve offered dedicatory prayers in Uganda, Kenya and Zimbabwe.On Oct. 23, Elder Faust, accompanied by Elder Richard P. Lindsay of the Seventy who serves as president of the Africa Area, dedicated the land of Uganda in the capital city of Kampala. Elder Faust and Elder Lindsay were accompanied by their wives, Ruth W. Faust and Marian B. Lindsay, and Kenya Nairobi Mission Pres. Larry Brown and his wife, Alice B. Brown.
Uganda granted the Church official status earlier this year. (Church News, March 30, 1991.)
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Faust petitioned that in Uganda there would be "a peaceful, pluralistic society so that all of thy children in this land may worship according to their own conscience. May the governments be benign and foster religious freedom. . . . May it be possible for the faithful saints of this land to receive all of the saving ordinances and covenants, . . . We ask for a special blessing to be upon the faithful sisters in this land and across the world." A group of Ugandan Church members attended the afternoon service on a hill overlooking a lawn and garden area and the city of Kampala. Kampala Branch Pres. Charles Osinde conducted the service. Lark and Arlea W. Washburn, the first LDS missionaries to Uganda, also attended the service.
On Oct. 24, Elder Faust, Elder Lindsay, Pres. Brown and their wives traveled to Nariobi, Kenya, where more than 100 Church members assembled near the Nairobi meetinghouse for an outdoor ceremony. The dedicatory prayer was offered in that land as the African sun was setting and a full moon was rising. Kenya District Pres. Joseph Sitati conducted the dedicatory ceremony.
In the dedicatory prayer, Elder Faust said, "We acknowledge this as a blessed land." The prayer contained references to Kenya's beauty, grandeur and abundant natural flora and fauna, and a petition that "the beasts of the earth, which have historically been native to this land, may continue to find a home."
Elder Faust prayed that mutual respect, brotherhood and sisterhood may be obtained by all in the land. "We pray," he continued, "that it may be possible for the dedicated saints of the land to have access to a holy temple. . . ."
On Oct. 25, Elder and Sister Faust and Elder and Sister Lindsay were met by Zimbabwe Harare Mission Pres. Vern Marble and his wife, Mary Frances H. Marble. More than 200 local members and investigators attended the ceremony in which Elder Faust dedicated the land of Zimbabwe.
"Before the meeting, the saints of Zimbabwe had been fasting and praying for rain," Elder Lindsay said. "As the dedicatory prayer by Elder Faust concluded, a gentle rain began to fall, and rainfall increased for days afterward."
In the prayer, Elder Faust invoked "a blessing upon the earth of Zimbabwe. He prayed that the land would "continue to provide the abundance which it has in the past. . . . May the rain fall and the streams flow, and the sun kiss the land to provide for thy people. . . . May the great rivers and the Kriba Lake and the other lakes continue to flow. . . . "
