116 priesthood advancements in single day
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
Alarge number of priesthood advancements occurred recently when two stakes in the heart of the Amazon rain forest met in two separate stake priesthood meetings in the same meetinghouse on the same afternoon.
At gatherings of priesthood holders of the Manaus Brazil and the Manaus Brazil Rio Negro stakes recently, 116 men were sustained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.In the Manaus stake, the priesthood assignment changes took place under the direction of Pres. Walter Braga de Souza, and in the Manaus Rio Negro stake, under the direction of Pres. Divino Presenca. Pres. Aldo Francesconi of the Brazil Manaus Mission assisted in both stakes.
"A true miracle took place," said Pres. Francesconi. He said the men, most of whom are relatively new members of the Church, were prepared for advancement in the priesthood through "much concentrated effort in following up on their progress" by other members.
"About 400 brethren attended two general priesthood meetings that were held in the same meetinghouse," he said. "The fact that such a great number of men were sustained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood in the same day is unheard of in the history of the Church in Brazil."
Pres. Francesconi said local leaders widely supported the effort to closely follow up with the recently converted men, as directed by the Brazil Area presidency.
"This brought about a harvest of promised blessings that will hopefully lead to the creation of the third stake in Manaus in the near future," he said.
The priesthood assignment changes are indicative of the rapid growth of the Church in the Manaus area. In recent years, missionaries of the Manaus mission have made inroads into cities that were not accessible in the past.
Successful conversion efforts in Manaus and other cities in the mission a year ago resulted in 158 people baptized in various services on Dec. 22 alone, said Pres. Francesconi. (See Church News, Jan. 22, 1994.)
