A Little Boy in Ghana

The hearts and minds of the West African people were prepared for the day when missionaries would be sent to their lands. Several Protestant ministers in Ghana and Nigeria obtained copies of the Book of Mormon. When they read it, the Spirit witnessed to them that it truly was the word of God. They began preaching to their congregations from the Book of Mormon and seeking more information from Church headquarters in Salt Lake. They knew that the Lord had restored His Church to the earth and they wanted to be part of it. During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Church headquarters received more letters requesting information about the Church from Ghana and Nigeria than from all of the rest of the world combined. Those letters were sent to President Faust, who was then the President of the International Mission. He reported that he would take to his regular meetings with the First Presidency large stacks of those letters that pleaded for missionaries to be sent.

One day, President Faust received a letter from Emmanuel Bondah, a little boy in Ghana, who said that his greatest hope and dream was to hear the great organ and listen to the Tabernacle Choir sing. When he went to his next meeting with the First Presidency, President Faust put that letter on top of his usual stack of letters. At the meeting, President Kimball asked him if he would like to read one of his letters from West Africa. President Faust took Emmanuel’s letter off the top of the stack and read it. When he finished, he looked up and saw a tear trickle down President Romney’s cheek. He later reported, “I knew then that we were going to Africa.” The earnest desires of those faithful people caused President Kimball to spend many hours in the Temple, pleading on their behalf. Eventually, after the Priesthood revelation was received, missionaries were sent to West Africa. Entire congregations, already calling themselves The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were eager for baptism. Among those baptized was Emmanuel Bondah.

Emmanuel was a faithful member of the Church. He eventually became the District President of the Assin Foso (pronounced “uh-sin fo-sue”) District in the Ghana Cape Coast Mission. Under his steady and inspired leadership, the District grew and progressed. In the spring of last year, the District he had led for ten years became a Stake and Emmanuel Bondah was called as the first Stake Patriarch.

Tonight, the dream decades ago longed for by a little boy in Ghana will be realized. Emmanuel Bondah will hear, for the first time in person, and will sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! I suspect that President Faust will be watching … and smiling.