After a long week of zone conferences and interviews in the North, we drove home from Tamale on Saturday, and a couple of hours later I was on a plane to Accra to participate in the 2024 Area Instruction Meeting with Elder Bednar, Elder Kearon, and Elder Godoy. We spent four hours with these amazing men. Also in attendance and participating were the three members of of Area Presidency: Elder Nielsen, Elder Klebingat, Elder Kyungu. I also had the chance to meet our successor in person. President Boateng, while just released from being stake president, was invited to attend. It was wonderful to meet face to face.

I took notes as best I could, as there was more for me to learn than I could write down. I have since transcribed it into a document and categorized it into 5 themes. In many cases, I wrote down things that the Spirit was teaching me that I needed to do and at the same time was trying to capture the key points being made. I don’t really assign comments to any one person, but I think this is a good representation of what was taught. The 5 themes covered were: 1) Priesthood Keys. 2) Gospel Simplicity: Home Centered and Church Support. 3) Youth. 4) Repentance. 5) Ordinances and Covenants. Here are my summaries grouped by the themes and not chronologically.

Keys

• It is the priesthood that differentiates us from all other Churches.  Alignment of keys is one of the great priesthood responsibilities. When keys are not aligned, revelatory opportunities are restrained.  We must find simplicity in the exercise of keys.
• Priesthood keys must be united.
• Experience can be good it can be bad.  We have to teach by the spirit and not by our experience.  We need to study the gospel and rely on Him.  We need to be an example of this for our members.
• When someone is not performing their duty, the first question we must ask is “Lord, is it I?”  Did I not do my part to teach and train them?  We need to ask a series of questions to understand what they need to succeed.
• Elohim never gave Jehovah more than 1 or 2 things to do at a time (temple)

Gospel Simplicity: Home Centered – Church Supported

• Handbook 1.2.1 The simple doctrine of Christ is the foundation for living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Section 1.3 – The purpose of the Church. It is a powerful and simple summary of what the Church and its leaders provide to help with the work of Salvation.
• Revelation is scattered 2 Nephi 28:30.  “For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.”
• We need to have more Christ centered sacrament meetings.  Hymns are to be selected by inspiration.  We need more preparation for our sacrament meetings.  Planned more in advance.  More personal preparation by the members when they come.  “The sacrament experience begins at home”.  Home centered gospel living prepares us for an amazing experience at Church in the sacrament meeting.
• Reverence starts at home.  We need to be peacemakers before we come to church.
• How do we represent reverence?  It should be joyful.  It is so much more than quietly sitting with folded arms.  Our members need a reason to participate and turn off the devices.  There is no better sacrament meeting than confirming 15 new converts (based on an experience Elder Bednar had in the D.R. Congo).  It is in the ordinances of the priesthood that the power of godliness is manifest.
• At the end, Elder Bednar blessed us to remember what we need to remember to maintain the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our families and callings.

Youth

• We must stop talking AT the youth.  We underestimate the youth.  We need to stop being surprised at what these young people can do. 
• Young men could serve as counselors in the Sunday School presidency.  We need to get the youth councils working. (Handbook 10.4.4). 
• According to a recent youth survey, the most terrifying thing for them is the thought of being alone.  Family History helps them.  We need to get them move involved in taking a greater lead in family history in our branches.
• Allow the youth to be part of the solution.  We must engage them in the work of salvation.
• We need bishops and branch presidents who love the youth – who have their greatest joy from the time they spend with the youth.

Repentance

• There are two baptisms, and we only emphasize one.  It is by the power and sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost that we are cleansed.  
• In partaking of the sacrament, we are renewing all our covenants – and if we have repented, our sins are forgiven.  As priesthood leaders, we are assistants to the great healer.  Repentance is about healing and not about punishment.  We use the treatment that is necessary to bring the healing that is needed.
• Baptism – Holy Ghost – Sacrament.  These are altogether.  They are all “one”.  The same phrase we use in the temple that all truth is …..
• When a person resigns their membership or loses their membership, they have to be released from their covenant and start afresh.
• Repentance is turning again to the Lord.  It is joyous.  It is not a checklist.  There are consequences of sin, even when we repent.  One can be cleansed of sin, but they never get the time back.  Repentance requires the Redeemer and that is most important “R”. 
• Repentance is about the condition of the heart.  It is about recognizing our utter dependance on Jesus Christ.  We begin to see the anguish of the soul.  The bandage has to be as big as the wound (President Kimball). Trying to help them move to godly sorrow and away from the sorrow of the damned.  We need to remind members who they are.  The Savior’s intent is always to HEAL.  “Bring them hither and I will heal them”. 
• Repentance is not about pain and punishment.  It is about healing.  One of the great disappointments is that when the Lord says he will forgive – He will actually forgive and we are clean. We have to learn to trust Him.
• We need to think about what we can have some do we are trying to help heal in order for them to learn for themselves how to turn back to God.  While the memories of our sin will not go away, it is the Lord who will not remember them, not us. (see Isaiah 61:1-3). The memories are gradually diminished as we do sanctifying acts.  We cannot be sanctified all at once.  A clean grain of sand into one end and a filthy one out the other end.  It takes time.  We have to help them feel differently about their situations.  They have to see their sin differently.

Ordinances and Covenants

• What is the work of salvation and exaltation?
• Knowing the Name and Next Ordinance that each member needs is the work we do with our priesthood keys.  This is simplicity and it could change the way that branch presidents fulfill their duties. 
• We need to be very clear aobut the work that needs to be done.  We need to shepherd people to the temple.  We need simplicity and focus. 
• When we make a covenant, we bind ourselves to act in holiness.  We have a relationship with the Father and the Son.  The power of Godliness comes unto our lives through this covenant connection.
• 1 Nephi 14:14  “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.”  This is the power of the covenant connection.  There is great power in being connected with ordinances.  We need heavenly help and the power of God in our lives.
• An ordinance is a holy act performed by the priesthood that teaches us about the associated covenants.  Example:  Sacrament – Breaking of the break is a symbol of the Savior body being torn.  Every piece of bread is unique.  It is taken to the congregation one by one.  Every aspect of the sacrament testifies of Jesus Christ.  We need to look at scriptural sequences.  For example, 3 Nephi 11. 1) Two witnesses, the Father and the Son 2) Conferred priesthood authority. 3) Explained baptism. 4) He taught ministering by example with 2500 people.  Spent 8-9 hours ministering one by one.
• Ordinances are not rituals.  They are dripping with symbolism.  This is what it means that the power of godliness is manifest.

Those of us from Kumasi (5 stake presidents and me), caught the 4:40 pm flight back to Kumasi, except President Oppong who caught a bus back to Nkawkaw and then drove to Konongo. That made more sense than flying out of Kumasi since he lives an hour in the direction of Accra. While sitting in the airport, I was able to work on responding to missionary letters, which I hadn’t been able to touch during the week.

The plane was on time and I arrived back home by 6:00 pm and then met with the Assistants from 6:30 – 8:00 pm before joining a video call with three close friends where we talked about the symbolism links between the Garden of Eden and the Empty Tomb. It was a marvelous way to cap off a great day filled with doctrinal truths and spiritual confirmations.

As mentioned above, we were in the north for the zone conferences in Sunyani and Tamale. We stayed over at the Goodrich’s apartment Saturday and Sunday night and then enjoyed a quiet day on Monday. It was an opportunity to take a walk up the road from the apartment to where there is a Catholic University. Actually quite a nice campus based on Ghanaian standards. There was also a cashew tree farm and lots of flies, primarily from the fruit not good enough to harvest that fell on the ground and rotted.

At 3 pm on Monday, we traveled over to the district center and did 10 interviews finishing up all the missionaries in the zone. We had already done the other 10 on Saturday and Sunday, so this gave us the time to complete them before the conference on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, we had the zone conference at the Sunyani District Center. We followed the exact format of the ones from the previous week. Here are a few pictures.

After the conference, I interviewed Elder Niacadie’ and Elder Filimoeatu. SInce they serve in Nikoransa outside of Techiman, interviewing them on Tuesday meant they could go back to their area early the next morning and not have to wait for interviews.

We left Sunyani around 7:00 am and began interviews in Techiman at 9:00 am. It was a nice easy drive, even though the road between the two cities is still one of the worst we drive. In Techiman, we utilized the Couple’s Apartment to do the interviews and phone checks.

From Techiman, we drove to Tamale, arriving between 4:30 – 5:00 pm. We checked into the Ma-s Hotel and then went over and had dinner with the Ray’s and the Loveland’s at the Ray’s apartment. It was an excellent meal (as always). With the weather really warming up in Tamale in February and March, the a/c in the room we stay in is just insufficient. Fortunately, we brought a fan with us which gave us enough air movement to sleep well enough both nights while we were there. I also had enough time to get out and go for a three mile walk both days. The weather was in the 70’s in the early morning, and I decided to stop and snap a picture each morning as the sun rose above the horizon.

LaDawn had scheduled all of the interviews for Tamale and Wa on Thursday. We started at 10:30 am and went until 2:00 pm, taking a break and then starting back up at 3:30. Eighteen interviews is a lot in one day, but with the break it made it manageable and it meant no interviews after zone conference on Friday, which is nice when we can make it happen.

The Tamale zone conference was the best of the five conferences. How do we judge that? The spirit of the missionaries, the discussions, the questions, the insights. Having a smaller group of missionaries definitely helps. These missionaries came to learn and it was obvious. We loved our day with them.

Here are some additional pictures from the conference.

Friday evening we went to Oasis for dinner. LaDawn and I shared some delicious Bolognese and a vegetable salad. What a great way to end the week of interviews and conferences with the Loveland’s and the Ray’s.

Saturday morning we arose early and headed back to Kumasi. An uneventful drive (just as we like them). We arrived back around 1:00 pm which gave me three hours before I needed to catch my flight to Accra. I drove to the airport around 4 pm and was in the hotel by 7 pm. I was able to join President and Sister Morgan for dinner. They put me up on the 7th floor, which has a really nice view and a nice lobby (but the rooms are the same).

It was a really good week, although we came home pretty tired. Getting on a plane and going to Accra was tough because of the travel all week and especially coming back from Tamale the same day, but the rich reward of being with two apostles and four members of the Seventy more than offset the travel fatigue. We are so grateful to be engaged in this work at this place and at this time. We are seeing prophecy fulfilled as the Church grows at unprecedented rates here in West Africa and especially in Ghana. It is an incredible blessing to have these front row seats as we gather Israel one last time, Together in Ghana.