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Brave Beginnings in Other Countries
In addition to our major thrusts into Nigeria and Ghana, brave beginnings have been made to bring the restored gospel of Christ to the inhabitants of a number of other countries in Black Africa. Much, of course, needs to be done everywhere. We are just beginning to get our feet firmly under us in those countries. Yet "mighty oaks from small acorns grow," and we can have confidence that the Church will go forward in these and all other lands in Africa, on the Lord's timetable, to bring the peace and joy of the everlasting gospel to all of God's children in that great continent.
Here are brief summaries of the current state of the growth of the Church in various countries of Africa.
Ivory Coast
The Ivory Coast, a West African country known also by its French name as Cote d'Ivoire, has a population of approximately ten million, of whom two million or so live in Abidjan, the capital. Other large towns include Bouake, Yamoussoukro, and Daloa. Abidjan, which has many modern buildings and shops, has been called "the Paris of Africa." Certainly the French influence remains strong there. Although France formally severed ties with her former colony more than twenty-five years ago, French advisers, money, and influence are felt everywhere.
Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have lived and worked in Ivory Coast over the past twenty or more years. For most of this time they operated under the auspices of the former International Mission, which attempted to maintain contact with scattered expatriate families in the country. During the 1970s, Barnard Silver and his wife, Cherry, for example, lived in Ferkessedougou, 300 miles up-country from Abidjan, where he was the general manager of a large sugar mill. During this time the Silvers conducted sacrament and Sunday School meetings in their home and visited scattered members throughout the country as they were able to do so. Similarly, Terry Don Broadhead and his wife, Bobby, held meetings in their home in 1986 and 1987. Brother Broadhead is a U.S. military man temporarily assigned to Ivory Coast.
As mentioned in chapter 5, Elder Marvin J. Ashton dedicated the land of Ivory Coast for the preaching of the gospel on September 4, 1987, and set Brother Broadhead apart to serve as the unit leader, with authority to baptize, ordain, and set in order the affairs of the Church in Abidjan. Brother Broadhead now has been released, and Philippe Assard, a native Ivorian, serves as branch president in Abidjan.
Documentation to have the Church officially recognized by the Ivory Coast government was submitted in the spring of 1987. The application still awaited approval as of spring 1990, when this was written, but hopes were high this could be accomplished soon. In the meantime, two faithful expatriate missionary couples, Scott H. and Lu Ciel Taggart