Ghana MTC Slideshow of 21 March 2014 Group - Hurrah for Israel!

March 21st Group Photo at Area Devotional

On March 27th, our Area Devotional speaker was an Area Seventy named Elder Yirenya-Tawaih, who had been the first stake president of the Tema Stake when it was created.

Birthday in the Mission Field

Today I turned 63.  I still feel like I did as a young missionary, but my body is getting older.  This birthday card was hand-made by Diane from a photo we took in Grenada.  She added a lion and a giraffe and it now looks African!  Great birthday and a very tender way to spend it thousands of miles from home with my eternal companion.

It was fun to share the birthday with an Elder celebrating his birthday from Gilbert, Arizona who was taught back home by one of our West Indies Missionaries.

Pictured above is Elder Thomason from the West Indies mission with one of our MTC elders currently in the MTC.  (We do not give names of current missionaries for privacy purposes because this is a public site).  The lowest photo is once used in the "infield orientation" in every MTC throughout the world, of a baptism performed by Elder Thomason in the West Indies Mission when Sister Robison and I presided there.

Tongan Power!

Many nations are represented in the Ghana MTC.  These Tongan elders travelled great distance to be here!

Hastening the Work of Salvation

When we first arrived, we decided to have the missionaries spend their free moments on their intake day, working on Family History.  We have now received 5 groups of missionaries.  We started this program with the second group because I was concerned that the day they arrived they did not have much to do except register and verify records and because in the mission field they will be able to teach from personal experience the plan of happiness.  This will greatly assist them in retaining new converts as they keep their eye on the temple.

Since beginning this effort, the next four groups have submitted the names of 331 deceased relatives for family history work and 127 names for sealing. Yesterday, four of our missionaries did the temple work for deceased parents.  Pictured here are two of them plus one who did the work for his best friend.

Hurrah for Israel!

Today we took a group of missionaries to the Ghana Temple.  Like Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball of old, they too have left their families and travelled great distance to spread the gospel.

Ghana Temple Dedicatory Prayer

Accra Ghana Temple

Dedicatory Prayer

Dedicated 11 January 2004
by Gordon B. Hinckley

O, Lord God Almighty, Thou who rules in the heavens above and in the earth below, we come unto Thee in solemn prayer in the name of Thy Beloved Son, our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Wilt Thou look down with favor upon us, Thy children, as we meet to dedicate Thy house.

We acknowledge Thine overruling hand in all things. We have partaken of Thy providence. Through revelation to Thine appointed servant, Thou hast opened the way for millions of Thy sons and daughters to receive of every blessing afforded by Thy divine gospel. This house, and the ordinances to be given herein, constitute the answer to the prayers and petitions, the service and the labors of those who will be blessed because of the presence of a sacred temple in their midst.

How glorious, O Father, is this day of dedication. How wonderful it is that we are met together in peace as Thy people.

We thank Thee for the brotherhood that exists among us, that neither color of skin nor land of birth can separate us as Thy sons and daughters who have taken upon us sacred and binding covenants.

We know that the ground on which this temple stands was made available because of Thine intervening hand. We know that Thy care has been over its construction and the construction of the other facilities found here.

Father, our hearts are filled with gratitude. We rejoice and sing anthems of praise to Thy holy name. We lift our voices in songs of thanksgiving.

We are mindful on this solemn occasion of Thy visit with Thy Beloved Son to the boy, Joseph Smith, to open the curtains on this glorious final dispensation, the dispensation of the fullness of times.

We thank Thee for the Book of Mormon as an added witness of the divinity of Thy Son. We thank Thee for the holy priesthood with all of its offices, authority, and keys. We thank Thee for the Prophet Joseph and for all who have succeeded him. We thank Thee for Thy Church and kingdom with prophets and apostles who constitute its foundation, Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone.

And now, acting in the authority of that priesthood which has come from Thee, and in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we dedicate unto Thee and unto Him this, the Accra Ghana Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We consecrate it to Thy holy purposes.

We dedicate the ground on which it stands with its beautiful vegetation. We dedicate the walls and the windows, the roof and the steeple with the crowning figure of Moroni. We dedicate the baptistry, the various ordinance rooms including the beautiful celestial room, the sacred altars, and all of the other rooms and facilities. We pray, dear Father, that Thou wilt accept this Thy holy house as the gift of Thy thankful people. By the strength of Thy mighty hand save it from the storms of nature and any desecrating act of man. May all who look upon it regard it as the house of the Lord with holiness unto the Lord. May all who enter its portals do so with meekness of spirit and gratitude of heart, and with cleanliness before Thee whose house this is. Please cause that Thy Holy Spirit shall dwell within these walls at all times. This is the temple of our God, hallowed unto us, Thy children. May it ever be a place of refuge from the noise and cares of the world.

As we dedicate the temple, we also dedicate the adjacent stake center with all of its components and facilities. May it serve as a gathering place for Thy Saints where they may worship Thee, where they may be instructed in doctrine, where they may socialize together in bonds of friendship. May they treasure it and care for it, and may it be safeguarded from vandalism, fire, and storm.

We, likewise, dedicate the other facilities established on this ground, including the structures which will provide offices, apartments, and temple patron housing, that this entire complex may serve well the needs of Thy Church and Thy people in this nation.

These structures have been made possible by the tithes of Thy faithful people throughout the world. Touch the hearts of the members of the Church in this and surrounding nations that they may so live as to be qualified to enter Thy temple. Give them the strength to live the gospel, to observe the Word of Wisdom, to be faithful one to another as husbands and wives and children. May they be good citizens of the nations to which they belong. And may the rulers of these nations be generous toward Thy people and safeguard their liberties.

Let faith rule the hearts of Thy Saints that they may contribute their tithes and offerings and be worthy of Thine outreaching hand in their behalf that they may be prospered in their labors, that their lands may be productive, and that the blessings of heaven may come down upon them in great measure, that they may be lifted from the scourge of poverty, that they may be looked upon as a favored people.

May Thy work spread in this land and in adjoining nations. May the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands be touched in such a way that there shall come into Thy kingdom a veritable flood of faithful and devoted Latter-day Saints.

We pray for this nation of Ghana and for all who constitute its government. May it become a model among the nations of this vast continent. May it grow in strength and influence for good. Incline the hearts of its rulers that they may befriend Thy people, even Thy faithful Saints.

O God our Eternal Father, please move forward Thy work throughout the world. Open the hearts of people everywhere to the message of Thine endowed servants. Open the doors of the nations which are now closed. Touch the hearts of their leaders that they may welcome and befriend Thy work. Dispel the clouds of ignorance and prejudice against Thy Church and kingdom. We pray for peace in the earth, that Thy children may be spared the burdens and pains of war and know the blessings, sweet and wonderful, that come of peace.

Smile with favor upon Thy Saints. Let us feel of Thy love. Forgive our shortcomings, our sins and imperfections. Help us to rise above our weaknesses. Save Thy people from disease and plagues, from the ravages of scourging epidemics.

Bless all who shall serve in these facilities. May all work together with an eye single to Thy glory, rejoicing in their great opportunity.

Father, bless Thy servants who have been called to positions of leadership in Thy Church. Give them health and strength and add to their years of service. Bless their families and their interests and protect them from the darts of the adversary.

Now, all honor and power and glory be Thine we pray as Thy thankful children. We express our love to Thee and to Thy Beloved Son, our Redeemer, through whose atoning sacrifice have come the blessings of Thy work and Thy glory in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (see Moses 1:39). We pray humbly and gratefully in His holy and sacred name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.