Plus, Lloyd Newell bid farewell after 34 years of bringing inspiration from the Crossroads of the West.
| ChurchBeat | | Wednesday, June 19, 2024 |
11 Years of Patience: How the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Returned to South Sudan South Sudan is the youngest country in the world, officially born in 2011 out of decades of civil war. The peace process that led to independence actually paved the way for official recognition of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 2009. But four short years later, with a new civil war underway, the Bureau of Religious Affairs closed, making it impossible for the church to complete its annual registration. South Sudanese Latter-day Saints yearned to apply gospel solutions in their lives and the lives of others as famine spread because of drought, flooding and conflict, not to mention an oil crisis caused by civil war in neighboring Sudan. Two-thirds of the South Sudanese population, more than 7.7 million people, experienced crisis-level or worse hunger in 2023, according to the World Food Programme. Of those, 1.4 million children under 5 faced acute malnutrition. Some Latter-day Saints were among 2.2 million people who fled the country because of the fighting. A church member who hosts worship meetings in his South Sudan home expressed an echo of President Russell M. Nelson’s words on peacemaking during a conference call with Africa Central Area leaders last year. “The people here have been traumatized by war, and the gospel is the only thing that will fully heal them,” said Ismail Lazaro Zangbayo, a year after President Nelson said, “Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been needed more than it is today. Contention violates everything the Savior stood for and taught. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and testify that his gospel is the only enduring solution for peace. His gospel is a gospel of peace.” Zangbayo also referred to Book of Mormon history and peoples during a prayer at the end of that conference call, according to a church release. “We know that even as the Lamanites and Nephites fought, the only thing that brought them peace was living the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Zangbayo prayed. “We know that we can find peace again in this land only through the gospel of Jesus Christ, that there may be no more desires in the hearts of men to war with each other. We know that you will bless us with what we seek and restore the church in South Sudan.” Days later, the government signaled it could renew the church’s legal status. “It seemed too good to be true — but it was true,” said Jeffrey N. Redd, associate area legal counsel, according to the church. After 11 years, the church’s Juba Branch was restored in late May with 82 members. Zangbayo was called as first counselor in the branch presidency. After that decade without baptisms, it was the first ordinance on the mind of another church member, Rebecca Amet. “Love brought me into this church, love has kept me in this church,” she said. “God has done something good for my family today. Now they can be baptized.” At about the same time as the meeting with the area presidency, Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles met with a group of young South Sudanese men during a visit to Kenya. The men told him they wanted to serve missions. Four now have mission calls, three to Uganda and one to Zimbabwe. “I was moved by the faith of these young men from South Sudan. Theirs is the faith that moves mountains,” Elder Rasband said. “Their dedicated service will inspire and bless them and their families forever. Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ — the Prince of Peace — will help them be better ambassadors of peace in their precious homeland.” |
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What I’m Reading ... The cash that young American athletes now are allowed to earn from NIL (name, image and likeness) contracts while competing in high school and college sports is another thing that prospective missionaries have to set aside if they decide to serve a mission. Here’s the story of one young man who has made that decision. Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs received their new Super Bowl rings for winning the championship game in February. The rings are incredible (paywall), and the team’s third in five years. Here’s a free look at the new ones. |
Tammy Reid, wife of Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid, wears the team's 2019 and 2022 championship rings during a dinner at the Riverside Church in New York City on Saturday, June 8, 2024. (Courtesy of Darren Bailey) |
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