The First West African Meeting: Three Hours of Spontaneous Testimony (Opobo, Nigeria, October 22, 1961)

On October 22, 1961, LaMar Williams, secretary to the Church Missionary Department, held the first official Latter-day Saint meeting in black Africa in a small mud hut in Opobo District, Nigeria. One hundred and ten souls gathered—none came by car; many, including eight mothers with small children, had begun their day before 4:00 a.m. and walked twenty-five miles or more to be there. After two hours of teaching, Brother Williams prepared to end the meeting. He recorded that he heard a murmur through the congregation, and the pastor said to him that the people did not want to go home, for they had something to say. Then for three hours these people stood bearing testimony of the truthfulness of the Church and how they believed in the prophets. 'I could not believe what I was hearing,' he said. One elderly, sick man who had walked sixteen miles that morning declared, 'I have not seen President McKay. I have not seen God. But I have seen you. And I will hold you personally accountable to tell President McKay that I am sincere.' This meeting is a faith-promoting witness of a people whom the Lord had prepared in the wilderness, ready to receive the restored gospel with all their hearts.