David W. Eka — Divine Warning During the Nigerian Civil War

During the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), David W. Eka — later the first stake president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in West Africa — was serving as a soldier on the front lines. He and his fellow soldiers were stationed in a bunker when Eka reported hearing a divine voice instructing him to leave the shelter. He urged his comrades to come out with him, but they refused to move. Just as Eka cleared the bunker, a bomb struck the structure and killed all the soldiers who had remained inside.

The account is recorded in Eka's published biography on BlackPast.org, the online encyclopedia of African-American and global African history, which draws on accounts of his life and Church service. Eka converted to the restored gospel in 1980 through correspondence with an uncle who had joined the Church, and in 1988 he was called as the first president of the Aba Nigeria Stake — the first LDS stake in West Africa. He later served as a patriarch in the Church. This wartime deliverance, preserved in the biographical record of his life, is remembered as a formative providence in the man who would lead the Church's growth in West Africa.

Fuller account of this event (as retold in BlackPast.org, "David W. Eka (1945– )"):

During the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) broke out, Eka volunteered for military service. During an engagement, Eka and other soldiers were in a bunker. He states that a divine voice instructed him to leave the bunker. He attempted to persuade his fellow soldiers to leave yet they refused. Just as Eka cleared the bunker, a bomb exploded and killed those who remained inside. From then on, Eka decided to dedicate his life to serve God.