Moses Mahlangu

Last updated

Moses Mahlangu (4 January 1925 - 25 June 2001) was a long-time supporter of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) in South Africa. Mahlangu first found a copy of the Book of Mormon sometime in the 1960s. At the time, he was a Christian preacher in South African townships.

Some accounts state that the first copy of the Book of Mormon he found had a torn title page, so it was a few years before he learned who had published it. He was fascinated as he read it and invited others to study it with him. Sometime around 1968 Mahlangu's friend Piet Mafora saw an LDS Church building while driving a delivery truck in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mafora told Mahlangu, who went to see the building himself. The building was locked when he first arrived but he was given contact information for the mission president on his second visit. When Mahlangu went to the mission home, the missionaries met with him. It was not until he had been coming to the mission home for three weeks that mission president Howard C. Badger gave missionaries permission to teach the gospel to Mahlangu. Later Badger himself was involved in teaching. Despite this Badger decided the current situation in South Africa meant that Mahlangu's baptism should be delayed. [1]

Moses Mahlangu accepted that decision with meekness, humility, and without resentment, but he continued to have a strong desire to learn more about the church. A frequently-told story states that church members would leave meetinghouse windows open during the Sunday meetings so Mahlangu and his friends could sit outside and listen to the services. Recent scholarship has shown that story is most likely incorrect. [2]

In 1978, LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball received a revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy male church members. Kimball personally visited South Africa, where the church's only mission on the continent was headquartered, and directed that missionary work be cautiously expanded to include black Africans as well. In 1980, Mahlangu and his family were baptized and he was ordained to the priesthood. Mahlungu was made a counselor in the elder's quorum presidency when the branch was organized. [3] Also baptized at the same time were several black people he had introduced to the church since he first found the Book of Mormon. The next year, in 1981, the church organized a branch in Mahlangu's neighborhood in Soweto. This was possible only because of the determination, courage, and faithfulness of people like Moses Mahlangu who remained faithful for so many years under difficult circumstances.

Related Research Articles

George Q. Cannon

George Quayle Cannon was an early member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and served in the First Presidency under four successive presidents of the church: Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. He was the church's chief political strategist, and was dubbed "the Mormon premier" and "the Mormon Richelieu" by the press. He was also a five-time Utah territorial delegate to the U.S. Congress.

This is a timeline of major events in Mormonism in the 20th century.

Mormon missionary Missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints —widely known as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the LDS Church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and community service. Mormon missionaries may serve on a full- or part-time basis, depending on the assignment, and are organized geographically into missions. The mission assignment could be to any one of the 399 missions organized worldwide.

Joseph William Billy Johnson was one of the first converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ghana, and was one of the first stake patriarch in the country. Prior to his baptism, he had worked for many years to spread the doctrines of the LDS Church to many of his fellow countrymen. He was baptized a six months after the 1978 Revelation on Priesthood and among the first to be baptized in the church in Ghana.

The 1978 Revelation on Priesthood was a revelation announced by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that reversed a long-standing policy excluding men of black African descent from the priesthood.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ghana

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was introduced to Ghana in 1962. It was officially organized in 1978, following announcement of the revelation on priesthood.

Anthony Obinna

Anthony Uzodimma Obinna, born in Umuelem Enyiogugu in Aboh Mbaise, in Nigeria, was the first convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nigeria.

Richard Eyring "Rick" Turley Jr. is an American historian and genealogist. He previously served as both an Assistant Church Historian of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as managing director of the church's Public Affairs Department.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alaska

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alaska refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Alaska. The first congregation of the Church in Alaska was organized in 1938. It has since grown to 33,495 members in 80 congregations.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Liberia

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Liberia refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Liberia. At year-end 1986, there were fewer than 100 members in Liberia. In 2019, there were 14,538 members in 53 congregations.

From 1849 to 1978, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints prohibited men of black African descent from being ordained to the priesthood. In 1978, the church's First Presidency declared in a statement known as "Official Declaration 2" that the restriction had been lifted. Between 1830 and 1849, a few black men had been ordained to the priesthood under Joseph Smith.

Black Mormons

Black people have been members of Mormon congregations since its foundation, although the church placed restrictions on proselytization efforts among black people. Before 1978, black membership was small. It has since grown, and in 1997, there were approximately 500,000 black members of the church, mostly in Africa, Brazil and the Caribbean. Black membership has continued to grow substantially, especially in West Africa, where two temples have been built. By 2018, an estimated 6% of members were black. In the United States, 3% of members are black.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Japan

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in Japan in 1901 when the church's first missionaries arrived on August 12. Among them was Heber J. Grant, who was then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve and later became the church's 7th president. Horace S. Ensign, Louis A. Kelsch and Alma O. Taylor accompanied Grant. The LDS Church's first baptism in Japan was on March 8, 1902, when Grant baptized Hajime Nakazawa, a former Kannushi. The Book of Mormon was translated three times. The first translation, which took over six years, was completed by Taylor in 1909. It was then recommended that the Book of Mormon be translated into bunshō, a more elegant literary style, which was done by Chōkō Ikuta in 1909, shortly before it was published and distributed. The second translation in 1957 was done by Tatsui Sato. In 1995, the Book of Mormon was translated again into a more colloquial style.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Brazil

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in Brazil in 1926 with the opening of the South American Mission. Missionary work was focused on small German immigrant colonies in South Brazil. The LDS Church was forced to expand missionary work to Brazilians and Portuguese speakers when non-Portuguese languages were banned in public meetings in 1938. The Brazil Mission was opened on February 9, 1935 with Rulon S. Howells as mission president. The first Book of Mormon translated into Portuguese was published in 1939.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established in Argentina in 1925 when Melvin J. Ballard arrived in Buenos Aires and opened the church's South American Mission. K.B. Reinhold Stoof became the first president of the South American Mission in July 1926. Missionary work largely focused on populations of German immigrants. After Stoof's release in 1935, the South American Mission split into the Brazilian Mission and the Argentine Mission. During World War II, missionaries were required to leave Argentina but then re-entered in 1947. The Argentine Mission divided again in 1962 and the first stake in Argentina was established in 1966 in Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires Argentina Temple was dedicated on January 17, 1986, becoming the church's first temple in Argentina.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Africa

Three Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionaries started proselyting to white English-speaking people in Cape Town in 1853. Most converts from this time emigrated to the United States. The mission was closed in 1865, but reopened in 1903.The South African government limited the amount of missionaries allowed to enter the country in 1921 and in 1955. Starting around 1930, a man had to trace his genealogy out of Africa to be eligible for the priesthood, since black people were not permitted to be ordained. In 1954 when David O. McKay visited South Africa, he removed the requirement for genealogical research for a priest to be ordained, stipulating only that "there is no evidence of his having Negro blood in his veins".

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nigeria

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nigeria refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Nigeria. At year-end 1983, there were 2,255 members in Nigeria. In 2019, there were 192,144 members in 722 congregations.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Iceland

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Iceland refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Iceland. Missionary efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began in 1851 with the baptisms of two native Icelanders visiting Denmark. They returned to Iceland to share the gospel. Missionary work has continued since then, although there were no permanent missionaries in Iceland from 1914 to 1974. As of 2016, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had 274 members in Iceland, divided into 3 congregations. There is also one Family History Center.

Desideria Quintanar de Yáñez (1814–1893) was the first woman baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico.

Howard C. Badger (1914-1989) was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1942 to 1944. He also served as president of the South African Mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

References

  1. ↑ Turley and Cannon, p. 33
  2. ↑ Turley and Cannon, pp. 32–33
  3. ↑ Turley and Cannon, p. 36


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.