Ghanaian royalty, the Ga Mantse attends Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints general conference

The traditional ruler of the Ga State in Accra, Ghana, His Majesty King Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, attended the general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held at the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States, from April 1–2, 2023.

The conference is held biannually through a global broadcast of over 90 languages, consisting of five unique, two-hour general sessions for all audiences over the two-day event. The “general conference provides an opportunity to receive personal revelation as general Church leaders give counsel and direction,” according to the First Presidency of the Church.

The church informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. Although the Ga Mantse is not a member of the church, he has provided support and endorsement for the Church’s peaceful campaigns in Ghana and its efforts towards maintaining a momentous community of 10,000 members across Ghana.

“It’s so cool to see a chief from my city invited to general conference. This goes a long way to affirm what was said in the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi 26:33. The gospel of Jesus Christ is for all. And the fact that he is a chief and not a member but present at general conference adds up to my testimony about the Church. This is Jesus Christ’s church for all His children, even nonmembers,” said Latter-day Saint Adjei Nyarko Emmanuel, who currently lives in Accra, Ghana, to LDS Living.

Elder Ronald A. Rasband as well acknowledged the Ga Mantse’s presence and expressed gratitude for his attendance at the general conference in his address.

Gérald Caussé (left), the 15th presiding bishop in the Church’s history is seen interacting with the Ga Mantse (seated with hands on knees) at the 2023 General Conference.

The Ga Mantse is a well-respected and well-known traditional monarch of Ghana, according to the Church’s Africa Newsroom. He rules over the Gã State where the Ga-Adangbe or GaDangme people dwell, with Accra as their capital city. The Ga Mantse’s ethnic group also stretches beyond Ghana to neighbouring countries like Togo and Benin.

“I always love it when stories from Ghana are shared at general conference,“ Emmanuel said. “It means a lot to me as a [Latter-day Saint] from Ghana. There are a lot of faithful Saints in Ghana. And it’s so cool to be recognized by an Apostle of the Lord. The Church is growing here in Ghana. And I am proud to be a member.”

Traveling with the Ga Mantse are Nii Adote Otintor – Paramount Chief of Sempe and Nii DoDoo Nsaki – Paramount Chief of Otublohum with Asafoatse Nii Kojo Mankattah (Chief warrior). Nii Tettey Ablorh is also in the party as Media person.

The Ga Mantse has maintained a healthy relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since his ascension to the throne in 2017. In 2020, the leaders in the Africa West Area of the church paid a courtesy visit to the King.

The delegation was led by Elder Hugo E. Martinez, second Counsellor in the Africa West Area Presidency and were received at the Ga Mantse’s Palace, North Kaneshie in Accra.

Earlier this year, the king as well visited the Church’s Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Africa West Area presidency at the area offices adjacent to the Accra temple.

Photo: The Ga Mantse, King Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the king of the Ga State in Ghana, center, receives a gift from Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and other Church leaders in Accra, Ghana, on Feb. 26, 2023.

The visit acknowledged Elder Christofferson and Elder Johnson’s 12 days ministering in the Africa West Area across Ghana, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Liberia.

The church has congregations and temples all throughout the world, with its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. The church claims to have 62,544 full-time volunteer missionaries and over 17 million members.

According to these figures, the church ranked as the fourth-largest Christian denomination in the US as of 2012, and as of 2021, it had over 6.7 million US members. It is the greatest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement, which Joseph Smith started during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century.

Source: TheAfricanDream.co