My MTC Group Slide Show

Stay at the Missionary Training Center 1

My senior brother drove me to the Ghana Missionary Training Center (MTC) on Friday 14^th November 2014 and we arrived at the MTC around 12pm. We were received sand I went through the process and I was taken to my room I then came down and I was given my tag. We were welcomed into the MTC that evening to a sumptuous meal and after that we had our first class. On Saturday, we were officially welcomed into the MTC by MTC president and his wife President and Sister Ried Robinson. We had various class and our first Sunday at the MTC was awesome we had a wonderful discussion on the Law of Chastity as a district. I was placed in the best ever district in the MTC that is the Jacob district. My district is made up of Elders Itua( Nigeria), Machigamidze( Zimbabwe), Magopolo(Botswana), Mensah ( Ghana), Tu’Akoi ( Tonga), Lagaiti (Samoa), Kangwa (Zambia), Lamagna (Philippines), Sisters Khumalo ( South Africa), Kove( Ghana) and myself Elder Martey. I will be back to write more because of time. You can leave a comment in my mail isaac.martey@myldsdmail.net   

Journey to Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission: Life in KNUST 3

 I finally submitted my mission papers on the 30^th June, 2014 and received my call on the 25^th July, 2014. I opened it on the 27^th of July. When I showed my call letter to my mom her reaction shocked me. She asked me sincerely how she could be of help to me to enable prepare adequately for my mission. I was overwhelmed with emotions because that very day every member of my family showed their support towards my mission and I have prepare myself adequately till today when I have only two days to report to the Missionary Training Center in Tema. I end the session with my testimony that I know that Heavenly Father lives and his son Jesus Christ has come into this world and wrought an infinite atonement for all men who will come onto him. I know that Christ directs his church today through his living prophet, Thomas S Monson, that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I invite all to search for truth by visiting www.mormon.org/beliefs

Journey to Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission: Life in KNUST 2

I was worried I had to go to church with my mom again so I decided to go to the temple and pray about it. While in the waiting room, I decided to read the recent general conference report from the November Liahona and to read from the Prophet’s message. It was a talk given by President Thomas S. Monson titled Dare to Stand Alone and the talk gave me directions as to what to do. I was to tell my mom. My mom had asked whether I had joined the church and I had said no. She then said “If you join them I will disown you.” I was scared but I was not going to disobey the prompting I had had. I was bent on following it and let the consequences follow. So two days before Christmas day I was watching TV with my mom and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was performing. She was really impressed by the choir so I took the chance to tell her it was my church choir. She got infuriated that I had joined the church against her will and had disobeyed her. She became very angry and disappointed about my decision and started to call me all sort of names because of the church. She told all the influential people in my life mostly my uncles to talk me out of it but my decision had been made and there was no turning back. It took quite a long time for my family to finally agree with and accept my decision.

I attended church now no matter where I was. I had developed a desire to serve a mission but I knew it was not going to be easy so I started preparing myself and started to talk to my mom about having the missionaries come over but she will have none of it. I was called as a seminary teacher and that calling also taught me a lot and helped me learn more and prepared me for my mission. When I finally told my family about my decision to go on a mission my mom was disturbed and disappointed that I was willing to “throw away my life” for the church which will not benefit me in anyway. I explained to her that I was not throwing away my life as she put it but I was going to serve the Lord. Out of her frustration she said I should do whatever pleased me because she felt I was just wasting away my life. My cousin thought I had joined the church just because I wanted to travel but when she learnt missionaries pay for their missions her perceptions about my mission changed.

Journey to the Nigeria Port Harcourt Mission: Life In KNUST 1

When I joined the church I had a testimony of the gospel but I didn’t want to be fully involved in church activities because I felt it would take much of my time. I attended sacrament meeting and didn’t attend any other meeting again. There was an association called Latter-day Saints Students Association (LDSSA) which was for the student members of the church and I attended all theirs activities and it was through one such activity that I decided to attend all my church meetings.

 It was a cleaning exercise to clean the chapel. During the exercise I “came out of my shell” and had a long chat with two returned missionaries, brothers, Felix Ewusi and Joshua Gbetoryedzie, they talked about their mission experiences and how attending church activities like institute will help me to develop greater faith in the Lord. I started to come to church regularly and also started to attend institute. That year in institute we were learning Doctrine and Covenants and Preparing for an Eternal Marriage. All this while, my family didn’t know that I had joined of the church.

When I came home for the Christmas holidays I attended church with my mom but I didn’t fill fulfill and I didn’t like the place even though I had been there several times. I was scared to tell my mom I had left the Presbyterian Church. I decided against telling her. I was eager to return to school so I could have the opportunity to partake of the sacrament again. During the second semester at school LDSSA-KNUST visited the Accra Ghana Temple it was the one of the greatest feeling I had ever had in my life. The peace I felt while in the temple and on its sacred grounds was amazing and can’t be described in writing. I decided to get a limited-use Recommend so as to enable me to visit the Temple often since it was close to my house.

                                                       Accra Ghana Temple

When I came home for the long vacation I decided to start reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover. It was quite difficult at the start but as I pressed on I was able to finish it in December. In August, when I returned to school I was called as a ward missionary and later on in October I was called as a counselor to the Elder’s Quorum President. I felt at that time I was too new to be called to such a calling so I decided not to accept it, but I decided to pray before declining the calling. During sacrament meeting that day one of the speakers spoke about callings and said whoever the Lord calls he qualifies. There and then my answer came to me and I knew what to do. Then another Christmas came and I returned home. 

My Conversion Story 2

I desired to be baptized but I faced challenges from my mom who was not a member of the church. She didn’t want me to join the church because my aunt with whom I was living when I met the missionaries, told my mom her cousin who joined the church was poisoned by church leaders. I knew the story couldn’t have been entirely true, maybe her cousin had indeed died of food poisoning but I knew no church leader would deliberately poison any member of the church because he was progressing. Many people whom I respected very well criticized my decision to join the church and it lead me to ponder why they were all vehemently trying to stop from getting baptized. I decided to find out more and advise myself accordingly. My uncle even decided to throw me out of his house if I continued to meet with the missionaries and my mom decided to disown me if I didn't stop meeting the missionaries. I still went ahead and defied their warnings and met with the missionaries. My uncle later on found out I had defied his instruction and told my mom about it. I had gained admission to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to study Geological Engineering and my mom threatened that I didn’t stop she won’t cater for my tertiary education. I told the missionaries I would get baptized when I get to Kumasi and they gave me the contact to the missionaries in Kumasi.

When I got to Kumasi I lost the contact of the missionaries in Kumasi and when I tried calling Elder Strong, I was told he has returned home. I then returned to worship with the Presbyterians on the school campus for my first two Sundays in school. Then something very dramatic happened. I was eating I the canteen of my hall of residence, Unity Hall, when a guy approached me and asked my about the T-shirt I was wearing. I was at the time wearing a shirt which had the logo of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and with the congregation’s name written boldly under it saying Ascension. He asked if I knew his grandmother who had served as a presbyter for that particular unit. i replied in the negative and told him I hadn't been there for long. I asked him where he churched because I hadn't seen him there before and he told me, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was astonished and I told him I had been trying to locate the church since we came to school. I went on further to tell him how I was meeting with the missionaries in cape coast. He took my number and gave me directions to the church and promised to give my number to the missionaries. During that week I reestablished contact with the missionaries and on the 16^th of October 2010 I was baptized into the Church.  I was confirmed on the 17^th of November 2010. The friend who saw me in the canteen has gone on to become a very close friend of mine and his name is Cedric.