Mormons in Afghanistan District listen to Elder Holland, LDS Leaders
August 19, 2009 by DH
Filed under Mormon Asia
Mormons in Afghanistan District listed to Elder Holland, LDS Leaders
Mormons in Afghanistan are few and far between as they consist of only those in the military. Officially the LDS Church reports no membership in Afghanistan nor missions, buildings or temples. But we have written previously of the LDS Afghanistan Military District. LDS Church News just had another article about LDS members serving in the military in Afghanistan and I wanted to mention a few of the more interesting things that I read.
- The district was referred to as the Kabul Afghanistan Military District and it was noted that there are over 500 members in the district.
- The article is about a district conference with talks by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elders Dennis B. Neuenschwander and Bruce D. Porter of the Seventy as well as Julie B. Beck the Relief Society General President that was subsequently burned on to DVDs and sent to the members in Afghanistan.
- It notes that there are five organized branches and other bases in which Mormon military members watched the conference.
- Members aren’t allowed to gather together in one place for a conference. (Editor’s note: I assume this is because of safety concerns and military assignments.)
- The conference consisted of two parts. The aforementioned leaders portion was filmed in Salt Lake City and then sent to Afghanistan while another portion was recorded in Kabul by the district president Relief Society president.
- I liked this quote:
Others, such as 1st Lt. Andrew Stockhoff at Forward Operating Base Shank, found reason to testify of the worldwide nature of the Church. “To me, being in the midst of Latter-day Saints in the middle of Afghanistan is a testament to this great work that we are all a part of,” Brother Stockhoff said. “And despite the fact that we were all thousands of miles away from our families, we felt a powerful witness by the Holy Ghost that the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ are as real here as they are back home. We witnessed a historic event as the voice of an apostle of the Lord was heard in this small corner of the world for what may have been the very first time. I believe we all left with a renewed witness that God does live; that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all the world; and, perhaps most of all, that He will never abandon even a single one of His children. This is truly the Lord’s work, and I cannot help but hope for a day when the voice of the Lord’s servants will be heard in this part of the world by many more than just our small few.”
The full article, including pictures can be found here:
Elder Holland, other leaders address members in Kabul Afghanistan Military District Conference- Michael L. Haller, public affairs representative, Kabul Afghanistan Military District
