I'm coming back home.

Two Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints traveled to West Africa in mid-February to minister to the Saints and friends of the global faith. I had the blessing to work as the member of the Twelve overseeing the work in Africa for many years, and so Susan and I were here frequently. To come back is to be in a familiar place with people that we love. It’s not often that two Apostles will travel together to the same continent, but Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was joined by the Church’s newest Apostle, Elder Patrick Kearon, to four African countries. Traveling with Elder Bednar is like traveling with an Apostle who’s been an Apostle for 20 years. And I’m an Apostle who’s been in this role for nine weeks. That happiness is evident in your countenances. I get to watch him and learn from him, and we get to share these experiences together. In Liberia's capital city of Monrovia, the Apostles met with the new president of the country, Joseph Boakai, who took office a month ago. I think we had a magnificent conversation, and I think we identified a number of very important commonalities that we can go forward and work together on. This is a country that saw years of strife. It's finding its feet and there's plenty of hope there. Elder Bednar and Elder Kearon also flew to Nigeria’s capital to visit with the Deputy Chief Imam of the National Mosque in Abuja.

The senior leaders visited two Church meetinghouses in Accra, Ghana.

Nice to meet you.

Where education initiatives are underway to teach latter-day youth and young adults life skills. Volunteers provide the training. We have all of these young people, young adults, Church members and others that are not of our faith coming to learn skills from bricklaying to soap making,

to IT skills in animation and fixing computers and myriad other things, and also to have their institute classes all together, all in one building, all in one place. These young people are receiving opportunities to learn skills that are very practical. It can improve their standard of living. That blesses them, their families, enables them to serve in the Church, in even more powerful ways. Elder Bednar and Elder Kearon have been touched by the faith of the African Saints. As you visit with the Saints, the faith is growing stronger in the Savior. Their devotion. What I am loving about this time in Western Africa is seeing again the energy, the vigor, the vitality that the Saints have in their faith and that is manifest in everything in how they are, how they interact, how they sing, how they testify, how they interact with one another. We've got a lot to learn from these wonderful people. The Apostles wrap up their ministries in Cote d’Ivoire, where they will see the new temple in Abidjan and meet with missionaries.