Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of June came together for their bi-annual Stake Conference in Kololo.
According to the organisation structure of the Church, the 12 congregations which make up the Church in and around Kampala are refered to as a Stake.
Speakers at the two day event included the Stake leader, Jimmy Carter Okot, The Kampala Mission President Robert Felt Chatfield and his wife, U.S Federal Judge Clifford Wallace, and several other leaders.
- Stake leaders
- chatfield judge wallace and sister chatfield
- conference attendees
- giles odong stake patriarch
- balyejjusa family and friends
- Missionaries
- byu students
- Kampala stake Choir
- conference children
- Father and daughter
- Missionaries2
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
During the conference proceedings, members in attendance were urged to improve the lives of others by sharing with them the gospel of Jesus Christ in the communities in which they live. They were however also reminded to always respect the people as well as their beliefs.
They were taught to fast following the Saviors’ example. It was said that fasting makes the mind active. Members were urged to fast with a purpose and that when its done in conjunction with prayer then their Heavenly Father will answer prayers. It was taught that fasting would help people in the communities who struggle with things like addictions to overcome them.
It was also re-emphasised during the conference that families are central to the gospel plan of our Heavenly Father. Those in attendance were told that marriage between a man and woman is ordained of God. People preparing for marriage were urged to maintain a clean life and run away from situations that can lead into breaking the Lords commandments. It was taught that the plan of their Heavenly Father is that children will result from families. Parents were asked to teach children to be law abiding citizens in righteousness.
In his talk, Judge Wallace spoke of how joining the Church helped him receive direction in his life. He said this single experience has been the center of everything good that has happened in his life. He said drawing closer to God involves asking ourselves day by day what we can improve in our lives and then having the courage to make the change.
Uganda Kampala President Robert Felt Chatfield reminded the members of the fourth commandment given to Moses in the Old Testament - "Keep the sabbath day holy". The administrative area headed by President Chatfield comprises the countries of Uganda, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Rwanda.
He further taught that keeping the sabbath day holy meant more than simply attending church on Sunday. He said that being a special day, preparations for it should start on Saturday so that it could be a highly spiritual experience. He also asked the members to always put in practice the knowledge they obtain on the sabbath.
As the Sunday session of the conference drew to a close, Stake President Jimmy Carter Okot asked members to strive to develop Christ-like attributes such as love, charity, humility and diligence. He also reiterated the values of virtue and chastity. He cited the example of Mary being chosen to be the mother of Jesus because of her purity. He asked that the members not place their hearts upon the vain things of this world and forget the purpose for which Heavenly Father has placed us in this world.
The conference was attended by close to one thousand members, friends, relatives and invited guests.
The next Kampala Stake conference will be held in February 2016.