Young single members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the Greater Accra area mingled and strengthened each other spiritually at the first annual Young Single Adult Summit in Ghana.
Eight hundred and fifty single adults ages 18-30 participated in the two-day summit held on the University of Ghana campus in Legon. The theme of this year’s summit was “Be Strong and Courageous.”
Participants divided into groups and enjoyed various workshops and recreational activities. The three workshops, “Moral Strength and Courage,” “Facing Fears, Weakness and Disappointment,” and “Arms of Power – the Lord is My Strength,” were specifically designed to inspire young single adults. They were presented by two Area Seventies (local senior leaders) of the Church, Elder John Koranteng and Elder Daniel Yirenya-Tawiah; and Raymond Egbo, area director of Church Seminaries and Institutes.
“We should build our lives on things of great value and stand by our moral values, having the courage to say NO,” said Nesmeekia Engmann, sharing what she learned from the workshops. “We need to have a very good definition of ourselves, and our vision should be that of the eternities. We should invest in things that will bless our lives in the long term.”
Games such as the Cup Stack Relay, Name That Tune, a Lime and Spoon Race, and Fruit Basket generated teamwork, excitement, and a fun atmosphere.
“Last Man Standing was such a fun game because, as we matched sentences, they got really creative and very funny,” said Dansoa Twum-Danso. Another young single adult Roberta Avedzidah said she enjoyed the game What If? “Sometimes it seemed like we were reading each other’s minds.”
Elder Joseph S. Sitati, member of the Quorum of the Seventy (a senior governing body of the Church) and member of the Church’s Africa West Area Presidency, was the keynote speaker at the last session of the summit. He quoted from the Holy Bible, Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Then he counseled, “What I am telling you is not just a good idea. It does not come from one of those self-improvement books. This is what the Lord himself has promised to us. So I say to you, define your vision of what you want to be. Know and understand what you are seeking in life because if you don’t know what you are seeking, you won’t know when you get it. If you know what you are seeking, the Lord says you will find it. Use this scripture to bless your lives.”
Summing up the two-day experience, Ernest Gyampoh said he discovered the secret of change during the summit.
“As we came together to learn and interact with one another, we learned that we should focus all of our energy not on fighting the old traditions, but on building new social and spiritual foundations taught in the Church,” Gyampoh said. “As young single adults, we can always turn on the light, if only we believe we have one within us.”
The young single adult program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is designed to help young single adults strengthen their commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and draw nearer to Him. Local Church leaders identify, locate and shepherd these young people; create opportunities for them to associate with each other; help prepare them for marriage and family life and support them in making important life decisions.