Note: Originally published as “African LDS couple tells of the organization of the LDS Church in Togo” on October 9, 2017, by Kelsey Schwab Adams, For the Deseret News.
“I felt like I was part of the church even though I didn’t know much. My heart was in the church and I felt like it was my place. The road was long and difficult, but in those difficult moments I realized I was closer to the Savior than I had ever been when everything was perfect. In those moments I feel like I am closer to the Savior and he is closer to me because he once suffered, too.”
Ludovic Attiogbe was born in a small nation in West Africa called Togo. He lived there with his mother, father and little sister. Attiogbe remembered when he was a small boy, his father, Dieudonné Attiogbe, moved to work in London.
While his father lived in England in 1989, Dieudonné Attiogbe became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he returned home, he was excited to tell his family about his new religion. However, the LDS Church did not exist in their little country.
Update: There are now (as of May 2021) 21 congregations and 5,320 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Togo area. Source: newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org.
Featured Image: Ludovic Attiogbe (black shirt) on the day of his baptism, Sept. 20, 1997. Provided by Ludovic Attiogbe
Sunshine in the Soul 